In today's age, cars are a necessity in the US largely in part because our cities have been designed with limited amounts of mixed zoning in downtown areas. Many cities in the US were restructured around major highways and have yet to recover from this (Atlanta being the one I can testify for). Car manufacturers have had a very tight grip on USA urban planning throughout the 20th century[1], and the rise of suburbs and accessible (at the time) single-family housing outside of metro areas has helped solidify the presence of cars in the lives of many Americans. Furthermore, our federal and state governments have done little to move people away from cars, despite the fact that the US economy doesn't rely on car manufacturing like it used to.
I am pretty anti-car myself, but the last point of the post makes me think that the author hasn't seen how personal transportation plays in ENORMOUS role in the everyday lives of families who live outside of major cities in the US. I'm a young 20-something pursuing a career in tech, so I'm part of the demographic who is most able to avoid car ownership.
I went to school in the south, and got to see firsthand how many of the thousands of people who worked for my university were only able to get to their jobs because they owned a car. My school, like many others in the US (Virginia Tech, UIUC, UPenn, etc.) was out in the middle of nowhere, and was by far the largest employer in the county (and surrounding counties). My school subsidized a fleet of several buses to make public transportation feasible, but those bus routes often were 5-10X slower than personal transportation and were undersupplied and undermaintained, making it difficult to use them as true replacements to car.
I am a father living in NYC except not in the middle of the city (manhattan, downtown brooklyn, long island city).
In my neighborhood, getting to mid-town is by train. You only drive if you are a bit crazy.
But to get from point A -> B in my neighborhood it is orders of magnitude slower. To get to my parent's house is 15 minutes by car (25 if heavy traffic). 45-90 minutes by bus. 45 minutes by train.
To take my daughter to school, 15 minutes by car, and 30-45 minutes by bus, 45-55 minutes by train.
And owning my own car, after 7 years is free. Low maintenance (I bought it new). Insurance is $133 a month, and gas is ~40 a month. Significantly cheaper than a daily Uber in addition to all the other ways I use the car.
If I was single, living in the middle of Manhattan, sure, cars make zero sense. In fact many who I know commute by Bike, Walk, Train.
However it heavily depends on where you live, how many kids you have, what you want as your lifestyle and convenience.
I lived for 12 years as an adult without a car (with a career).
I've moved myself twice with bicycles, including heavy appliances and furniture, using large bicycle-towed trailers, and done the same for at least 2 other people. I've learned to use mass transit in at least 3 Texas metroplexes.
I've used rideshare apps and rented vehicles and worked locally and tried every single way around it I could possibly think of.
You can't be a fully-functioning adult in modern American society without a car. Outside certain well-supplied metroplexes.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 24.5 ms ] threadI am pretty anti-car myself, but the last point of the post makes me think that the author hasn't seen how personal transportation plays in ENORMOUS role in the everyday lives of families who live outside of major cities in the US. I'm a young 20-something pursuing a career in tech, so I'm part of the demographic who is most able to avoid car ownership.
I went to school in the south, and got to see firsthand how many of the thousands of people who worked for my university were only able to get to their jobs because they owned a car. My school, like many others in the US (Virginia Tech, UIUC, UPenn, etc.) was out in the middle of nowhere, and was by far the largest employer in the county (and surrounding counties). My school subsidized a fleet of several buses to make public transportation feasible, but those bus routes often were 5-10X slower than personal transportation and were undersupplied and undermaintained, making it difficult to use them as true replacements to car.
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odF4GSX1y3c
In my neighborhood, getting to mid-town is by train. You only drive if you are a bit crazy.
But to get from point A -> B in my neighborhood it is orders of magnitude slower. To get to my parent's house is 15 minutes by car (25 if heavy traffic). 45-90 minutes by bus. 45 minutes by train.
To take my daughter to school, 15 minutes by car, and 30-45 minutes by bus, 45-55 minutes by train.
And owning my own car, after 7 years is free. Low maintenance (I bought it new). Insurance is $133 a month, and gas is ~40 a month. Significantly cheaper than a daily Uber in addition to all the other ways I use the car.
If I was single, living in the middle of Manhattan, sure, cars make zero sense. In fact many who I know commute by Bike, Walk, Train.
However it heavily depends on where you live, how many kids you have, what you want as your lifestyle and convenience.
I've moved myself twice with bicycles, including heavy appliances and furniture, using large bicycle-towed trailers, and done the same for at least 2 other people. I've learned to use mass transit in at least 3 Texas metroplexes.
I've used rideshare apps and rented vehicles and worked locally and tried every single way around it I could possibly think of.
You can't be a fully-functioning adult in modern American society without a car. Outside certain well-supplied metroplexes.
And in Texas, you need a truck.