On 2/13/07, Toby Frith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
This line I thought was the most pertinent in the whole interview.
"We need our city and manufacturing leaders to travel overseas and to realize what
Mass Transit means to a city. We don`t have it and we have land locked communities, with
land locked thoughts and values. There is no interaction unless you have the luxury of a
car which a lot of people can`t afford. The situation is grey."
This is true of a LOT of places in the USA.
Were I live, in Chicago, it's much better compared to Detroit, and I
and many friends are able to live without cars by choice. However,
compared to any decent European transit system, even this "good"
transit system is horrible. We often get around this by taking taxis,
which people with less income cannot afford (of course, in Detroit
even taxis are almost impossible to get).
The problems with the transit here are numerous: Many locations in the
city inaccessible, or barely accessible. Ridiculously long waits in
locations exposed to the weather (not good in winter weather). Lack of
repair, and when repair/upgrading does get done, it paralyzes the
transit system at certain points. Inability to handle the number of
commuters who ride at peak points. Buses that come extremely late or
not at all. Rising transit costs, coupled with decreasing service...
In my opinion, the lack of good public transit in the US is really
related to something fundamentally wrong with the American value
system and its promotion of individualism at all costs.
