Let alone an absolute crap quality of life being suffered by those who have no idea that there's a better way, or because of other reasons are forced to deal with this third world American infrastructure travesty.
When will enough finally be enough?
When will the sheep stuck in cars demand better?
When will America stop being Saudi Arabia's little bitch?
Sitting in gridlock is a waste of life. It pollutes our planet, it makes the American workforce significantly less productive than it could be, it causes human misery, it sponsors terrorists, and it's just plain dumb.
Change it.
Now.
Build trains and light rail everywhere. Add quality buses everywhere. Add HOV lanes everywhere. Increase the gas tax and add congestion charges to incent people to leave their cars. And put broadband everywhere and encourage tele-commuting, so people don't have to drive to offices every day.
Wake the f*ck up America. Other countries are passing you by. Big time.
There is a better way.
Posts
69 comments:
That's a nice thought. Too bad instead of the stimulus bill going to infrastructure that could build out more mass transit to get more cars off the road, its a spending bill thats main purpose is democrat pork and Obama kickbacks to those that helped get him elected (5 billion for ACORN, etc....)
We have awesome gridlock at San Ysidro(Tijuana) border crossing. Plus insane lane jockeying, tense vibe, plenty of exhaust.
Planners: how about a BIG HILL next time?
Turn off engines, coast up to Customs, eliminate all the wasted gas and pollution, and make cutting in substantially more difficult.
Nah.
Is Rush Limbaugh telling people that ACORN is getting $5 billion.
If so, you're (again) being lied to.
That said, this stimulus bill sucks. When America needed infrastructure, it got candy instead.
I feel sorry for all you Americans stuck in traffic every day. It's your own fault.
Get Real.
Americans are too fucking stupid to read a train schedule. You would have to put a pair of huge tits or some hair on the instructions and have a kindergarten teacher on acid write the directions.
It wouldn't matter JSP and Jane Zin would probably stumble onto the tracks and be electrocuted or run over (IF we're lucky)interuppting service...
It's hopeless for anthing better than boogity boogity retarded Waltrip-style NASCAR, garbage bags full of cheesedoodles, serial Wal-Mart shopping-for-chinese leaded shit and a gallon of cola for the Bankrupt, corrupt imbecile fanny pack wearing denuded Americano and their retarded off spring.
All the Real Money in the World couldn't save America from itself.
Cartoon Nation of Nothing.
I, too just back from the Netherlands. A dream public transportation/train/bus system. A person of very average means and brains (myself) mastered the system in no time at all. Go anywhere you want for pennies, no questions asked, at any time, day or night, weekends included. Clean, safe, efficient. Unlike anywhere in America.
10 minutes back to California first ride in my car after sitting at the what seemed like the 100th untimed red stoplight, each spaced 300 yards apart or less with no rhyme or reason whatsoever, and I was feeling my colon tighten and the adrenaline pump.
Europe would NEVER permit the kind of cheap, ignorant, stupid unplanned streetscapes we have here in California. They would NEVER allow a few cars on a secondary road to stop 75 cars and have them wait minutes idling at an untimed light. Europe has engineers that can make under/over crossings, round a bouts, secondary lanes, timed street lights, etc, etc, etc, etc, and a population unwilling to settle for mediocrty and delay. Where do the American enginerrs study, a correspondence course from a school off a matchbook cover?
We DO have though, dumb crooked politicians and bankrupt states like the one I live in run by aging actors and pathetic losers that cannot under any circumstances even get a proper budget together and pay its bills and the embarassment of our failed and doomed infrastructure. Oh yes, we also have Hummers and 4 wheel drive SUV for city driving. And worry about who marries whom. I am embarassed to be an American.
I, for one hope and pray gasoline goes to $25/gal and the idiots are forced out of their vehicles. The sooner the better. Do not invest in roads and bridges perpetuating the same lame shitty transportation system that is unsustainable, invest in psychiatry to allow the public to understand how truly fucked they really are.
DIE AMERICA.
America, this country SUCKS.
I once lived near the trolly line in San Diego when I was in the military. The trolly even had a stop outside the base. I was thinking cool, I could ride the train and not drive.
Commute time in the car - 17 min + 10 min to the ship roughly one half hour total.
Commute time via the trolley after 17 stops and a train transfer plus the walk from the front gate to the ship.
A co-worker had a similar experience after his car was totaled. What took him an hour by car took him two and half by bus and trolley.
Trains have their place, so to buses and cars. No one solution fits all.
That said, this stimulus bill sucks. When America needed infrastructure, it got candy instead.
I feel sorry for all you Americans stuck in traffic every day. It's your own fault.
You can be slightly condascending sometimes, Keith. But that's OK. We all have our faults.
Listen, we all agree that providing infrastructure is a legitimate role of government. I don't believe that has ever been the issue.
The issue is the nature of the so called "stimulus" and the negative effects of such a massive amount of instantaneous spending on an already fragile economy and heavily indebted nation.
The government should have been spending more on infrastruture rather than all of the other useless and wasteful government programs like the overblown defense budgets, the wars, the overblown bureacracies etc etc..
The discussion at hand is the stimulus. Would a big stimulus spent directly on the building and repair of infrastructure be a good thing?
Well, yes, it could be, provided that the "stimulus" (this is a very misleading term because these "stimulus" programs are yet to be prove to stimulate the economy at all) can be paid for, that the country can afford it, that it will be spent wisely and that the improved infrastructure will have a real impact on economic productivity etc etc...
It's like comparing the Pinto to the Ferrari Enzo. Does owning an Enzo make a big difference to your productivity? You might get to work twice as fast but does it make you a more productive worker to justify the cost of the investment in said Enzo?
This is a pretty basic question of Return On Investment, Keith. I know that windbags and government officials don't like to talk about stuff like that. They prefer to just "wing it" when it comes to trillions of other people's money.
-Gonzo
The Netherlands has a dream transportation system, as well as a dream bike lane system, and also great airports.
Overall best in the world I've seen.
And for those that accept bad trollys and trains and buses in America as an excuse to not move forward with public transport, you're making my argument for me.
If the infrastructure sucks, people won't use it.
If it rocks, like Netherlands, you wouldn't think about using anything else.
(ps I haven't owned a car for 3 years, don't need one, and don't miss it)
I hope Keith reads this:
Jobs Government Creates, and Destroys
Of course, it may be way below Keith's gargantuan intellect. If only simple peons like me could understand that what we really need is another moonshot for a prosperous economy.
-Gonzo
Below is my second home overseas, a paradise island. Oh, have I told you that 90% of Victoria's Secret models live there too? Here's some music which they play live at the bars, while you watch the slide show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zVNDBlWCD4
Slideshow:
http://tinyurl.com/47mukm
And here's another place near, where I hang out a lot:
http://tinyurl.com/b9qnwf
* It's horrible there, you wouldn't like it. It's third world country.
Is Rush Limbaugh telling people that ACORN is getting $5 billion.
It was in the original Housing bill. It was $4 billion for Acorn and other similar outfits. Have you read the bill?
This is what happens when nations take Keith's advice:
Japan’s Big-Works Stimulus Is Lesson
Bwahahahahahahaha!!!
-Gonzo
In my opinion, the best European subway system is in Paris. A little old, but you can get it anywhere! And those music performers, who jump in once in a while, really make the trip more enjoyable. I also like their bus stops, which have a digital display showing the bus ETA by the minute.
10 minutes back to California first ride in my car after sitting at the what seemed like the 100th untimed red stoplight
It sounds like either Venice, Washington, or Pico Blvd.
Dude, get the f out of California because those liberals will dry you clean with higher taxes to support illegals, junkies, and gang-bangers. Unless your earnings are over $200k, you're just a serf for Hollywood celebs or a provider for illegals and politicians.
I left CA in the early 90's after I got tired of being ripped-off, and every time I go back to visit relatives it's worse. I went to visit a relative after 5 years and I felt like I was in Tijuana. Even all the markets around were Latin. Amazing! My relatives are all living too; most already did.
What's remarkable is how much money you save once you live in another reasonable state. Sure we miss the weather, but it's about it.
.
HEY BUKKO, COULD YOU PLEASE TELL THE AUSSIES TO RUN WHEN THEY SEE FIRE COMING? THANKS.
.
Ditto for the rave reviews on the tram and train systems from Down Under in Melbourne. (Except in hot weather, when the wooden railroad ties expand in the heat and make the rails go all wavery. But the street trams still run.) Not only does this make life possible for the people who choose not to use a car, but when we have to driveour Prius through the heart of downtown, the public transit system has taken enough of the car traffic off the roads that it's a breeze. And this is a city with 3 million people in the urban area.
Can Americans do it? In addition to the stupidity mentioned by one anonymous here, I think it would be hard to make it work because Americans don't like to be around other Americans. Plus, sad to say it, public transport is a magnet for mentally ill people. I see them on the trams here, I've seen them in European cities, but there is a higher percentage of untreated crazy people in the U.S., so they're going to foul up the public transport unless there's a major police presence to chase them off. Then there's the inherent dishonesty of Americans. Will they cheat the system out of too much money?
The U.S. needs to become a more honest, saner place to make public transport work. That's the real Soot & Ashes solution -- if America becomes saner and more honest...
Thank you some anon for admitting what Rush and Fox won't.
Acorn isn't getting $5 billion.
But it's a nice bogeyman.
BOO!
Acorn!
Osama bin Laden!
anonymous 6:17:
LOL....if you want to see crumbling infrastructure, unplanned cities, untimed traffic lights come to Germany or any other country in Europe.
While most US cities are master planned using blocks most european cities are put togehter totally random. and public transportation:
maybe it is cheap in amsterdam, here in hannover a single one way ticket cotst you 2,10€, about the same amount if would cost you to go by car and pay for parking. plus you have to sit next to bums end enjoy the stench of week old puke.
trains and trams only work in big cities. in smaller cities below 500.000 you need to have a car.
We should be investing into fast trains instead of highways and air ports. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hLmWgYbAUI
You've never seen a train like this one and probably never will in the US..
Kunstler's been saying this for over 15 years, before peak oil was cool:
http://tinyurl.com/dgaynl
Is it a uniquely american phenomenon to yell from vehicles at pedestrians walking on the roadside where there are no sidewalks?
The yelling motorists seem to all fit the Andrew Hac demographic, wal-mart, nascar, cheez-doodle, bucket-of-soda, F250, belch, fart, and scratch types.
Perhaps yelling at 55mph brings them one step closer to self-actualization in a hierarchy of needs much lower than that of the fully evolved.
I love America, but I don't like its car dependency.
Here in Japan, even in some country areas, you still see people just hanging out on the street, walking and chatting.
I was shocked that even at the outer skirt of Boston, there are almost no people walking on the street.
What are they doing for excitement?
If only simple peons like me could understand that what we really need is another moonshot for a prosperous economy.
-----------
The mooshot isn't the project itself that will bring prosperity.
What it will do is bring back pride, stimulate research and these will help the economy....
Why stop with putting a bad actor as Governor Why not put in an actual cartoon character . You Californian liberal retards pride yourselves on have having open minds . well Looks like your minds are so open you just fell in . Good luck and don't bring your broke ass around here
Great ideas Keith! Right on target. Instead of wanting so bad to have a bipatisan rescue package, so as to avoid blame down the road, when everything collapses, Obama must take much bolder measures, even if those measures do inflict some pain on Americans.
Obama needs people bold enough around him to take drastic measures--not sheepish, shy ones in order to please the GOP. F?*ck the Repubs! They will never be content, until they see Obama fail, America fail, and the entire world on its knees!
Obama needs people who have a vision-- people with ideas like yours. They do exist and are ready to serve. Obama must play his hand all the way. No half-measures. If he succeeds, no one will dare challenge him. If he fails, then he’d be happy that he has given it its best shot, and that his aim was to break away from past practices and bring about the real change he had promised. Nobody will blame Obama for trying, but Americans will blame him for letting business go as usual in Washington.
Folks, pick up your phone and call the White House. No more half-baked measures!
>ignorance of science will cause America to fall behind.
Yeah, like believing the windmills and solar panels are going to power that train. Now that is dangerous ignorance.
Thank you for the pretence of concern about the fires Down Under, compulsive-commenting anonymous. I realise that you think you're being funny, and that you don't care shite about real people who met horrible deaths by fire. But since you brought it up...
At work tonight, because I'm somewhat proficient with computers, one of the other nurses asked me to configure one of them to pick up a regional radio station that was broadcasting the progress of the fires. She lives out that way, and her husband is a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority, so it's very real to her. She was listening on the scanner to the broadcasts of one fire truck that was trapped in the flames. (The fierys survived by getting in a ditch and wrapping in their heat shields as the flame front passed, although their truck was lost.)
I drove through the town of Kinglake last month on a trip back from the King Valley wine region. It's a little town, not much more than one petrol station and some houses, in the decline between two ridges that are covered with eucalyptus trees. The only way to get in and out is a winding road over the hills, one lane in each direction.
We had what I call a "heat storm" Saturday. It had been forecast most of last week. A front was bringing down super-heated air out of the interior desert. When the wind blows straight from the north here, it's like standing in front of an open pizza oven door. It went from 22 degrees in the wee hours to 46.4 by 6 p.m. where I live on the coast (and then down to 21.6 in another six hours.) Because you're American, you don't understand the metric system, so I'll make it simple for you -- it was 117 degrees Fahrenheit at the peak, and the temperature went up by 45 degrees F, and then down by that much, in one day.
There were 100 kph winds, and heat lightning from the clash of fronts, and forests full of eucalyptus trees that literally explode from all the oil inside them. Fires jump from ridge to ridge, faster than people can move. There was one case where six people in the same car died when they couldn't get away from the flames they were trying to outrun. Towns like Marysville were cut off and everything burned. It wasn't as bad as the Peshtigo fire (which you probably don't know about, even though it's a horrid tragedy in American history) but it was devastating. They're still finding bodies.
Australian bush ockers are tough. They prepare for fire, and they often stay back to fight it. They've got cows and sheep and buildings to protect. Unlike me, a city person, they can't rely on big fire brigades to save them. So far, more than 80 people didn't get saved. That would be bad enough in a state the size of California, but Victoria has less than 1/8 California's population. It's the worst fire disaster ever.
That won't matter to you. Chuckle at your splendid joke, anonymous who is too timid to make up a name. It's a shame you're not a human being. I'm mainly writing this for the benefit of other people who read Keith's comments, so they can get a sense of the horror that's happening on the other side of the planet. But hey, sick joke anonymous, the next time you're spraying lighter fluid on a kitten and setting it on fire, give a thought to the victims in Victoria, too.
Hey Keith,
The Netherlands is also the size of the county I live in....get real we have far too much open space to plan that kind of transportation. When people live in the massive sprawl like LA, it is very hard to justify some of the costs. BUt, I would also say we shouldn't give up on the subject but a commparison to a small country in Europe is unfair. Do any large insudtrial nations have good mass transist?
Keith,
Tram looks great, but whats it cost to live in Strasbourg, or a similar area?
I know in this country, as soon as a town or city tries to do something progressive, it is usually a good sign that normal people can't afford to live there (Seattle, anyone?) I guess its no surprise that those are the places that forward thinking would flourish, its just a shame that cost of living issues mean you have to choose between a rat hole in a progressive area or a nice house in NASCAR country.
We have awesome gridlock at San Ysidro(Tijuana) border crossing. Plus insane lane jockeying, tense vibe, plenty of exhaust.
It ain't awesome enough, some still get through.
That said, this stimulus bill sucks. When America needed infrastructure, it got candy instead.
The stimulus bill is a fucking joke. I have news for you Keith. This is Obammas abortion. The American people are enraged. They now onderstand what Obamma truely is. By the way what good is lght rail and the magic flashlight battery when people are starving to death. Thisis twighlight zone shit.
Look at light rail in Minnesota you libritards. A never ending black hole that sucks larger and larger mountains of tax dollers shrinking funds for road improvement. The studies point out you could take a privite jet for the same amount of cash it costs the taxpayer for a train ticket. As far as the Eurotards go, they will be eating each other in less than one year do to their vaunted socialist economies.
I come from SOCIALISTIC Europe. YES public transportation is good and sometimes fantastic BUT in cities only.
They also have HUGE traffic jams.
Why, because people HATE to be canned up in a public transporter AND have to wait in the COLD or RAIN and the Blazing sun.
IT sometimes takes lots of time to travel with the public transported.
People anywhere like there own BIG cars, NOT the little shit BOXES one is FORCED to drive in Europe because of TAXATION!!
Conclusion, Use alternative CHEAP fuels to RUN BIG COMFORTABLE FUEL EFFICIENT CARS and build BIG BIG ROADS.
And above ALL, America please do not accept Obama;s left wing USA STYLE SOCIALISM.
It will cost working and entrepreneurial people now and in the FUTURE BIG $$$$.
Thank you for the pretence of concern about the fires Down Under, compulsive-commenting anonymous. I realise that you think you're being funny, and that you don't care shite about real people who met horrible deaths by fire. But since you brought it up...
Hey Bukko I am the never ending poster, not him and him and him and him and him and him and him and on and on.
Signed
The anti Bukko/wanker
CAPTAIN CONSERVATIVE>>>---
I love fox news you wanker
Do any large insudtrial nations have good mass transist?
-------------
Too funny.
I guess you Americans can keep on navel-gazing and settling for crap because, nope, there are no other developed countries over 300M so no comparisons!
Instead of looking at your country as a whole why don't you look at areas (i.e LA)and compare them to other cities with the same area and density in Europe. There are alot of good examples of efficiency.
And anyway, what is it about human beings that instead of just looking at their needs and creating something of quality, they have this need to compare and then feel comfortable settling for crap because nobody else has anything better.
"All the Real Money in the World couldn't save America from itself."
A-men! Whatever Euro-style ingenuity and efficiency America once had has been bred out, bled out, and cheezdoodled/Whopper-ed out. We are now couch potato zombies who can only figure out mass transportation if we are so poor and desperate that we must learn to read a schedule or starve. So the only people actually making use of what mass tran we do have are those who can't afford cars. Americans see mass tran as the refuge of the ugly smelly masses. We will cling to our gas-guzzlers, thank you very much.
Your heart is in the right place but your brain is not keeping up.
Light rail is one of the least efficient and most costly ways to transport human beings. It is terribly inflexible.
A Toyota Prius with 4 people in it on a highway is the most efficient, least costly, stuningly flexible mass transportation system in existence today.
The only thing that might be better would be an electric vehicle charged off a cleaner and more sustainable grid.
Go anywhere you want for pennies, no questions asked, at any time, day or night, weekends included
------------------------
if it only costs pennies then there must be sizable tax payer support.
why bother charging a fare at all if it is only for a few pennies.
A co-worker had a similar experience after his car was totaled. What took him an hour by car took him two and half by bus and trolley.
--------------------------------
same problem here in portland oregon. for any realistic commute, the light rail takes twice as long, minimum.
that said, I used to live in the bay area and used caltrain to go south to sunnyvale. the train commute was half the time, minimum, compared to driving.
the mentality of most public transportation here in the states is to provide service for those without cars.
Thank you some anon for admitting what Rush and Fox won't.
Acorn isn't getting $5 billion.
But it's a nice bogeyman.
BOO!
Acorn!
Osama bin Laden!
-------------------------
BOO!
if we don't pass this our economy will never recover.
Boo!
The light rail system just started running in Phoenix about a month ago. So far the reviews are mixed, but I think everyone agrees that it's "cool."
The problem is that our city was not built with any kind of a rail system in mind, so the installation of one is very costly and causes a massive disruption to the streets that it's being built on for years.
There are already rate hikes going on because it's proving too costly to operate. There also isn't a way to ensure that everyone who rides it actually paid.
We'll see how this changes Phoenix, especially the parts along the line. I would be thrilled to see new districts pop up that are fueled by the rail.
I'm absolutely opposed to many of the transit and transportation initiatives being shoved down our throats by the Greens. Take bike lanes for instance: they are an absolute menace. They take up way too much road space and are a major cause of congestion because they force cars into smaller and smaller lanes, bunching them up and creating longer lines which inevitably back up into intersections.
Congestions pricing is another terrible idea. It is Big Brother at its worst since it requires that cars be electronically tracked by govt. so fees can be deducted by the transponder or license plates photographed by cameras. In the name of being Green, the Socialists pushing Congestion Pricing are creating a surveillance society. Just look at the Brits and see what they have done to themselves with their cameras and Congestion Pricing in Lonon. That country is lost; it has fallen so deeply into a police state I'm afraid it will never recover. And the Socialists running that country are exporting their police state transportation ideas and technology to the U.S. now.
Sorry Keith; It's just opposite. We need to stop the bike lanes and prevent Congestion Pricing from taking hold here. The Department of Transportation was once a sleepy old part of government; now it has become the most dangerous one since it has the authority to implement tracking and surveillance technologies into our roads and cars.
I now take the bus. No car anymore. Taking the bus requires a bit of planning. You cannot just get up and go. That said, you can just walk whereever you want and have access to busses. You are out in the fresh air. You have no worries about parking or gas. I read the entire time I travel. It is very stress free. Trains would be more comfortable, since the streets are torn up.
Some pedantic asshole who calls himself Bukko said: "So I'll make it simple for you -- it was 117 degrees Fahrenheit at the peak, and the temperature went up by 45 degrees F, and then down by that much, in one day.
There were 100 kph winds, and heat lightning from the clash of fronts"
Oooh, how terrible. FYI that is a typical summer afternoon storm in North Dakota. You Aussies should just get it over with and rename yourselves Pussies. In twenty years your kids will be pulling rickshaws for their Chinese masters.
danm said...
The mooshot isn't the project itself that will bring prosperity.
What it will do is bring back pride, stimulate research and these will help the economy....
My son had a teacher in fifth grade that taught the kids that they have intrinsic value and this value had nothing to do with their accomplishments. You breathe, you are valuable. You are born with good self esteem.
I told my son that this was not true. That if he wanted to have great self esteem he needed to work at it. Create something. Paint a picture, build a tree house, learn to fish, play soccer.
Pride is earned. At this point, I see nothing about any of this money toss that has anything to do with building pride.
"A Toyota Prius with 4 people in it on a highway is the most efficient, least costly, stuningly flexible mass transportation system in existence today."
No hybrids suck. The battery life is somewhat limited and makes for extremely costly replacements. A $4000 repair on a 6-9 year old car. Turbo Diesel engines are much more efficient and have a much longer life expectancy than hybrids.
The most efficent mast transportation are bikes.
Cycling requires about 120 kJ (you need food, which takes energy to grow) per km which equates to approximately 0.4 L/100 km (650 MPG).
Build more bike lanes, put the American lard ass on a bike and you also reduce cancer, diabetis and heart disease. It also improves the flow of oxygen to the brain. But I guess only socialist Europeans are capable of riding a bike. Pathetic fat ass Americans probably keel over and die if they've to excercise. I ride my bike to work almost everyday, 6 miles one way.
Los Angeles is about the size and population of the Netherlands, yet it is politically fragmented, in an oil producing region and in an oil state. Los Angeles is a net exporter of tax dollars and capital. It is a well that sustains many, but not its own people.
In Japan, they have separate train cars for the women, so they don't get groped by the men. (Boy those Japs, such playas!)
In America, we will need separate cars for the undesirables. Perhaps a ruckus-car on BART, so the transit cops will know they don't need to respond and possibly shoot somebody. Will Messiah make that happen, Keith?
The bike lanes in the Netherlands are actual traffic lanes, often divided from the car lanes by physical barriers and curbs. They even have their own traffic lights.
Traffic keeps moving because they use carrefours (roundabouts) almost everywhere).
Bicycling has been a way of life there for many years. Bicyclists often have more rights of way than cars - they are respected as the traffic that they are. Sometimes the bike roads go through beautiful fields and farms where cars can't go. And along the canals on the old tow roads. I have seen them build a new bridge over a major river and keep the old one just for bikes. You can get anywhere on a bike, and they do. Everyone you see looks slim and healthy. It's not unusual to see couples in their 70's riding together.
In the US, a lot of times there is just a painted line to divdide you from traffic and you are just a nuisance to the cars. It's way more dangerous. We would have to change a lot to make it safe and popular. I would love to see that happen, though.
The Netherlands is one of the most populated countries in the world and is also said to be the best run country in the world. Things are well- designed for the peoples' benefit. They zone their towns very intelligently, and keep traffic and big trucks out of town centers.
But another big thing that makes a good quality of life there possible, is that you are quite safe there. It's very civilized. In general, the people are industrious, educated and respectful of each other. There is strict regulation of gun use. You are not going to run into armed 20 year-old gangbangers out on those country paths.
At least that is my impression. The US is quite a ways from that.
Obama needs to shit or get off the pot. He was elected to bring change. The tired old Libertarian- Conservative way of doing things has
failed. It is very hard for foreigners to imagine how radical a departure it is for the USA to have elected a black man president. If the majority wanted more of the same failed conservative policies that got us to this point, they would have elected a Republican.
To the guy who wondered if there were any large, spread out industrial nations with a good public transport system - you should look at India. Their rail system is superb and if you don't mind the lowest class then you can go round for way less than the price of a tank of gas. It's also very fun, you can usually buy anything on a train there (pirate DVD's, clothes, toys, you name it), the food also puts dingey microwave burgers and sandwiches to shame.
The other part of the system which is fantastic is that the price you pay is always based on the exact distance you travel multiplied by the class you take - there is no price gouging for certain lines or times. It's very egalitarian.
The bus system between cities is also very cheap. Don't take it if you value your life though! I've seen and done a lot of stuff in my time but have never been so scared as on the drive from Siliguri to Kolkata.
I moved so that I can walk to work in 5 minutes and two shopping centers in 10 minutes. My colleague lives 35 miles from work and has to leave at 6am to avoid traffic, if not she faces a 1.5 hour commute. She always looks tired and constantly complains.
>If the infrastructure sucks, people won't use it.
Regarding the buses, it's that they stop way too often (Long Beach CA). And yes getting to work takes 20 minutes by car and 90 minutes by bus.
Stops at nearly every corner. It's the procedures not the damn bus that's the problem.
Cost of fix, a little common sense. Never going to see that tough, when guberment is running the show.
I just got back from a trip to Houston, that’s in Texas, ya’ll, there are places on I-10 that are 11 lanes going one way and the same going the other, including hov lanes. That’s a lot of freakin’ concrete folks. Now you could probably put some of those fancy trams in there somewhere too.
Problem is, it ain’t gonna drop you-you off at the office and when it’s 100deg. F. and 90% humidity, people aren’t going to get off the tram and walk a half mile on the final leg to work. Now if, about 50 years ago they had planned the city around such futuristic trams, maybe it could’ve worked, but Houston is very big and spread-out now. All the tree worship on earth can’t change that.
Something else I noted about the highway system there and that is it’s very stressful, whether you’re sitting in gridlock or everyone’s doing the NASCAR boogie, it really does affect people and the people of Houston pretty much look pissed and worn-down to me, not to mention generally unhealthy.
I haven’t been to LA in a few years, but was hellish then and my last trip thru Chicago was really bad. It’s no-wonder that Xanax and Prozac are flying off the shelves in this great suicidal fantasy land called the USA.
"A Toyota Prius with 4 people in it on a highway is the most efficient, least costly, stuningly flexible mass transportation system in existence today."
--- No hybrids suck. The battery life is somewhat limited and makes for extremely costly replacements. ---
I concur with hybrids being meaningless money sinks.
Toyota Corolla... 1995 cost: $13K, 2005 cost: $14-15K, annual maintenance costs: ~$200, at 29-31 mpg highway is the best deal. Each of these vehicles can last 15 years without major mechanical problems. Park at a nearby commuter rail stop and take the Metro downtown.
All and all, this is the solution, even with depressed wages.
Yawn...
I take this tram (called metromover) below everyday, which is cheap, quiet, offers a smooth ride and nice view. It feels like you're flying, there's no conductor, totally automatized. I take it to work, museums, to the Arena for games and concerts, nightclubs, restaurants, to the Performing Arts Center to see a play or orchestra, university, shopping. The metromover even has stops under condos. BTW, you can see the zillion condos under construction (most done by now) on this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB5HwpRn8SA
And yes, this is in the US.
Bukko is such a whiner, have you noticed?
Uh-oh, I love my Mercedes E350 with leather all over, navigation system, voice control, A/C, premium stereo, hands-free phone, bluetooth, etc.
You serfs can keep on commuting next to urine-stench junkies, under snow or heat or rain, while reading your BO-Mao red books.
Good luck dating REALLY hot girls, by picking them up by bus/tram, for a fancy dinner or bar. I can see them wearing Prada, with Bvlgari jewelry, walking miles on stilettos, just to be in a snow blizard or rain storm, seating next to stinking ghetto all the way.
Sure, the not-so-hot hippies from San Fran, with hairy armpits and GAP t-shirt, might go out with you under those conditions.
sorry guys, I'm not a constant tourist neither a 20-year old pothead. Some of us have to grow up and enjoy a better lifestyle.
"Some of us have to grow up and enjoy a better lifestyle."
Oh, thank you, thank you, materialistic anon, for being the perfect example of what disgusts most people on this blog.
Enjoy that precious Mercedes and the Prada wearing gold-diggers it attracts.
If you only knew.
If you only knew.
The solution to "gridlock" isn't a ridiculous 19th century European-style transit system that costs a bunch of money and doesn't work (like London's), or a silly 20th century solution like more roads.
It's embracing the 21st century.
Think CISCO Telepresence, telecommuting, e-mail, and intelligently designed workplaces.
The 9 to 5 workplace with the "rush hour" is a factory-era "foreman watching you to make sure you do shit" paradigm.
Abandon it.
Create tax incentives for employers to have people work more often from their home offices.
Help facilitate flexible meeting facilities at corporate HQ for those times when collaboration needs to happen.
Free up the wasted office space that sits empty for 14 hours a day and turn it into parks, or housing, or what have you.
Embrace the future. That's REAL "change," kids.
"Good luck dating REALLY hot girls, by picking them up by bus/tram, for a fancy dinner or bar. I can see them wearing Prada,..."
There are a couple of words that I hate in reference to human beings. One is "hot". Another is "harvest" in reference to their organs.
Prada?
Soul-less.
If you only knew.
"Anonymous said...
Why stop with putting a bad actor as Governor Why not put in an actual cartoon character . You Californian liberal retards pride yourselves on have having open minds . well Looks like your minds are so open you just fell in . Good luck and don't bring your broke ass around here
February 8, 2009 1:20 PM"
Good Idea, BUT, We actually DO have Real cartoon characters here in Cal. They are Sleepy Babs Boxer, Dopey Dianne Feinstein and Bela Lugosi Pelosi, not to mention Action Hero Arrrnuuuld, who is currently busy presideing over a Bankrupt, Budgetless State.
Nice Crew, eh? Envious yet?
Keith, you rented a car some time ago. You do need one every so often.
Bukko, thank you for that astounding account of what actually has happened there. I have never heard of anything like what you have described.
We have not seen that on our news except for brief clips. Of course that is typical of the "news" these days.
My God. I am horrified.
God bless you all.
If what's happening in Australia doesn't make you consider climate change and what is to come, then you're not thinking
Amazing
Oh, yes, on the car thing - I agree, sometimes you HAVE to have one - when you want to go places that have no public transport
So if you stick to the cities over here in europe, no need. But if you want to get to the country, gotta have a car. And the best thing obviously is to rent one, then bring it back. Soooooo much cheaper that way than "owning" a car (and paying for the insurance, upkeep, depreciation, etc)
Even in America this can be done.
Give it some thought
If what's happening in Australia doesn't make you consider climate change and what is to come, then you're not thinking
Global warming is a Ponzi scheme to transfer funds from taxpayers into the global elite. If you like to give more money to outfits like Goldman Sachs, BofA, Citigroup, by all means go ahead. Suckers!
"Even in America this can be done.
Give it some thought"
Sorry Keith, but your Eurotrash lifestyle isn't sticking with some of us, especially people like me who actually lived in Europe for awhile. Who wants to be paying rip-off rent in Pounds or Euros, for a POS flat from the 1,500s, of 200 sq ft, that feels like an ice cube most of the year and a sauna during the summer? Nevermind the crappy bathrooms in those places. Oh, and eating overpriced crappy food, while riding public transportation like sardines, next to drunks and stinking armpits. Why is that your "oh-so-desirable" lifestyle is beyond me.
I can understand the smart people who go to UK to study at Oxford or London School of Business, but blowing money in a POS minuscule rental is just stupid.
Meanwhile, there are thousands of mansions in the US for pennies on the dollar, as well as oceanfront condos, along with the government (taxpayers) subsidizing it. Homes with pool, A/C, master suites with jacuzzi, garage for a Harley and a car, brand new kitchens with Subzero appliances, etc.
I guess some people prefer to live in a POS 200 sq ft flat in Europe. Oh I get it, there's a bike lane in front of it, right? Oh, so that makes the POS flat cost 500k Euros.
Funny, there must be a dozen Europeans living in my oceanfront condo: Brits, Germans, French, Russians. We always hang out at the beach, in front of our building, sometimes kite-surfing together, and they told me how sick they're of POS overpriced minuscule flats in Europe, under $hitty weather, paying taxes to the teeth, while working in dead end jobs. The German guy has a Benz SLK, the French girl drives a Mini Cooper, the Czech girl and the Brit both have a BMW. They all own their units. Professions vary from university teachers to engineers.
We're planning to take the power boat out over the weekend, snorkel a bit, and then have lunch and drinks at some waterfront restaurants along the way. Oh yeah, they really miss that POS European lifestyle.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIQhSUpCyYY
Every week I see stories in the local paper of people run over while on foot or on bike. The drivers are usually let go -- most do not even get a traffic ticket. This is just another way in which the culture of cars is subsidized. At one time it would have seemed odd to think that a drunk could be charged with murder for such a crime. I recommend that the scales of justice account for the imbalance in a car vs. human conflict with strict laws that require automatic jail upon killing a pedestrian or cyclist.
OH PLEASE, Russia has worse traffice, so does Thailand, so Brazil, so does Mexico, so does London. This is not America being left behind. Its problem everywhere.
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