American transportation.... money over safety and efficiency?

Question:
In many countries around the world they are working on new and improved train systems. They are faster, safer and they cost less to opperate than the privately owned vehchles that would be needed to do the same job. In America the auto industry has a strangle hold on transportation. They spend billions each year to advertise the comfort and luxury of driving your own car. They have even gone as far as to attach a stigma to public transportation. Only the poor and disabled use public transportation. They do this as long as the burden of building the roads falls on the public. If the true cost of driving cars were calculated Americans would find that they have spent more money on the infrastructure to support automobile transportation than they would have to support bullet trains to conect every major city and smaller commuter trains or bus lines to every town. Does anyone know how many people die in car crashes? I bet it is more yearly than have died in every terrorist attack ever.

Answers:

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There are several obstacles to overcome in North America to get the general public to embrace Mass Public Transit (IMO)

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1. Cultural issues: North Americans (US particularly) value individuality and express it through their vehicles and like the freedom and privacy they provide. This will be a hard mindset to break.

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2. Time - I am in Canada and would take the trains and buses if they were offered and run in a timely manner - yet I own multiple vehicles, When I do take a commuter train into Toronto it ultimately takes me twice as long to get to my destination. Note I do not work in Toronto and I cannot commute to my place of business as no public transportation can get me to work in a timely manner. Most people would rather work an 8 hour day as opposed to a 10 hour day. Have I tried? Yes I have. The "stigma" isn't there in Toronto - without public transit the city is gridlocked and a large percentage of people who work downtown commute via subway out of necessity and commuting there is faster than driving.

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3. Infrastructure: It needs to be in place for the trains. In North America the old train lines are being ripped up thus losing what infrastructure there was from earlier in the century. Why? Not due to a lack of commuters but due to the fact that buses and trucks ship more efficiently over short distances than trains. If there was money to be made on the short haul lines - trains would be #1. Note - In Canada the drivers of the vehicles pay a lot of taxes at the pumps and through vehicle registration to support the road infrastructure.

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Is there an Automobile Manufacturer conspiracy - likely not. The world has a free market economy and the manufacturers are free to advertise their wares to make money for their shareholders. If there was a business case for trains we'd have them now. The facts are that even High speed trains will not get the average joe to his job faster than driving. Is it cheaper to take a bus then a train then a bus to work - yes - If you do not factor in your time.

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The countries that have a good rail commuting infrastructure (Japan, Britain, France, etc) are in general more densely populated than North America. The costs to operate vehicles in these areas are much higher than North America which changes the busines model and favors trains.

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Topography and geography make your assertion moot.

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Many of the countries that rely on rails for transportation have neither the size, infrastructure or number of destinations that are present in the US.

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Trains may be safer but not nearly an efficient mode of transport in a non homogeneous society with multiple cities and destinations.

Driving? How long did it take you to learn how to drive properly?


People prefer making their own decisions about how, when and where to travel; trains take all those options away.
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