Brock Hladik: Large improvements have been made in the transit industry in America over the last couple of years. There are great companies providing excellent tools for people to utilize with the entire transit industry, like http://www.protrantechnology.com/ They create tools that help better the dangerous environment.
Carmelina Enoch: Topography and geography make your assertion moot.Many of the countries that rely on rails for transportation have neither the size, infrastructure or number of destinations that are present in the US.Trains may be safer but not nearly an efficient mode of transport in a non homogeneous society with multiple cities and destinations.People prefer making their own decisions about how, when and where to travel; trains take all those options away....Show more
Donte Liversedge: There are several obstacles to overcome in North America to get the general public to embrace Mass Public Transit (IMO) 1. Cultural issues: North Americans! (US particularly) value individuality and express it through their vehicles and like the freedom and privacy they provide. This will be a hard mindset to break.2. Time - I am in Canada and would take the trains and buses if they were offered and run in a timely manner - yet I own multiple vehicles, When I do take a commuter train into Toronto it ultimately takes me twice as long to get to my destination. Note I do not work in Toronto and I cannot commute to my place of business as no public transportation can get me to work in a timely manner. Most people would rather work an 8 hour day as opposed to a 10 hour day. Have I tried? Yes I have. The "stigma" isn't there in Toronto - without public transit the city is gridlocked and a large percentage of people who work downtown commute via subway out of necessity and commuting there is faster than driving.3. Infrastructure: It needs to be in place for the trains. In North America the old train lines are being ripped up thus lo! sing what infrastructure there was from earlier in the century! . Why? Not due to a lack of commuters but due to the fact that buses and trucks ship more efficiently over short distances than trains. If there was money to be made on the short haul lines - trains would be #1. Note - In Canada the drivers of the vehicles pay a lot of taxes at the pumps and through vehicle registration to support the road infrastructure.Is there an Automobile Manufacturer conspiracy - likely not. The world has a free market economy and the manufacturers are free to advertise their wares to make money for their shareholders. If there was a business case for trains we'd have them now. The facts are that even High speed trains will not get the average joe to his job faster than driving. Is it cheaper to take a bus then a train then a bus to work - yes - If you do not factor in your time. The countries that have a good rail commuting infrastructure (Japan, Britain, France, etc) are in general more densely populated than North America. The costs to operate veh! icles in these areas are much higher than North America which changes the busines model and favors trains....Show more
Jacinta Moitoso: That is what I am trying to say. People like to make thier own decisions and in this case the facts are being specifically manipulated to make people think that cars are their decision. Now I am not saying that we should get rid of them, I am just saying we should seriously reconsider the amount of public funds spent on infrastructure that requires the purchase a 30 to 50 thousand dollar vehicle in order to make use of that infrastructure. We aren't benifiting from this nearly as much as those involved in the manufacture, sales, insuring, and financing of cars....Show more
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