Manheim's Used Vehicle Value Index that tracks used vehicle prices sold at U.S. wholesale auctions increased 4.9% last month to its highest level since 2023.
In America, cars are the only effective method of transportation for 98% of the population. Is that ideal? No. Is that reality? Yes.
I’m all for advocating for mass transportation but right now, and for 50 years minimum (best case scenario, completely made up) cars will continue to be necessary for the majority of Americans.
Mass transit makes sense in cities, even between surrounding towns. But as soon as you get more rural public transit is so out of scope. It’s always easy to see the people who spent their whole life in urbanized areas by how unrealistic they talk about this subject.
Pick 5 random suburban Americans, not even urban, and have someone design a public transit system and schedule that won’t add 2 hours to their daily commute.
Like yeah, we absolutely need more mass transit, high speed rail, etc., but those are a few of MANY MANY steps to reduce the number of cars in America.
The thing is, how much do we collectively spend on cars, infrastructure, and roads only for most cars to sit doing nothing 90% of the time? I don’t have specific numbers but it seems to me like if all of that money was spent on public transit then it would still be cheaper to have a tram coming by every five to ten minutes even in suburban areas with low passenger volume.
I don’t think it’s ever going to happen though given the lack of public desire and vested interests at play though.
As the above comment mentioned, time is also a factor. My old beater that I bought for $800 that costs about $350 a year to keep on the road keeps my commute time a lot lower than it would be otherwise. I have a friend in a country with better public infrastructure than mine. His commute time by car is 3 times shorter than it is by bus, and he lives in a significantly denser area than I do.
If the same amount of money was poured into public transit we could probably get that travel time down.
Is commute time the only thing that matters and should it be given priority?
For example, if someone told you that taking their helicopter was a three times shorter commute than taking their car to work what would you think of that? I know you indicated that your car cost very little to buy and operate, but their are a number of costs with that car that are being externalized. The roads that it drives on, the pollution it produces, the space/parking it takes up when it’s not being driven, etc.
If public transit were almost as good (doesn’t have to beat it) as individuals driving, how much more space would we have for additional housing, public spaces, or other amenities?
If you take all of this those externalized factors into account and decide that commute time still trumps the other advantages then that’s where you are at and I understand. I don’t agree, but I do understand.
I personally LOVE driving, but hate commuting. Fun car on twisty back roads? Yes please. Sitting in traffic or even moving along at a decent pace on the highway but need to be hyper aware of everyone around me? Much less enjoyable. I personally would have no issue with a longer commute on public transit if I could read a book or play games while I did it.
In America, cars are the only effective method of transportation for 98% of the population. Is that ideal? No. Is that reality? Yes.
I’m all for advocating for mass transportation but right now, and for 50 years minimum (best case scenario, completely made up) cars will continue to be necessary for the majority of Americans.
Mass transit makes sense in cities, even between surrounding towns. But as soon as you get more rural public transit is so out of scope. It’s always easy to see the people who spent their whole life in urbanized areas by how unrealistic they talk about this subject.
Pick 5 random suburban Americans, not even urban, and have someone design a public transit system and schedule that won’t add 2 hours to their daily commute.
Like yeah, we absolutely need more mass transit, high speed rail, etc., but those are a few of MANY MANY steps to reduce the number of cars in America.
The thing is, how much do we collectively spend on cars, infrastructure, and roads only for most cars to sit doing nothing 90% of the time? I don’t have specific numbers but it seems to me like if all of that money was spent on public transit then it would still be cheaper to have a tram coming by every five to ten minutes even in suburban areas with low passenger volume.
I don’t think it’s ever going to happen though given the lack of public desire and vested interests at play though.
As the above comment mentioned, time is also a factor. My old beater that I bought for $800 that costs about $350 a year to keep on the road keeps my commute time a lot lower than it would be otherwise. I have a friend in a country with better public infrastructure than mine. His commute time by car is 3 times shorter than it is by bus, and he lives in a significantly denser area than I do.
Right, but two things to keep in mind.
If the same amount of money was poured into public transit we could probably get that travel time down.
Is commute time the only thing that matters and should it be given priority?
For example, if someone told you that taking their helicopter was a three times shorter commute than taking their car to work what would you think of that? I know you indicated that your car cost very little to buy and operate, but their are a number of costs with that car that are being externalized. The roads that it drives on, the pollution it produces, the space/parking it takes up when it’s not being driven, etc.
If public transit were almost as good (doesn’t have to beat it) as individuals driving, how much more space would we have for additional housing, public spaces, or other amenities?
If you take all of this those externalized factors into account and decide that commute time still trumps the other advantages then that’s where you are at and I understand. I don’t agree, but I do understand.
I personally LOVE driving, but hate commuting. Fun car on twisty back roads? Yes please. Sitting in traffic or even moving along at a decent pace on the highway but need to be hyper aware of everyone around me? Much less enjoyable. I personally would have no issue with a longer commute on public transit if I could read a book or play games while I did it.