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[meme] Trains -- not driverless cars -- are the future of transportation (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
406 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Image transcript:

Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes) sitting at a lemonade stand, smiling, with a sign that reads, "Trains and micromobility are inevitably the future of urban transportation, whether society wants it or not. CHANGE MY MIND."

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[–] 4 points 3 years ago (5 children)

Trains are great but people want their own personal bubble and don't want to stand around outside waiting for a train especially since the timetable is out of their control

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  • [–] 17 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    What people want and what is sustainable may be two different things and some people will just have to deal with that. Leave earlier and dress for the weather 🤷‍♀️

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Ideal but large corporations and billionaires are not just going to stand by and let the government ban cars

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago

    Quite frankly as an American, I think it's very American to even consider the timetable as out of your control. For a lot of places, the trains come so fast that you're not even waiting for a few minutes - like most drivers take longer to get settled into their car seat before driving. The sorry state of American transit is absolutely not the pinnacle of transit.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    This is key. Urban planners and environment folks focus so much on their respective fields and don't consider dignity enough. Of course we'd all like cheap, fast, sustainable transportation, but not if that means being packed into bench seating, plagued with delays, and sometimes even risk our safety due to other passengers. Trains don't have to be bad, but the penny-pinching planners often ruin the experience.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    This has been my sticking point with trains. In theory, it sounds fantastic and I’m all for it. The problem is is that Having a vehicle is so much nicer. Air conditioned and private transportation, whenever you want. Listen to what you want, go where you want.

    Maybe if the train was much more convenient? I like the idea for travel more.

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  • [–] [S] 14 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    If you look at old maps of streetcar networks in cities (before they ripped up the tracks to replace them with cars), one thing that stands out is just how dense the networks were. For instance, here's the old Montreal streetcar map:

    Versus the modern-day Montreal metro map:

    And Montreal has some of the best modern-day urbanism in North America, mind you; most cities are far worse. But it really makes you imagine what our cities could be like if we made many/most streets car-free and just had ultra-dense networks of trams again. Maybe even cargo trams to deliver goods to stores as well. Trains would be ubiquitous and ultra-convenient.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago* (3 children)

    Air conditioned

    Public transit has this technology.

    Listen to what you want

    Headphones.

    whenever you want [..] go where you want

    Public transit can solve these problems with more frequency and routes. Sometimes public transit goes places private transport can't!

    private transportation

    Can't do this one.

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  • [–] [S] 11 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Can’t do this one.

    For long-distance travel, sleeper cars on trains are even better -- you can't close the curtains and go to sleep if you're driving across the country.

    For short-distance travel, bikes and scooters!

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    Ehh, it’s more like comparing a hostel to a hotel room.

    Would you trade your private bathroom for a public one? Considering you already had a private bathroom, going to a public one is a downgrade.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago*

    Public transit can solve these problems with more frequency and routes. Sometimes public transit goes places private transport can’t!

    Or, hell, just get one of those foldable ebikes that are all the rage these days. Technology is coming for cars just as it came for horses and nobody even realizes it.

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