[hisnameisjimmy]

Your first point seems to be something that our local leaders still are not taking seriously enough. If I have to listen to or read warnings all around me to "keep my eyes up and my phone down", I am not going to get a strong vibe of "I am safe and this is a nice time I am having".

I would add to #2, "Get them within a 5 minute walk without it taking twice as long". I am ok if public transit takes me up to 50% longer. But many trips are 1.5 to 2x as long when including transfers, and it's not cheap! Sometimes I have to pay multiple transit agencies to get to where I want to go.

[chimeracoder]

> Your first point seems to be something that our local leaders still are not taking seriously enough. If I have to listen to or read warnings all around me to "keep my eyes up and my phone down", I am not going to get a strong vibe of "I am safe and this is a nice time I am having".

This is a difference between perception and objective reality. Public officials began this campaign of "educating" people about the "dangers" of public transit years ago, coincidentally right when crime was at its all-time historical low. The perception that the subway is unsafe was not actually grounded in any objective facts, but rather a response to the feedback loop generated between the media and public officials.

[mcv]

> If I have to listen to or read warnings all around me to "keep my eyes up and my phone down", I am not going to get a strong vibe of "I am safe and this is a nice time I am having".

Exactly why I prefer public transport over cars. Driving is just lost time to me.

[dendrite9]

I see plenty of people on their phones while driving too, it doesn't seem to stop them. I also do it occasionally, though I try to do better and just use it to check traffic maps while stopped at a light.