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tweet by amtrak ben: i think we should build high speed rail next to freeways only because it would make drivers feel like complete losers all the time
edit: fixed alt text
tweet by amtrak ben: i think we should build high speed rail next to freeways only because it would make drivers feel like complete losers all the time
edit: fixed alt text
End to end travel time is the biggest drawback of public transportation. Getting from my city to the next major city is an 8 min train ride or a 20 min drive. But getting from my home to my friends in that city is easily twice as fast by car.
It’s a huge problem. If you live next to the train station and like to go to a pub right next to your destination’s train station, all is well. But for those who like to visit friends instead of going to the nearest pub, public transportation just kinda falls apart.
My wife wanted to pick up our dog that was staying with me at a friend’s place before coming home from work. Because the friend lives a little bit outside of the major city it would have been a 2h20m train ride for the whole trip. Or 30 min by car.
My brother in Christ, this is the exact reason why we are pushing for better public transportation and reduced car dependency.
We dream of a world where, god forbid your car breaks down, you can make it to work within roughly the same amount of time whether you walk, bike, or take the bus. And this isn’t even a fantasy, this dream is alive and well in The Netherlands, Japan, even fucking Disneyland.
We just need to actually start taking Public Transit seriously in this country so that it can improve.
Not just that, but also the occasional trip that does end up needing a car will be much less annoying with fewer people on the roads
No it’s not. You’re talking about getting from one part of your metro area to another part of the same metro area. It’s all the same city, regardless of arbitrary jurisdictional boundaries. High-speed rail (what this thread is about) is for traveling between different metro areas that would be hours apart by car.
Anyway, you’re not complaining about rail so much as you’re complaining about poor last-mile connectivity (which is better served by micromobility than transit).
Yeah it’s the question of how do I get from Cincinnati to DC, and how much does it fucking suck. 9 hours of driving or 4 hours on a train. But I’d take similar time on trains to driving because holy fuck does driving across mountains suck.
It really isn’t. The solution, if it’s even required, is quite simple - just build train stations where people are, and the problem is gone. It’s like good universe “one more line bro” solution, but it’s works in this case.
I’m not even sure what you’re saying by build one where people are… Because that would mean building a train station like every second? But I’m assuming you mean build it in popular places or build more. All of these mean more stops and higher time to arrival.