[ergsef]

The fact is that politicians are insanely car-brained and nobody has any enthusiasm for improving rail infrastructure. Via Rail is trapped in this insane spiral of service cuts where it's miserable for staff and riders, and the solution is to cut more to make up for declining ridership.

The new HSR is only happening because with the innovation of P3 deals the government can pay for the project but give all the profits to their private-sector pals. Suddenly investing in public infrastructure is appealing again (as long as the public doesn't actually get to own it!)

[api]

Cars employ more people.

A lot of the opposition you hear from EVs comes from the fact that they require less maintenance and upkeep and so they employ fewer people.

[nayuki]

Make-work is not a virtue - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window . People want transportation, not necessarily cars.

Cars also contribute to an immense amount of misery in society - the financial burden, being stuck in traffic, road expansions demolishing houses, noise and pollution, injuries.

[api]

I wasn't saying it was good, just pointing out a reason politicians support them. Jobs and tax base gets politicians elected.

[Der_Einzige]

A lot of being "car brained" is because even the best transit sucks compared to a Taxi.

People objectively don't want to share space with the masses. Even in Singapore or Japan, the stress of being in crowds is simply not worth it. Its slower, requires far more mental energy to plan your route, and requires a lot of physical movement which is hard for fatass americans.

Especially when America has quite cheap, awesomely fast and fun cars (your local C8 Corvette can be had for 15% off MSRP from the factory right now).

Cars are freedom. Mass transit is biopolitics/biopower. Big ass off road capable trucks literally don't even need roads.

[tpdly]

How does 'stress of being in crowds' in big cities indicate all those people would prefer to drive? Is stuck in traffic not the 'stress of being in crowds'?

The stress of 2 ton machines flying around at 120 km/hr and operated by the angry and impatient-- that is simply not worth it. You think automated trains with 2 minute headways in a network covering 85% of local journeys at $3/ride would be worse than a Taxi at $1/minute with traffic?!!

A lot of being "car brained" is not realizing that even decent transit by global standards would be far far better than the subsidized freeway only-if-you-can-drive $8,000/year horrorshow of the US/Canada. No one's going to take away your fun cars, but a system maximizing freedom needs to account for the young, old, disabled, drunk, poor, and motivated to read instead of drive. Mass transit is freedom. Cars are consumption-politics/corporate-power.

[JambalayaJimbo]

>requires more mental energy to plan your route

It’s unarguable that driving requires more mental energy. Which is exactly why we have licensing, sobriety requirements, age floors and limits, etc.

Route planning itself is a mostly solved problem for an average pedestrian in any developed city. You type in your destination in maps and go.

Cars are only freedom to able bodied people of a certain financial means and age. Or when you live rurally. To everyone else in a city, they make it harder to get around.

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

If gasoline was sold for a fair price, cars would be reduced to a novelty within a generation

[Der_Einzige]

You should go to the third world and see how much cheaper gas is there.

A lot of third world countries exist almost entierly off of gas subsidies from the government. Go look at what Libyans paid per liter of gas during the Gadaffi years.

Americans already pay a "fair price". No, no one in the world properly accounts for "externalities" of consumption.

[rangestransform]

Is it so wrong that we elect politicians to preserve our desired lifestyle?

[aylmao]

The amount of conversation around this is testament it's not everyone's desired lifestyle.