Why few Americans use public transport?

We built this country to go wherever the hell we want (car culture).

Not to ride around with "diversity" and still not getting to where we were headed.

It isn't the government's job to move us from point A to point B.

Ghgu wrote:

It's obvious why there is a weight crisis. People have access to cheap calories and don't have to move around.

I'm confused. Are you asking about public transportation (trains/subway/etc) or about walking? Because they're very different things.

Population density (or lack thereof) is one reason for lack of public trans.

It works pretty well in many urban areas, but with a few exceptions, it isn't really functional in the suburbs (which itself is an American invention).

Most fat people I've seen use public transportation. Skinnies like me avoid those putrid-smelling, disease spreading conveyances at all costs.

Kinda runs counter to the OP's hypothesis.

It needs to be somewhat cost effective. In big cities where it might cost $20/day to park, spending a few bucks and riding the bus or train doesn't seem so bad. My employer subsidizes my use of public transportation, and I'm using it as a way to help my poor self to save some money.

photofinish wrote:

We built this country to go wherever the hell we want (car culture).

Not to ride around with "diversity" and still not getting to where we were headed.

It isn't the government's job to move us from point A to point B.

What a dumb sentiment. The government built every single road you drive on. And it subsidized the original auto industry to get it off the ground, while they were at it.

People who drive cars are just as, if not more, reliant on the government for transportation.

Walking on the train? wrote:

I'm confused. Are you asking about public transportation (trains/subway/etc) or about walking? Because they're very different things.

Not exactly. If you take the subway you might at least have a 1-5 minute walk to the station, even in NYC. If you drive you only have to haul your fat @ss to the garage.

Population density (or lack thereof) is one reason for lack of public trans.

Doesn't explain much though. In LA only 11% of people take public transportation. France has about the same population density as cities east of the Mississippi.

The most developed countries seem to not use public transportation as much compared to other countries. Russia is the obvious outlier. Our great wealth enables us to buy our own cars?

Lot of dumb things on this thread. There is low transit ridership in America because automobile travel and suburban living have been encouraged and heavily subsidized by the government. Federal tax dollars allow cities like phoenix to grow outwards, not upwards. This results in such low population density that public transit is not feasible.

To the poster who said it's not the government's job to get you from point a to b: you're an idiot. Car owners pay only a fraction of the total social costs of automobile travel, the rest of us pick up your tab.

Public transport users only pay a fraction of their cost.

I realize that ... however, I maintain that it is not the government's job to move you around. The fact that it has stepped in to do so in many cases doesn't mean that it is right to do so.

Black Gang Members Harrass, Rob, and Beat Up White Women on the Washinton DC Metro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G9metXkBM8Y

you want to ride with those savage??

Those poor nice white suburban women have absolutely no clue about those savages, they think they are civilized human beings and just like them.. Well they learned the truth real fast..

the truth no matter what wrote:

Black Gang Members Harrass, Rob, and Beat Up White Women on the Washinton DC Metro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G9metXkBM8Y

you want to ride with those savage??

Exactly why...because it's not safe for white people.

We're already far down that road and aren't going back now, so take your PolySci classroom prattle back to your ivory tower with you. What remains in reality is how we, as a citizenry, want our subsidy funds to be spent. Like with corporate welfare versus social safety nets, we clearly prefer to not use public money to help the poor, we want to use it to reward the rich (those who can afford to live in suburbs and own and drive their own cars).

photofinish wrote:

I realize that ... however, I maintain that it is not the government's job to move you around. The fact that it has stepped in to do so in many cases doesn't mean that it is right to do so.

crazy raisin wrote:

[quote]Walking on the train? wrote:

Doesn't explain much though. In LA only 11% of people take public transportation. France has about the same population density as cities east of the Mississippi.

LA has a large population, but is not densely populated.

LA has 8,000 per square mile

San Francisco has 17,000

NYC: 27,000

Manhattan: 70,000

the truth no matter what wrote:

Black Gang Members Harrass, Rob, and Beat Up White Women on the Washinton DC Metro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G9metXkBM8Y

you want to ride with those savage??

Really it's just gotten too expensice. I took Metro downtown this week. It had been a while since I'd ridden. One way fare was $6.75. So basically for me and my family to go downtown on metro it would be $70. I can drive us for $10 or $15.

I used to ride the Metro through Fort Totten. NICE! But I was always smart enough not to be showing a iPod or fancy cell phone. People have no sense.

cluelessyank wrote:

I used to ride the Metro through Fort Totten. NICE! But I was always smart enough not to be showing a iPod or fancy cell phone. People have no sense.

Yes, you were smart enough to use a form of transportation in which you were surrounded by animals so feral that you couldn't even use an iPod or cell phone. Yep, you are full of sense.