I wonder if they’ll all end up in different places? 😉
Yeah, busses only pick people up at stops; they’re not allowed to get off until the end of the route…
PSA: There is no such thing as “car lanes.” I understand how easy it is to fall into the trap of calling them that, but we should really try to avoid it.
There are only “general purpose” lanes and lanes that exclude cars in favor of vehicles that don’t suck, such as bicycles or buses. Calling general-purpose lanes “car lanes” is car-supremacist loaded language because it implies that other types of vehicles using them are interlopers, rather than valid road users who are also being entitled to be there.
People refer to them as car lanes because they are designed and prioirtized for cars. Can a bicycle fit in the lane? Sure, but the lane was not designed for bicycle and in most places the lanes are not designed to share with a bicycle. Many people feel unsafe on a bike with 60+km/h traffic flying by them with barely enough room to pass.
They seem just as well-suited for busses like in the post.
When there’s no bike lane available I’ll bike in the middle of the next general lane, so they’ll need to use another general lane to pass. They won’t give us barely enough room, it’s safer to just take the whole lane.
You will be tailgated, honked at, rolled coal, maybe even hit by a mirror on an agressive pass by a truck if caught doing that in my area. I barely even feel safe walking on the sidewalk as most people don’t look for pedestrians at intersections or entrances. Yes the lanes are meant for everyone, but the nature of a car or truck means they can easily take more than their fair share of the lane if they want.
In my area they’ll do that anyways no matter what we do, they just hate cyclists for being in the way at all. So it’s safer to take the lane when they’re flying past you with barely any room to pass.
I’d rather take the safer option that makes them angry, than the polite unsafe option and then they’re still aggressive anyways.
Compared to a proper bike lane, that is not a safe option. What happens if a distracted driver rear ends you?
None of that makes them “car lanes.” They are intended for all road users and car drivers have no more right to them than anybody else.
(Source: my traffic engineering degree)
Require better utilization of the cars or you have to take the bus. Pretty simple.
Well, I need to stop by fedex, go the the grocery store, and pick up dry cleaning all before I get home. Then I need to make dinner. So, if the bus takes 1.5 hours and driving takes 15 minutes… the car wins.
We should really say fuck urban sprawl. I’d love to walk to work 🤷
Well those things are like in the same mall where the parking absolutely sucks, so bus was way easier.
Mall?
how is a grocery store in a mall?
That’s how it is in the Philippines.
Parking usually sucks, because it’s completely full.
I’ve even seen cars line up for a space to park at the mall.
The parking garages are usually big, but Manila is overcrowded by a significant amount.
Pretty normal in most European countries
For me it’s an 11 minute drive, 16 minute bike ride, or 58 minutes walk according to Google. Not sure about the bus since it doesn’t calculate time for multiple stops.
Perhaps, but bike and walking time don’t change based on traffic
ex Londoner here, I can plot that route in my head by walking around Clapham Common station where I used to live.
Lucky
In Munich and I’m the same, work to home is 20mins on PT, and everything I need is available at the home end of the journey. If I need to go to a bigger supermarket or something less regular I can take a different way home and stop in the middle. The problem isn’t PT, it’s urban sprawl and poor amenity planning.
My city started a program using taxes to pay for half the bus fares of citizens
So I looked things up.
Going to the nearest grocery store:
35 minutes walk 15 minutes bike ride 6 minutes car trip 90 minutes bus ride somehow
My city also seems to have a weird focus on lowering fares to increase ridership. Going from $2/ride to $1/ride isn’t going to convince anyone to turn their 30 minute drive into a 90 minute bus ride. Or deal with the uncertainty of whether the bus will be at the bus stop on time.
Right, cost isn’t the issue.
I wouldn’t mind getting a yearly subscription if I could use it anywhere, had more buses, and more routes.
Let me pay taxes goddamn it that’s exactly what they’re for.
Idk, I cost can be the issue. I live in a city with pretty decent public transit, and there’s a reliable transit line that will take me to a friend that I visit pretty regularly. It’s like 5-10 minutes to drive and maybe 20 to take public transit. More time, but if public transit was free I would definitely take it at least 80% of the time.
The problem is, if my boyfriend and I both go, it costs us ~$10 for the round trip. It’s hard to justify spending that when I already have a car, and the gas to get there is a negligible expense. I do okay money wise (hence why I have a car at all), but if you ride often enough that expense really adds up.
Yup. Takes forever. If busses didn’t exist in traffic, having their own dedicated lanes… well, then we would have a light rail.
Even if there’s only two or three things a month that transit is better for, you’re gonna get reductions in traffic. It doesn’t have to be a full car replacement to be worth bigtime investments.
And it’s the only thing that scale.
Seriously, tho!
Madison, WI just launched Bus Rapid Transit only on one route so far. But that route goes right past the stadium and arenas where the UW Badgers play their games, the city and university performing arts centers, the state Capitol, many popular music venues, and the State Street pedestrian mall. It has free park-and-ride lots at each end of the route. Lots of people say that they will ride in for events at these venues, so BRT hasn’t solved all our issues, but it’s lessening congestion and helping even drivers get around more quickly.
I can do all of those things with a 5 minutes walk in my European city. And I don’t even live in the city centre.
Mixed zoning and walkable cities are the solution.
That sounds like a dream. What country do you live in?
Italy. Then of course not everybody is as lucky as me (e.g. people living in the countryside, or working far away from home), but the majority of people can enjoy having all their basic services at a walking distance. Especially if they live in the city centre.
Not living in the city is my solution. It’s great.
Part of the solution. Public transit needs to be much faster, more reliable, and more efficient too. But it needs proper investment.
Current citty dweller here, having 200 people within 30m (in three dimensions) of my bed at night is unsustainable. Trust me theres a middleground somewhere
Walk > Cycle > Tram > Train > Car > Bus.
Buses always seem like the worst possible option from a personal standpoint.
I don’t feel like you can rank all of these on the same level, they aim to solve different problems in different contexts.
I’m not going to walk across the country, I’m going to take a train if possible, or a plane if the trains don’t exist or I’m on a really tight schedule. But I won’t take a train, a plane, or even a bus to go a couple blocks to the corner store, I’ll walk. If it’s storming, however, I might take the bus or a tram despite the short distance and the wait for it to show up.
If I’m going eight blocks to a doctor’s appointment and it’s nice out, I might bike, unless it’s raining literal cats and dogs, because then I’ll absolutely leave super extra early and walk so I can pet each and every one of them on the way (and still be late, because priorities).
If I’m going to visit a nearby city, I might take a train or a bus, but if I’m moving to a nearby city, I’m going to rent a moving truck and drive. It’s all contextual.
Walking is easier than driving for you?
I much prefer it. I don’t have to worry about parking or vehicle security. Fewer concerns about careless or asshole drivers.
And you get time to appreciate where you’re at, both physically and in life. Stop and smell the roses sometimes.
I do. I genuinely enjoy walking.
Why is that?
Waiting by the roadside tends to be an unpleasant experience. Then the bus ride itself isn’t usually pleasant. This is all from my recollection from many years ago.
insane that the bus gets its own lane \s
True! 10-12 more cars could have fit on that road if it wasn’t for that stupid bus.
But the poors have to get to their jobs serving me…
I got it! Let’s widen the road! Nobody uses the sidewalk anyway. /S
I talk as a person who rode the bicycle and walked more than driven a car that in a typical city centre designed for cars I prefer to live poluting with my car rather than die hit by one while riding the bicycle in a hurry to work.
Removed by mod
Your sentiment is fine. The reason you’re being downvoted isn’t because of your desire to drive a car for your own safety, it’s because it appears as if you feel that is the only solution.
This community is interesting because despite the name many users here understand a significant change does need to occur before vehicles can be drummed out at bigger percentages. Many also know that modern infrastructure and working expectations means that a car is the only way a lot of people can make ends meet.
In your case there may be an alternative route, a bus you can take, or even car pooling, amongst other options depending on the location. The answer isn’t continuing to pollute, that’s just the easy response. But you’re right, biking is dangerous and there are motorists out there who have an unhealthy emotional relationship with the road, and against bicyclists. So stay safe, alright?
Just maybe also look at alternatives whilst doing so.
Wow, I never expected that elaborated answer, thank you. To be honest I love the bicycle and can’t wait until the autumn rains stop and the good white finnish winter starts for some cool rides. It just requires more preparation and shower time each morning, but twice a week is great.
I have been so close to an accident several times that makes me think, what a sad way to end my life in a hurry to get my ass into work. I even love my job, but still it’s so absurd to precipitate an accident by hurrying to make it for 8 o’clock in the morning every damn day.
I’ve also used the bus a lot, but despite the last technology pros like vehicle gps tracking it takes three times longer to get to work than by car and is quite boring too.
To sum up I think the best solution would be to remove like 90% of the asfalt roads. If you want to drive, then get you some vehicle that can ride the mountains around the city.
I’m starting to develop a vigor for public transit to match the one forced on us for car infrastructure in the 60s. Bigger, taller, more, I want 3 bus lanes and a tram line to any town in the country. We can do no wrong taking back all the space we gave to the car, as long as the garbage truck fits on the street, car users can share 1 lane both directions. Take their parking, take their license for rolling stops and using their phone, gift them e-bikes.
Make transit free, let the highways rot, expand the railways. Sorry for that pothole, all the money was used up by rail.
Just anything better than we have now. If we have to act fast and break things, so be it.
, car users can share 1 lane both directions.
Oh God, I don’t trust them with that.
I visited India 30 years ago and (in the southern part of the country at least) the major highways between cities had a single paved lane in the middle and then just dirt and gravel on the steeply-sloped sides. So on bus trips the drivers would stick to the middle until the last possible second and then veer off so that just the right wheels were on the pavement as they passed each other while tipping crazily to each side. I made the huge mistake on my first trip of sitting in the front seat; I later corrected my mistake by always taking the fucking train, which didn’t have this problem.
Sure, but I’m not going to get on any conveyance with a bunch of strangers if I can avoid it.
Normally I would wholeheartedly agree but today I’m only at 95% agreement because the bus was a complete fucking no-show and I had to run down 2 blocks to get back to my buildings’ lot to jump in my car and drive to work to get there on time. A big part of the reason I’m mad though is that I hate driving so that’s still a point in favor of the bus.
lmao, I know that feeling. When I was younger, whole of body, and lived in a shittier area, there were multiple times that no amount of sprinting, shouting, and waving my arms after the bus which REFUSED to make its scheduled stop at the location I was very clearly standing at could penetrate the inscrutable thought processes of the fucking bus driver.
Depends if it’s full or not. I live in a city with decent public bus transport. Outside of rush hour those buses are just mostly empty and sometimes we have a grid lock of empty buses.
Yes this this is clearly a picture of an empty bus at 2AM when nobody is trying to get anywhere.
In my experience (lived in four countries, ~30 cities / towns), public transport just feels unsafe. It’s always a choice between crazies shouting, groups of teenagers playfighting and blasting their mobile phones on full volume or just the good old rapey stare from strangers. I’d rather not be exposed to all the worst elements of society at close quarters in a metal tube I can’t escape from.
Hi, which countries did you live in? I’ve also lived in several countries throughout my life and only experienced what you’re describing in the US (at least in the city I live in, maybe it’s a bias)
Public transport in London was probably the worst. Case in point: https://red.artemislena.eu/r/london/comments/1fprfcy/i_cant_even_take_the_bus_in_peace_due_to_sexual/
The argument that more people taking public transport would somehow fix this makes no sense in a place like London. It’s a gigantic city with public transport permanently bursting at the seams.
A bus through a dodgy area at midnight won’t feel safe unless it’s policed somehow. I don’t know where the resources for that could possibly come from.
Isn’t that a bit self-fulfilling, though? If more people rode the bus, then it wouldn’t be all creeps and teens.
For my part, having lived in Philly where the people on the busses are actually quite pleasant, it was still too inefficient to make it work. A ten minute drive would be over an hour on the bus, and god help you if the bus was running late (I’m kidding, the bus was always running late). That’s a problem that gets worse when there are more riders. As soon as it got too cold to ride a bike, busses would be completely full and unable to take more riders, which meant you’d have to wait for the next one.
Employers aren’t very understanding about being late. Even if you had a direct route from your house to your job, you’d still need to account for extra time for delays. Taking the bus means you pack on two extra hours onto your commute every day, which even at minimum wage is $3,770 worth of time every year. At a living wage, it’s over $10,000 per year. Even with upkeep and insurance, anybody getting paid enough to live practically needs a car. And that’s if you live and work in the city, which is the ideal situation for public transit. Move to the burbs, and that bus ain’t going where you are.
It seems like it would be a self fulfilling prophecy, you are right.
At the same time, having lived in London for 10 years… This is from today: https://red.artemislena.eu/r/london/comments/1fprfcy/i_cant_even_take_the_bus_in_peace_due_to_sexual/
The argument that more people taking public transport would somehow fix this makes no sense in a place like London. It’s a gigantic city with public transport permanently bursting at the seams.
A bus through a dodgy area at midnight won’t feel safe unless it’s policed somehow. I don’t know where the resources for that could possibly come from.
But how else will the oil companies increase profits for their shareholders?
by increasing prices while suppressing wages like everyone else?
True but people have less of a problem when I masturbate in my car.
Honestly? I judge you every time man, but I can’t tear my eyes away
Majestic, isn’t it? I don’t send dick pics because they just can’t capture its grandeur.
Yeah. You meed a better setup for that. Just a basic 10x+oculus doesn’t cut it. Your microscope needs some immersion fluid for the 400x.
people should be reminded that posts like these aren’t really critical of people for not taking the bus. they’re critical of systems and planning that don’t make you want to take the bus.
if the bus is always packed people will not want to ride it. that’s not on you.
if the bus is unreliable, that’s not on you.
if there’s no bus or public transit that goes where you want to go out somewhere of a reasonable walking distance, that’s not on you.
if where you’re going is not walkable in the first place, then taking the bus is pointless since once you arrive you’d need a car anyway.
demanding change however is on you.
it’s not like cars are awesome by the way. they’re inefficient, pricy, troublesome, there’s traffic, parking… it’s stressful and it’s deadly to boot. if people are not taking the bus, the city has work to do.
I think (most) cars are awesome but want better public transit because there’s way too many people who are terrible drivers.
If driving required licensing like an airplane pilot I’d still get one. And probably enjoy driving more because I could expect people to know how to zipper merge.
I just want people to learn how the fucking stop signs work.
I’m critical of all the people driving over sized SUV by themselves in NYC when I’m trying to get a loaded box truck though a gridlocked intersection. Even if the city instruction doesn’t have mass transit, you do not need Escalade over a commuter car.
yeah just because you’re not riding a bus doesn’t mean you should get around with a Gigantus Pollutinator 9000 or a private jet, obviously.
Valid complaint, but not really the focus of this post imo
Blame marketing (propaganda.) Our government has given control of our information networks to corporations and corporations use those channels to blast us with consumerist propaganda 24/7. People are taught that the type of car they drive defines who they are as a person so they do what they were taught and they buy a giant tank of a vehicle so that people will see them as dependable, manly, successful, outdoorsy, etc.
An SUV in NYC is especially egregious. They could have taken the train from Yonkers, and used the bus/subway. You guys are the one city in the US that actually has decent mass transit.
If you actually live in the city, and own an SUV you are an idiot spending way too much on parking.
You guys are the one city in the US that actually has decent mass transit.
The DC metro is a lot nicer than the NYC subway.
Sometimes being in my little car driving in NYC is more relaxing or faster. Most of the time taking public transportation takes the same amount of time as driving, so I’ll pick driving so I don’t have to be cold or hot while waiting or to deal with other people. The argument for making more public transportation faster, more frequent is a good one and would make more people use it.
people have designed the systems you are crying about and people use the systems you are crying about. People make the systems and engage them, you cant keep crying about systems or nothing will change
Semi solve by carrying passengers. Become the bus you wanna see.
piggy back rides for $1.99!
Pfft. But for real. I’m getting this feeling this is not normal in USA. Meanwhile where I live people routi ely pick each other up on the way ti save o fuel and/or time.
