[throw0101a]

> The last thing I want during covid is to be stuck in a metal box with 100 strangers uncomfortably wearing masks instead of in my own car blasting music with the window down.

Or you could walk or take a bicycle (e.g., Amsterdam/Netherlands).

[rayiner]

And get rained/snowed on like an animal?

[throw0101a]

In the event that this is a (somewhat/semi-)serious comment:

First: one doesn't have to cycle all the time. If the weather is bad, or if you just don't feel like it, then one can certainly just not cycle. Feel free to take transit or your car/taxi/uber.

But by designing 'human scale' neighbourhoods this gives people the option of choosing their mode of transportation, instead of being forced to own/operate an expensive piece of equipment that sits idle and depreciates most of the time.

That being said, as someone who cycled in the Before Times to work in Toronto for ~9 months out of year,† I've found the risk of rain was more of a deterrent than actual rain. The number of times I was actually commuting in the rain as quite small over the course of a year.

When I started cycling I would look at the weather forecast, and not take my bicycle if there was a decent chance of rain. And most times it ended up not raining anyway. So at some point I bought rain gear and stuck it in a pannier: I no longer bothered looking at the forecast.

Of course one doesn't need to go for all the funny looking clothing. A simple poncho folded away can be sufficient:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLM_mTUuHlc

† Often the road conditions were garbage in January and February because a lack of decent practices in snow clearing. Those were the months I generally skipped: I often cycled into December (when it was still 'dry') and often re-started in (mid-)March.

[jtwaleson]

Plenty of things you do are “like an animal”. I cycle in Amsterdam all the time, and while rain is unpleasant it is really not the end of the world.

[nec4b]

Walking barefoot and living in a cave is also not the end of the world, but most of us would not prefer that kind of life. Not everybody is like you and not everywhere is like Amsterdam.

[0x0nyandesu]

I have an aunt/uncle in Germany and when I visited them I'd occasionally take one of their bikes out and bike to my grandparents dacha about two miles away. It's cute and super euro but as soon as it's a little cold or rainy I'm over it.

Of course they still own two cars and drive to work despite it being "only" a 15 minute bike ride. They are both MDs.

[xyzzyz]

> Of course they still own two cars and drive to work despite it being "only" a 15 minute bike ride. They are both MDs.

Yeah, I always marvel at Americans who think that Europeans walk, cycle, or take public transit everywhere. Some do, especially students and retirees. However, for working people, car is still king.