[dmurray]

I've been to Pontevedra and actually I thought it was something of a public transport hub! I was there because I was changing buses.

Looking at Google Maps, there's a bus (XG628007) every 20 minutes from Marin to Pontevedra that takes 18 minutes for 7 km, along with at least two other bus routes which are less frequent and less direct.

How much more public transport could you ask for? There are subway stops in Manhattan with less frequent service. It's not practical to build rail to every village. An express bus might save some commuters 10 minutes, but it looks like the population is spread out along the coast so this would not be a huge benefit.

Maybe the buses are always late or cancelled, but that seems like a cultural problem rather than the mayor "forgetting" to provide them.

[m-schuetz]

Public transport just serves as an excuse to argue against car-free policies. Public transport can never be good enough to cover any rural alley cost-effectively. It also does not need to, cities don't need to justify makong themselves more livable to their citizens, at the cost of commuters who only see the city as a parking lot and roads.

[weweersdfsd]

The solution is simple. Just build big parking lots outside the city where land is cheap, and a bus service from these parking lots to the inner city. That way commuters can get to their workplace and back fast enough.

Making commuting viable that way is beneficial to inner-city folk too. When people who want to live further away from city can do it effectively, housing will become cheaper for those who actually want to live in the city.

[potato3732842]

It works great when done well but generally the people with expensive inner suburb real estate typically fight tooth and nail to prevent that.

[sillyfluke]

Anyone care to give a detailed argument for this position. Whenever I'm buying/renting a place in the city I always check its proximity to subway/train/bus stops and how frequently those vehicles stop by. That's even when I have a car. So the solution would seem to be build out inner suburb public transportation out at the same time or beforehand so there's less inner suburb real estate people fighting it? Yeah easier said than done, but it's still worth it to eliminate kneejerk opposition when you can.

[ta20240528]

I've always argued - given the tech we have - that one's municipal rates and taxes should include a public transport rebate.

Say the first €x /month,year is free, thereafter you pay as normal.

Use it or lose it.

[potac]

It's true there is a bus to Marin every 20min but it uses a _single_ fixed route. People that live far away (>1km) from this path spend less time driving to Pontevedra than walking to the nearest bus stop.

It is not just increasing frequency, it is a matter of providing alternative routes to serve an important part of the population.

[conceptme]

You could also bicycle to the stop? It's not really practicle to cover any rural location 1km apart with a bus stop.

[GrzegorzWidla]

1 km or 5 km in north Spain’s weather is a cycling first range. Electric bicycle would save those people a ton of money and time compared to cars. Netherlands considers 7.5 km radius a catchment range of a train station in non-urban setting.