But the thing that excites me most about taking public transit is watching the people who come in at every stop. It is exciting to recognize the middle schooler with the headphones, the young mother with the infant in a stroller, and the construction workers with their hard hats tucked under their arms. They are my neighbors. On public transportation, I am reminded that they are the people I am called to love.
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I was going to reflect that it’s wild to me that only 3% take public transit, but when I lived in the suburbs, I took the bus maybe a few times per year outside of specific time-frames where it was most convenient to take the bus because I didn’t have access to other transportation. Now that I live in the city, being central to public transit was an important part of that - and this 3% is a reflection of how car-centric our country is and how little public transit we really have.
Jesus and I share something in that we both ride ass 😏
Taking a quick look at some population density maps, it’s not hard to see why this might be the case. The US is very spread out in comparison to the world’s denser population centers, and even in comparison to Europe. Buses and trains connecting cities and towns not only have further to go, but the funding for them is more spread out. We’ve got pretty robust subway and bus systems in many of our metro areas, with New York and Boston being particularly notable, but if you want to leave the city you need a car. That means that we’re going to have to cater to that kind of transportation to a greater degree than a smaller country that can easily connect most of its populace with public transportation.
In a lot of the US, if you don’t have access to some sort of personal vehicle or a taxi service, you’re not going anywhere without a major hike. There are some cases where this could be improved, like extending commuter rails further, but it’s not a fix for everywhere.
Also, in the case of states with low population density they both lack the funding and the public support for increased public services like robust transportation. Some of these payee states that can’t cover the cost of their own roads anyway are skeptical of supporting public services, and their conservative legislature seems to like it that way.
We can definitely do better, but sometimes I feel like the folks who say we should just get rid of cars and all take public transport have never been out in the sticks.
Not even just the sticks, just suburbs if big cities. I am lucky to live close enough to a bus route, but a lot folks in the area just don’t have public transit as an option
Public trans is free in my city, so we tend to get people I’d rather not have to be around if I could help it. I’m glad they have the option though.
That sounds classist as all fucking get out.
