[dangus]

American carbrains can’t imagine a society that doesn’t depend on huge ass vehicles for daily transportation.

A reminder that driving isn’t a right, it’s a privilege that you have to get a license to do, and many other places that aren’t America don’t design their cities and even their small towns [1] around the idea that you must own a vehicle.

Congestion taxes and pollution rules tend to affect city centers where personal vehicle ownership is unnecessary and even something that could be considered detrimental to society as a whole.

I didn’t agree to die early due to elevated pollution levels in my city just so you can drive your truck around downtown.

Approximately half of all global oil use is associated with roadways. Maybe draining the world’s oil is a solid plan for the oil states and geopolitically massive superpowers of the world, but many countries have to import all of their oil, so owning a 19mpg Toyota 4Runner in a country like Spain is arguably a national security issue.

[1] https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg

[EricE]

"A reminder that driving isn’t a right" It is in America. Our constitution constrains the government, it doesn't grant us rights - we already have them as human beings. I can't imagine living under a cynical government that has that equation flipped but obviously you've been conditioned to accept it.

[dangus]

That’s just plain factually incorrect. You aren’t allowed to drive unless you pass a written and driving test in all 50 states, with only a few exceptions like agricultural use.

The default state of your rights in the USA is that you are not allowed to drive. It is effectively an additive privilege that you have to go out of your way to obtain.

The constitution doesn’t restrict the government’s ability to regulate the operation of a motor vehicle, and all 50 states have enacted laws that effectively make driving a privilege. You’re even required to buy insurance from a private company in order to maintain that privilege.

The fact that driving was legal by constitutional default before the passage of traffic laws isn’t relevant to the present day legal status quo.

I would also like to request that right wing libertarian weirdos stop equating every mundane, benign, and sensible societal rule to draconian conditioning by the big bad evil government. Please.

[jancsika]

Is there a fantasy map of the U.S. with mass transit lines and associated cost?

Hell, I'd even love to look at such a fantasy map for Atlanta, GA where Marta is built out throw all that crazy Atlantan sprawl...

[dangus]

We destroyed our world’s best rail infrastructure on purpose to serve industrialist automotive companies. You could get anywhere by train in 1925, with so much frequency it is a daunting task to even count up the schedules.

https://youtu.be/svao4PZ4bGs

Despite now having 3x the population of that time period, our rail service is basically non-existent in comparison. This isn’t the case in less wealthy and less dense countries.

What is the cost of the interstate highway system? How much of it could have reduced lanes or not exist if there were trains? How much productivity and GDP is wasted on people operating vehicles on the highway when trains can travel over 3x faster and facilitate continued work?

[hed]

This is only true for driving on public roads.

[kozzz]

Brilliant