Most of the USA lacks efficient public transportation systems due to the country being constructed around the personal ownership and use of cars. Even in metropolitan areas, buses and trains can be crowded, eerie; some seeming as though they haven't been cleaned since the 1980s. Apart from the biggest cities, public transport is often slow, empty, and underfunded. And the general assumption is that an adult will eventually own a car, because if they don't they will effectively be freedomlemless and confined to whatever town they live it; even worse in the rural/south USA which is an unfunded wasteland where the emptiness between single homes can stretch for miles.

I wouldn't know much about decent public transport, the few times I've left the USA I never used it. But it's interesting to see how people functioning societies travel.

>>19092
Yeah I've heard about everything being designed for cars and lobbying by the auto industry. My area is still very car-centric even with somewhat decent public transport. I can't imagine getting around without trains and buses though.

a lack of public transit (and good walkability for that matter) is honestly one of the main causes of my depression. not being able to leave the house without the use of a car really fucking sucks, especially since any destination you go to is also going to be designed around getting there by car (massive supermarkets for example).

>>19103
Sorry to hear that
>good walkability
I didn't mention it in the OP but that is huge too. It feels so empty going outside and everything is just cars and road.

>>19104
it's extremely important! so much of the lackluster transit in this country is built as park and rides, so they're not even really that useful for journeys that aren't just commuting to and from work

also, any interest in an urban planning kind of board? I think we could get a lot of mileage out of that sort of thing

>>19106
that's a good idea. I think many would be interested

>>19105
Additionally, so much space is wasted on massive stretches of car parks

>>19107
the deed is done >>/urb/

>>19109
swear to god, half the space in my rural-ish town of 10,000 is dedicated to car parks. Hilarious, since i'm constantly seeing residents complain when something walkable is proposed about ruining the "small town feel".

>>>/urb/

>>19111
any proposals for improved walkability or cycling infrastructure is also shot down due to drivers being biased against having to share the road with pedestrians/cyclists, not realising they're contributing to the problem.

>>19116
It's funny too, because drivers and NIMBYs seem to not realize that their driving experience would also improve if more people were able to walk, bike, or take transit to their destination. I've been talking about this with my fiancee recently, and it's made me realize that even driving sucks in the US because of this. You'd think we'd atleast get that right...

>>19119
it's difficult to get people to understand how inefficient car-centrism is when it's all they've known. People wonder why so many European cities and even small towns feel so lively and comfortable. They don't realise it's literally just proper zoning and a focus on walkability.

I always arrive late

I don't really have anything to contribute but I find this subject very interesting

sus