Why American public transit is so bad | 2020 Election
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2020
- Most Americans have no choice but to drive. How do we change that?
We produced this video in 2020 as part of our US election coverage. The rest of those videos are at vox.com/ElectionVideos
In the middle of the 20th century, the US government made a decision that would transform American cities: It built a huge system of interstate highways, many of which went right through the downtowns of its biggest cities.
This sealed the country's fate as a car culture, and today we're seeing the results. In most cities, it's extremely difficult to get around without a car, in part due to public transit systems built to serve an outdated commute. And when our politics turn to infrastructure, the government often favors building new roads and highways instead of improving and expanding public transportation.
The result is a system that forces more Americans to drive, at the expense of those who rely on public transit. It's also the biggest contributor to our country’s carbon footprint. Fixing that over the long term will require a reimagining of American cities and towns. But there's also a way that, if we wanted to, we could improve American transit systems, and get more people riding them, in a matter of weeks.
This was the seventh in our series of 2020 election explainers, all based on viewer suggestions. Watch the others, which cover the stakes of the election on:
1) Climate change: • How America can leave ...
2) Voting rights: • What long voting lines...
3) Reproductive health: • How US abortion policy...
4) Public schools: • How US schools punish ...
5) Police reform: • How the next president...
6) America’s role in the world: • How America could lose...
7) Transportation: • Why American public tr...
8) LGBTQ rights: • Why LGBTQ rights hinge...
9) The eviction crisis: • Millions of Americans ...
For Jonathan English’s research comparing Canadian and US public transit: www.bloomberg.com/news/featur...
For research on suburban commutes from the Brookings Institution’s Adie Tomer, Joseph Kane, and Jennifer S. Vey: www.brookings.edu/interactive...
For more of Vox’s coverage on public transportation: www.vox.com/2015/8/10/9118199...
For more historical maps on how the federal highway system transformed cities: iqc.ou.edu/2014/12/12/60yrsmid...
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I also hate how a lot of Americans look down on people using public transport like they're worse
That's what the product of marketing and lobbying does for the car industry... Not having a vehicle is a moral failure on behalf of the individual, not society
that fact alone is one of the biggest hurtles to getting more public transit - Americans have been taught to be 'better than,' so they won't support or do things that they view as things that the 'lessers' use, and public transit has been treated as something that those who are 'lesser' use. And of course that image has been specifically cultivated as well, since that image lines the Koch pockets (among many other pockets of those who are holding us back).
@@jamesscannell7951 it's not American thinking it's a worldwide thinking
@@ashishpraveendhas1100 its not as bad in the rest of the world as it is in america
Who does? You’re making that up in you’re own head
if you're comparing to toronto transit. those other cities must be REALLY BAD....
Especially if you're finding that Toronto's is better designed and run... yikes!
Lol. Just felt better about the TTC after watching this.
Theorem 1 : The grass is always greener elsewhere.
Corollary 1 : If you live in a city, you think your transit system is awful. Always, Even when it truly isn't...
the first snowstorm of the season shutsdown TTC and GO Train. might as well stay home on that day lol
Yeah Toronto transit is better than the USA. But Taipei transit is 100 times better than Toronto. I’ve lived in both cities
"A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation."
Gustavo Petro - Mayor of Bogota
that’s so true. lol i wish this was applied to his own city bc bogota has a TERRIBLE public transportation system
well now I hope he's elected president next year to see what he can do because urban planning in Colombia is terrible
I don’t know if Columbia is a good model to base the US off of lol
@@christianhansen2476 literally who said that
@@thebestparticipantofyoutha9834 Bogota is finally getting a proper subway system, but I don't have high hopes for it.
Living in Seoul, South Korea - I was spoiled with how amazing the Subway metro system was and even today, it still costs about $1!
i want to visit there, sounds like a clean place :o
America is becoming more like a third world country every day.
@@user-ms2go7fn2d actually no one wants to go there but the people who want to
@@user-ms2go7fn2d ahahahah sure
North korea is richer
When Toronto is used as an example of good public transit, you know things have gone seriously wrong..
True
was waiting for a reply like this
@Nuggy Kid :D the trams get stuck in traffic and its just bad, a city with great public transport is rotterdam.
I live in Toronto and can vouch for this comment...
The public transit system is so badly designed and even more so if you live in the suburbs
Sure, Toronto is better compared to the States but compared to transit in cities of Europe or Asia, let's say, it's not the best.
American city planning is like someone playing SimCity half-heartedly.
First problem is that the person decided to play SimCity instead of City Skylines
sim city mayors probably care about their bus riders more than actual mayors
@@kshatriya1414 Simcity 4>City Skylines Fight me!
I don’t think Americans know what city planning is
😂
I just spent a week in Italy, and I’m shocked at how you can easily navigate cities and regions with buses, subways, and trains. We didn’t step in a car once in 8 days.
I have had the same experience. I did not want to come back!
@@jdpatrick1106 yeah that's true. Rome's metro system is bad because they can't run much trains since every time they dig they find something, and since the traffic is bad buses may be late. But every other city has a good public transportation, and the local trains and high speed train are very cheap and affordable. If there is something i won't complain about my country italy is public transport, i've seen wat worse in germany, england and france
And it's cheap too. I live in Milan, one of the most expensive cities in Italy, and my transport card is 220 a year, so less than 1 euro a day basically. With that I can take buses, the subway, streetcars, rent bikes and cars whenever I want as long as I stay within the city limits.
I also have a video on a similar topic, you should go from evaluate it
That goes for the whold of Europe....
Actually probably 70% of the world.
Except.... usa
I used to think Toronto’s public transit was awful (still have those days, tbh). And Torontonians love to complain about our transit system. As someone who has lived in Japan and spent months through East Asia, SE Asia and Western Europe, Toronto’s public transit is very poorly run in comparison.
BUT every time I attempt to use public transit in some major US cities, I’m always grateful for what we have in Toronto. Even at the edge of the city where it’s mostly residential, you can count on a TTC bus arriving within 10 minutes (2-3 minutes during rush hour). Buses aren’t trains, they get stuck in traffic and are often uncomfortable, but they at least get us moving and (eventually) get us to a subway station.
Even compared to other Canadian cities Toronto comes out ahead though IMO. Yes, it could better though
I moved to Toronto from Melbourne australia and it’s a little worse than Melbourne imo. But I was in the Netherlands and long story short I’m moving to the Netherlands next year
You see, Toronto's public transit may be one of the best in North America. But that's because the bar is set low. Very, very low. Although I do appreciate it even after moving from New York, at least TTC is cleaner and relatively less life-threatening.
@@lalakuma9 I also have a video on a similar topic, you should go from evaluate it
I live in Mississauga and work in Toronto and I HATE the TTC but maybe now l'm thinking l should love it by comparison?
it’s so funny how americans always say “this is pure fantasy & not realistic” about concepts that literally every other highly developed country has
I view it as realistic but unfortunately not during my lifetime. I'm 27 now and I doubt I'll see a full change but should get close. I use public transportation daily or at least walk everywhere I go. Unfortunately convincing people to embrace things like high speed trains has been oddly difficult. When I mention it to others the most common answer is why should I need to take a train when I have a car. It's hard to get people to look past what they need towards others needs.
@@Vosia71 sad to hear that people are so unwilling to do things for the community! but it’s also a political question; like i said the us seem to struggle with a lot of things that are obvious for us that live in europe or eastern asia... seems like your politicians think something would be impossible to do, when it’s been tried in so many other countries already with very good results
The highly developed countries you refer to have much higher population density than the US. They also don't have the...demographic issues that US cities have.
@@DoctorDoomsPvP What do you mean?
@@DoctorDoomsPvP America has dense cities too. No one is talking about building a metro in rural Wyoming. But the public transport in Chicago, one of the biggest cities in the US pales in comparison. As for the "demographic issue", are you talking about how secluded neighborhoods are? Well, we have some of those issues in Europe too. We still have a strong public transportation system.
Jonathan: "A bus that comes every 30 minutes till"
European: "I lost my bus. The next one comes in 3 minutes. Too much time"
SO TRUE
SO TRUE, here in Spain is like that
yes, and if it's not more than 45 minutes from there you're just like "it's quicker to walk that to wait for the bus" lol I'm from Spain
But we just have to spend 600 million a year on military instead😭
Haha pov my life (Brussels 🇧🇪)
I moved to Phoenix AZ 4 years ago from Mexico and that was one big cultural shock. I remember wanting to explore the city but it took me so little to realize that is imposible if you don't own a car. You are forced to buy a car then you end up with montly payments and you are also forced to pay insurance and pay for maintenance if your car breaks. Owning a car should be optional not imperative
@@mikeyreza so true!
facts@@jessicalizarraga9160
Ahh you live in one of the biggest sprawls
Negative feedback loop: few people rely on public transportation because it's not good, it's not good due to lack of funding, there's lack of funding due to few people relying on public transportation.
ye it's kind of a paradox, few people ride public transit, so they don't get money to improve it, which results in fewer people riding it
Also safety issue. Most cities outside the US are safer.
Ultimately what matters is density.
It's actually more that the govt always relies on those loops when they're kind of not true. The money spent by commuters on public transport isn't the only income stream, and they know very well that people don't commute because it's inconvenient, not because they prefer driving. They just don't want to change infrastructure because more cars means more money spent by the public, but income for the government.
That's a positive feedback loop.
People from Toronto literally complain about the public transit at least 3 times a day. Seeing it being used an example here is actually shocking.
Source: I'm people from Toronto.
I can confirm as someone who is also a person from Toronto.
Yeah, it’s people favourite pastime to complain about those TTC buses too. I remember one time it was raining super hard and the water flooded onto my seat.
i am also ppl of Toronto and i can also say tht the ttc has its problems
TTC is much more reliable than any other transit system across GTA
YEAH I AGREE!
"a bus that comes every 30 minutes" the standard is really that low? that's so sad
Here in Rio I have a bus stop in front of my condo where I can access 15 different bus lines and they all have 10 minutes frequencies.
30 minutes isn't that bad. The stop closest to my house has two lines serving it, each come once every hour.
I live in Dallas, Texas. My home is a 10-minute drive from downtown where I work. There are only 3 bus routes within walkable distance from my home. All of which only come by every 45 minutes. Thanks to COVID, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) cut service frequency and now they all come by every hour. The route I normally take connects me to the light rail system which takes me into the city. A normal trip on my normal route will take 50 minutes to get downtown from my home. Personally, I felt that was ridiculous, so after years of taking DART to work, I purchased an electric scooter and can now go from home to work in ~20 minutes. The only reason I take public transit now is if it's raining.
That's better than my hometown of Timmins Ontario. I remember as a kid the bus from my grandma's house came once an hour, until it stopped at like 5pm and never came on weekends.
@@CorbanGarcia um. Does that make any sense. Wouldnt that just make buses even more packed? Increasing possiblty of infections? You'd think they would send out more buses during peak times
I’ve lived in Vancouver and Toronto and gotten by for years without needing a car. Visiting family and friends in Chicago and Dallas suburbs and finding out that the nearest convenience store to buy a soda or some cigarettes is 3 miles away just feels like a strange way to live.
That is strange. Funny you should say that. I have only lived in 1 places in the U.S. it was more then a 10 minute walk to a place to get cigarettes or soda. However a bigger problem is to actually get groceries. So many places are not a feasible walk. I'm in Florida. Miami we have okay public transportation. If I buy a ton of groceries cost around $17 to take a taxi home. So you buy more then you can take on the bus thier is your next order of business. However too many people live somewhere that the bus doesn't even exist to begin with. As so you can't even get to the store. The small corner store 5 minutes walking from my house. I'd say 75% of people go in for beer and cigarettes. Granted only a very small selection of anything else even exists. For example I bought batteries one night at around 9:30 because the batteries in the remote died. Likely 1 and 1/2 times the price then they would of been at the big store. However I had just missed the 9:25pm bus. And I would of had to wait until 10:25pm for the next bus. As they frequently in the day but after 8:00 that rout is once an hour. 8:25/9:25/10:25/11:25 and the last bus at 12:25 am. And by U.S. standards that's awesome. However when the bar is set so low its easy to exceed
I live in a tiny rural suburb in Ohio (one of many in the area), and even I’m getting sock of living like that
@@MadameSomnambule can I take a picture of your feet?
Having lived in Seoul for a very short time, coming back to America's completely ineffective public transit is a nightmare
You guys get it wrong. The message is not to say that Toronto has world-class transit, but that if you invest just a little bit in bus systems that actually service sub-urbs you can end-up with car owners using public transportation to go to work.
For me the best City in Canada for Transit isn't Toronto but Montreal. You can literally go anywhere in Montreal without using your car, bus are frequent and the Metro serves most high density destinations.
You can to anywhere and beyond using the TTC in Toronto, too. I used to work a shift that ended at 4am for a year and I had a reliable transit system to get to home. It might not have been the quickest as it did during coming to shift at 8pm, but still get you home. Tell me what other city in U.S. or Canada does that?
@@waryaawariiri1812 What about Vancouver & Seattle?
Also it's not possible to travel around Montreal without a car. I had a friend who lived along where the 92 Jean-Talon served, where his place would be a 15 minute ride to the nearest metro station, on paper. He bought a car just to commute to a workplace beside McGill, for one reason, the bus is ALWAYS late and so often does he have to wait well over 30 minutes for a bus.
@@naturallyherb I think STM did a great job recently in improving visibility for commuters to know when their bus is coming. I use the ''Transit'' app and ever since I started using it I stopped paying attention to what the schedules were telling me.
Also from the area your telling me there's countless ways to get to McGill. The 92 takes you to Namur Station or Jean Talon Station so you can get to McGill by Metro both ways no matter what side you take. You can even make ride shorter by taking the blue line neirby switching to the Orange line at Snowdown or Jean Talon. Soon the REM (new Metro line) will go directly from Jean Talon/Canora to Mcgill in less then 10min. And if you really hate buses Montreal has great public bike rental, electric scooters etc...
Leaving without a car in Montreal is absolutely possible I l leaved there and I got my license just recently because I moved in Ottawa. Never felt the need for a license because public transit was convenient enough for me to go anywhere I needed.
Muhammad Fariz vancouver has a pretty small skytrain/metro system (which is currently being expanded) but has probably one of the best bus systems in north america, not to mention the sea bus which takes people from downtown to north vancouver and back
Most of America: What’s having a train?
New York City: What’s having a car?
Unless you live in a densely populated urban metropolitan area then yes. Even in San Francisco I heard a lot of people that live and work there don't have a car.
I'm in Columbus, Ohio where buses are the only from of public transit. The closer you are to a bus line that runs frequently (no more than 15 minutes) the less need for a car.
@@tubby_1278 manhattan and SF are the teo most expensive cities for garage space. Everywhere else, cars are very popular.
@Kenny I actually disagree at least when it comes to the Bronx. you don't need a car because the busses are everywhere which in turn transfers you to the trains.
@@vikvc in japan they say "amerika" for the united states. they call north america "hokubei."
American cities were beautiful until we destroyed them for highways
I can't imagine living in a place where they make it impossible for you to commute without a car. Here in the Netherlands, lots of people cycle and/or use public transit. I cycle to the train station, take the train and then cycle to work. Total of 40 minutes, door to door. Easy peasy.
I don't even have a car, but I do have three bikes (one for my home town, one for the town where I work and one for recreation). If I need a car, I can borrow my parents'.
Of course, the Dutch are the best at complaining, so we complain about our public transit system all the time :)
A lot of people use cycles and train in Netherlands it’s because petrol is so expensive in there
@@justblaze7924 that's one of the reasons, yes
@@justblaze7924 also because biking in the netherlands is so fun
Also because the Netherlands is very well-managed country, unlike the US
Holland is also a tiny, densely populated country with no hills......
Public transport: "A bus that comes every 30 minutes till midnight 7 days a week"!! Blimey, here in England that would be considered as if the buses have gone on strike!
Where I live in the UK, using public transport for work, school or even shopping is virtually impossible.
You basically have once choice of route for hourly service and anywhere else maybe one or to buses a day. And for some even less.
I live in a small town between two big towns.
Catch 22, they don't invest in better public transport because people don't use it, but people don't use it because they don't invest.
So a reliable service every 30 minutes is a dream in the majority of the UK.
yeah....maybe get out of the cities some time...where I live they've slowly cut the buses to the point where the only bus service within walking distance is the one ran for school children. and also a few times a day there's a bus that goes *to* a nearby town, but for some reason isn't one that *comes back*
@@tkralva.6668 I may have come across as a townie but part of my time growing up was in a seaside town. In the summer there were plenty of buses but you wouldn’t want to go on one because of all the grockels (tourists). Then come winter everything closed down inc.the buses and you couldn’t go anywhere! Later I lived in country and there were no buses or even a pub, and that’s worse!
@@tkralva.6668 There's definitely a difference between in towns/cities and outside, but I guess that relates to demand. I live a few miles from my city centre and I can take I think 4 different buses to the centre about 200m from my door and one that goes direct to the airport and neighbouring towns and cities.
Well, the guy said bare minimum afterall
Pfft I’m from Toronto and I can’t believe people glorify our TTC transit system, I saw real transit systems in Europe.
Keyword EUROPE!!!!
Yeah but you can’t compare European cities to North American. They are build much differently, there’s mo highway going through downtown and they don’t have suburbs. Which means their cities are denser and can do better with transit.
yea, we need europ like transit, they are desperat for toronto transit
I’m from Van and leaved in Etobicoke for a year. Couldn’t believe how broken Toronto trains were compared to the sky train.
@@daudimasinde6280
Genuinely curious. What's better about it?
A big thing to blame this on is the American societal viewpoint of cars. In nearly every country except France, the car is seen as a status symbol and in America it's cranked up to 100. People judge you based on the cars brand instead of the real value, I'm only 25 and currently drive a $30k full size sedan and I've had people call me poor or similar simply because it's a Chevy Impala and not some high luxury brand. Most Americans don't see public transit as an option to commute because societally is looked down upon. I have a coworker who takes the bus every day and he's been made fun of for taking bus because "only poor people use the bus" even though he's a manager at 23. Americans have a stigma that public transit is bad and would much rather have private options. Public use scooters were tested in my city over the summer and they might not return when winter is over simply because people did not respect them. They were mostly used by younger people to get around downtown and they were regularly abused, the couple times I did use them they were either broken in some fashion or the scooter looked like it had just been thrown down a flight of stairs, which it probably was. If we want public transport to work in America, not only will we need to massively revamp our cities but we will also need a mass change in opinion
I've lived in Vancouver, Canada for 18 years and have since moved to Montréal. Both cities have incredible forms of public transportation. I actually quite like the train and bus, since I don't need to worry about parking, or think about anything. It's also a lot more cost effective, especially with rising gas prices. There are also great bike routes which make it easier to use the car less.
Still lots to improve here but definitely Vancouver leading the pack
Also helps that Vancouver (and maybe Montreal?) has car share programs.
Even without them though the buses and skytrain system are fantastic.
factsssssssssss@@RedStarRogue
don't forget about car share as a last resort (ideally shouldn't exist; say delivery drivers to deliver furniture or other heavy stuff instead of using a car)
Americans only discovered in 2013 that a train can actually drive in a circle instead of up and down a line.
Lol
That made no sense whatsoever.
@@ivanbrown4564 It does but are you by chance American ?
I gotta emigrate ASAP
We have the best freight railroad network in the world! Nobody moves freight like we do! I would know I’m an engineer we run 2 thousand ft trains at 70mph, you depend on us for everything
"This new, fascinating thing is called transit-oriented development!"
Standard in Europe since the Romans (insulae).
always think of that when teachers mentioning tod on class
And Asia where train stations are frequently extremely high density and employment hubs.
Basically every European city predates the automobile. That's not so true in the US. Many US cities were built entirely around car travel, and the older ones sprawl considerably around the edges because that development happened so recently.
@@beth8775 This is.....not true. The automobile is an early 20th century invention, most large to medium sized US cities were founded in the late-18th and early 19th century. There's nothing unique about American cities versus European and Asian cities. If anything US cities are MORE conducive for public transit due to the planned, grid layout prevalent there.
I think it's just the ownership culture and individualism of usa that caused this. Everyone wants their own landed house with a lawn and swimming pool Of course most people wouldn't be able to afford something like that in the capital cities, so they went for the second best option. Private vehicle is also seen as an empowerment for americans. There's just no incentive to build proper public transport - there's just not enough demand - at least from those who the government care.
I lived in chicago and now im in europe, using the trains here is heaven. It feels so safe and its so easy to understand.
Im traumatized from ameeican public transport, ive had endless bad experiences.
At my old job 2 hours each way. Or I could drive and get there in 25 minutes. The extra special part was bus transfers only last 90 minutes, so if I used bus tickets instead of a monthly pass I would have to pay twice each way. I live on the North end, but I had to transit all the way downtown, then back up North again but further West for work. My shifts were 12hrs long so a work day was 2 hours on a bus or train, 12 hrs working, then 2 hours back home. I had to go straight to bed then straight back to work the next day on less than 8 hours sleep. Sleep work sleep, with no time in between. A car literally freed up over 3 hours of my day and I could barely afford it, but the quality of life over taking transit was worth it. That said, transit never should've been that bad in the first place.
The solution is better transit system
Bah! What hogwash. Whatever was wrong with the car?
Vox could make this a series called "things European and Asian countries figured out decades ago"
Well, at one point we were all kind of on the same page when it came to transit. But then the American middle class determined that cities and all that density stuff isn't for them and messed it all up.
Oh, Americans know. But there's a lot of rich white boomers that don't want change.
You got rich auto companies that want the money
And the whole American branding of "freedom" and "independence" really ties in with having your own vehicle and not having to share with *filthy strangers*
plus America mostly developed as the car industry was booming so a lot of cities- especially the newer ones like San Diego where I live, was constructed around auto transit.
in south america as well....
Or things only the US do badly different
America latina: am I joke for you ?
Okay, so a "bus that comes every 30 minutes" as the goal as a reliable transit line, is really sad.
I've never lived anywhere that met that standard.
Baby steps. You gotta start somewhere.
@@beth8775 I have never lived anywhere not meeting that standard. Greetings from the poor former socialist state of Poland 😂
It’s depressingly common in America for hourly buses that stop at 9pm if you don’t live in the center of the biggest of big cities.
If the definition of that means that it runs every 30 minutes by Midnight, then that's not so bad - you'd be able to expect a bus line like that to be running at least every 10-15 minutes during peak traffic hours. Still not as good as other countries, but certainly more reasonable.
Biggest mistake was eliminating street cars in metropolitan areas with no alternative rapid transportation and light rail transportations including the old abandoned rail lines.
It was done on purpose and GM was fined like $1000 for fraud.
Us: Important route, runs once every 30 minutes
Europe: Route that nobody uses, runs every 5 minutes
also Europe : Route that everybody uses, runs every 2minutes
Anything worse than the Canadian transit system is not a system.
You’re 100% right. In this video they compare the number of bus routes to cities with under 700k residences to Toronto which has a population of ~3 million. Show me those red line in Hamilton or Ottawa and then tell me anyone should emulate Canadian transit systems.
@@omerkleiner3578 Within the Greenbelt, OC Transpo is not bad for what it is. If you live in suburbia, OTOH, God help you if you want to get somewhere fast on a Sunday. Of course, these days, your ride can come with a side order of COVID - drivers test positive weekly.
They did compare Toronto to Chicago which is a fair comparison by population.
It actually didn’t. It starts by discussing Chicago’s commuter train system, then goes on to compare Toronto’s bus routes to the bus routes of cities like Denver and Charlotte. At No point is Chicago’s bus routes laid out (using the red line system that compare Toronto with the others) or is Toronto’s commuter train system discussed.
Toronto would have lost both metrics (busing and training) if they were made in an apple to Apple comparisons. That’s why it is a very dishonest video. It presents itself like it is doing controlled comparisons but it is not. Par for the course for a VOX production.
@@omerkleiner3578 the transit system in Hamilton is actually quite good. just don't take the barton bus if you can help it.
I’ve lived in Texas my entire life and the public transit here is abysmal. Went to London for the first time last year and using the underground was AMAZING. Cheap, fast, goes everywhere, no need to worry about parking a car. We need reliable systems like that, esp in our big cities!
There may be many good things about London public transport. Cheap, alas, it is not. At least on the tube. The buses are okay, but they, like other motorised traffic, tend to get stuck on the way. But yep there's a lot of it, and you can get to wherever you want, in the end. ;-)
@@yappity cheap is a relative term I suppose. The tube fares can add up but I was thinking it’s cheap compared to buying and maintaining a car. And more convenient imo
@@kaitlinkuan9738 ah okay, definitely still cheaper than a car. But it's expensive compared to other big cities' metro systems.
Yeah, getting around efficiently is supposed to be normal for developed countries.
I live in Toronto and I'm always able to walk anywhere I want to go safely. Even if it takes hours, I always have a safe path either on foot or public transit. I go to Austin and stay at my dad's home for the vast majority because I couldn't leave the suburb without needing to cross a highway
7.3 miles- “for pedestrians it’s a nearly impossible to traverse”
Ancestors who took the Oregon Trail: *Hold my dysentery*
5:48 Ah, the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Unfortunately this footage is outdated, the buses seen there have been moved back to the surface in March 2019. It is now a light rail-only tunnel. But when light rail and buses shared the tunnel, it was definitely a unique operation that stands out even today. Now, Pittsburgh has the only shared light rail and bus tunnel left in the US (though unlike Seattle, it has no stations within the tunnel itself). The key for moving buses underground was to relieve traffic on the streets above, which was smart thinking. The original plan for it was a subway tunnel, but after voters kept rejecting it, the plan was to make it a bus tunnel that would later house light-rail
Cities should be built for people not cars. Thus, public transit/transport is extremely important. They got it right in Curitiba, Brazil.
I live in South Korea and i go to University in the United States. Here in Seoul, metro and public bus system are extremely good that you can travel anywhere. I, now understand, why i have needed to have a car in the U.S
Yep, I've been to Seoul, blows away any transit system in America and Europe.
I've been to Seoul as well. The metro system is incredible. Real cheap too.
Korea (as many other Asian/European countries) has a key difference between America - people live in condos (in Seoul - usually pretty high residential buildings), while in the US most live in houses - they are definitely more comfortable, but it is almost impossible to build a proper transportation system since the population density in cities is low
Most big cities in east asia have great public transportation (maybe except your north friend) due to large population, and strong and powerful government to push the construction of public transportation is another reason.
ikr, I go there annually and you can go anywhere you want with it.
"majority of Americans are also required to own a car in order to work" true. Wendy's turned me down after they found out i didn't have a car.
As they should
@@722Moo what?
@@whitepineapple having your own car gives you an advantage of working somewhere. I would never hire someone that doesnt have a consistent method of getting to work on time everyday, thats just loss of production and a waste of time. Could hire someone else
@angrykulla Car travel is very reliable, as long as your car isn't a junker and you keep up on maintenance.
@@722Moo I hate that because it's so ableist :/ I can't drive because of my disabilities, and I still need to work
This is why crosstown transit is so crucial. If your city is roughly circle shaped, you could run a metro line going in a loop, connecting outer residential areas without going to the downtown and back out.
Chicago could definitely learn from Toronto.
In Taiwan, public transit is punctual, clean, and efficient. You never have to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a bus or train. It also costs only around $1 to ride.
After I move to Chicago, I hate to take public transit. It's the filthiest, slowest, and most dangerous way to travel. It seems like a third world country.
"this is called transit oriented development"
Or as basically the rest of the world calls it, development.
Exactly! 😅
Leave US alone. You can do whatever you want for your "development".
@@onetwothreeabc Why are you trying to defend the US lol, the us transit system is basically non existent, and where it does exist, it's absolute trash
In many developing countries, owning a car and a house is considered being rich
@@Ibrahim-vx5kq Woosh
I'm an American living overseas and I cannot even express how happy I am to live in a country with useful, cheap, reliable public transportation.
Where so you live ?
You are probably living in one of those tiny apartment in Asian cities.......
Singapore huh? I heard they have great public transportation
@@raphaelpagani Omg I use to live there. Yeah their public transportation is amazing. Most people usually walk to their location or walk to the MRT and then take it to wherever they need to go. You don’t see many cars 😂
@@billyhamlen9610 - They could also live in a regular house or penthouse. Public transportation would include all in that area, big and small homes.
Even the systems that move you from the suburbs downtown don't work that well if you live too far. I currently live ~25 miles from my office, which is right outside of downtown. Driving, this commute takes 30 minutes, whereas a bus would take 2 1/2hrs. I already hate the 10 hours I spend each week commuting and increasing that to 25 hours is unacceptable.
i used to live in new york where all the kids would walk to and from school. for me it was less then a ten minute walk. i moved to florida this past year and it’s literally IMPOSSIBLE to walk to my school, it’s 6.5 miles away. everyone gets to school by taking a car which isn’t convenient as a freshman who doesn’t have there license. thankfully where i live they offer lots off school busses but it was just so much easier when you could just walk everywhere.
Yep, I live in literally another state but I only need to take two trains to get to school lol. I love nyc
I'm 44 Florida native and lived in NYC for some time in my 20s. The subway only fully covers Manhattan. Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx are only partially covered (like 50-60%) by some sporadic and IMO somewhat poorly placed subway lines. You practically need a car in Eastern Queens and North Bronx. Busses take a long time in many areas. Staten Island is practically wholly car dependent. Anywhere else in New York state is as car dependent as Florida or California. Also the subway, even in Manhattan, has many issues, such as often being late and stopping a lot between stations. Don't get me started on how filthy they are. So no, nyc public transit, while way better than anywhere in Florida, is not that great compared to others around the World.
@@coupleofbeers31 wrong. Areas that are not covered by subways in Queens and Bronx are served by busses. Tokyo or Shang Hai arnt fully covered by metro either - most cities in the world use BUSES.
As an 18 year old without a car, I have to look at commutes of 1-2 hours by a mixture of walking and bus just to get to a job on way. I dont think I've ever hated American cities so much
Honestly. My city is FINALLY allowing the construction of a train which will hopefully cut the time I spend commuting to campus. Rn it takes an hour to get there. I also don’t have a car, but parking is nonexistent and expensive ($12 a day).
ride a bike
@@anunnakimenagerie it's America. It'll be stolen in days
lets talk about how it take 1-2 hours to get somewhere thats barely 15 mins away driving
i remember when i was 16 and not driving yet. i was trying to apply for jobs but was always turned away because i didn’t have “reliable transportation”
As somone from Toronto, I find it hilarious that we're the example of a good transit system. We literally only like two major subway lines, y'all must have it REAL bad
If you go to other cities in North America you will realize how good the TTC is lol I've been to Montreal and Chicago's and let me tell you better hold on for your dear life there no joke.
Hey dont disrespect Line 4 like that! It's great, there's never any one creepy or drunk to bother you!
Um..... we have 4.... I know 3 and 4 don't really count but come on...
@@1nfamoussoldier359 I live in Montreal, it's not that bad here?
The story wasn’t just about subways/trains. It was about buses and their frequency on various routes as well. Toronto is fairly good in that respect.
I live in Copenhagen, Denmark, and our trains are designed as a "finger plan" that is identical of that in Chicago. Convenient if you want to go from a suburb to downtown. But terrible if you want to go from suburb to suburb, meaning it's often faster and easier to go by bike rather than by train or bus. And since it rains a lot in Copenhagen, especially duing fall and winter, bike is not always ideal.
Thanks for a great video. I will share it with my local politcians, since a lot of the points in this video is also relevant for them.
I speak as a person whos family was basically barred from owning a house as a result of the credit and financial issues of having to buy a car: Public transportation is neccessary, The way households and small communities are forced into investing into their own is ridiculous, and dont get me started on my college years, its hard working minimum wage, and having to pay for college, boarding, car and basic live neccessities
I was in Japan and I had to transfer from one subway to another. My app said I had 1 minute to make the transfer. The app also said I arrived at track 2, but the new train leaves from track 4. I was like, how can I make the transfer in one minute? Normally I have to get off the train, leave track level, go to the new track and go back up to track level. To my surprise, when I arrived, they parked a waiting train on track 3 with all the doors open, creating a "train bridge" between tracks 2 and 4. Suffice it to say, I made my transfer.
That's a really slick solution
exactly, public transit in Japan is world-class
@@shirokisasaki3233 Japan's public transit is the best in the world. However, you can't just copy that to US - the population densities are much different.
@@onetwothreeabc i mean we could in bigger cities doi
@@guyfauks2576 The "big" city in US is not really big enough. Tokyo has 37 million people, just a little bit less than California, the most populated state in the US.
Based on these comments, the idea of Toronto having a good public transit system is a shocking development not just to Americans, but also to people from Toronto.
General Grievous: KENOBI. I wasn't expecting you here....
General Kenobi, you are a bold one.
I've hated our transit because it's usually late but now I appreciate that we even have it in the first place... I never thought about not being able to reach a part of a city through transit.
Honestly, after I moved away to a smaller city, I have come to understand how wonderful the TTC actually is. You can’t appreciate it until you no longer have access.
But our transit system is bad. The TTC only has a few lines. Look at the subway system in a city like London
As someone who has lived in Toronto for 28 years and spent 3 years living in South Korea, using the TTC as an idealistic model for transit is HILARIOUS.
as a student who depends on public transit, i take two buses and walk 20 minutes from school to home when it only takes about 10 minutes to drive from these two places. i live in the la county area so that says a lot considering it's a city that should have convenient public transportation.
In Europe you often aren't even able to effectively enter a city with your own car. I love it.
Because europe is tiny & cities are more closer together. North America has different infrastructure: bigger cities, larger space, with large suburbs interconnecting those cities. A car is a still a must have in North America.
@@nathanjackson1091 not always, my city has a bigger population than a few states in America and is still considered a smaller city. Also not every American city is bigger than every European city
@@deckydec1897 That’s inductive reasoning we’re not talking about your city. We’re talking Europe vs.North America landscape, urban, suburban infrastructure which are vastly different. You can drive for days in Canada & still be in 2 provinces; same with US. You can drive few hours in europe be in different countries. A car is a necessity in North America...europe it isn’t so much.
@@nathanjackson1091 you ever heard or a little country I like to call Russia?
@@deckydec1897 yeah, because Russia is soooo representative of Europe
Living in London the public transport is great and looking at this I am extremely grateful for it. And its also weird for a English town or place with a decent population to not have a train station.
Metro in London is overcrowded and filthy
@@St3v3NWL Have you ever been? Busy yes but it's exceptionally clean
it's decent but some of the stations are so old that they don't even have escalators. the small tunnels of older lines also means capacity is limited. when I visited London I wondered how the disabled and elderly would access such stations. but I guess at least it's there and it works for most
@@St3v3NWL do you really expect a public transport to be not crowded? Its called PUBLIC for a reason. Everyone uses it and so it isnt really suprising if it is crowded. Tokyo's metros are much more crowded.
Effective, for sure. The prices are exorbitant though.
Car companies are to blame.
And airline companies too
The real issue is land-use regulations like zoning, building restrictions, and minimum parking requirements. Of these, the most important is minimum parking requirements which make it expensive to build up. In order to build taller buildings, the developer must acquire more land for parking creating parking lots and/or parking structures, or excavate the ground for underground parking which is very expensive. This is why the walkable areas are either expensive business districts, or old downtowns (made prior to enforcement of these laws).
Parking is the key to car dependency as cars spend 95% of their time parked. If a destination has no parking, or if the parking is expensive, one would consider other means of transport other than driving. Minimum Parking Requirements guarantees high parking availability at most destinations, therefore, car usage is encouraged. More car usage leads to congestion which leads to more demand for car based infrastructure. Eventually, this leads to low density urban sprawl and car centric design.
This affects walkability as destinations are further apart, and walking and crossing the streets becomes less safe with fast moving vehicles. For safety concerns, driving becomes preferred to walking.
For public transport to be useful, there has to be a critical mass of ridership for the economies of scale to work. This ridership comes from people walking going to and from the same destinations at the same time. Higher ridership also leads to demand for higher frequency. Public transport is best in high density areas going to other high density areas (think NYC, London, Tokyo, Singapore). All those places are illegal to build in the US given the set of building rules. For lack of good public transport, driving is yet again encouraged.
Minimum parking requirements creates a positive feedback loop that starts with parking convenience, to car centric urban sprawl, to near total car dependency. Americans are addicted to cars not because of car culture, but it is mandated by law.
There's also one important thing to add if you want the system to work: seperate bus lines. People won't use buses if they're going to wait in traffic jam the same amount of time as if they were using a car
Bring back street cars, we lost them because car companies literally bought them and then ended service so they could sell more cars.
@@JK-fu4vt What's a street car ? trams ?
@@bon3scrush3r I think so yea, I saw that in another video months ago.
@@bon3scrush3r Americans call then streetcars. But that definition is a little to vast. A streetcar can be a rail-bus sharing the road with other cars. Or a tram with dedicated tracks, and off station ticketing.
They have been returning in the US, but the routes are very short, blocked by traffic (still same lane) and impractical because construction is partially funded by local businesses that do not have effective overall transit planning in mind.
When your standard is the TTC, you know you’ve messed up big time
@Ortum Lynx i love you. perfectly summed it up
WHY IS UR HEAD ROUND
They need to learn from Singapore and most Asian countries. Their metro system is amazing. There is nothing wrong in taking a public transport everyday 😇
Your Chicago example picked the worst available bus route. There is a very accessible route from Avondale to Elmwood Park (it would require a transfer to a second bus but the transit time would be around 50 minutes).
I think that is pretty good for Elmwood Park which is a small and relatively obscure suburb.
This was a poor cherry picked example that put Chicago in a bad light.
Come to those Asia cities like Tokyo or Hong Kong or Seoul, you will find out what public transits really means.
Even and indian public transportation system(say Delhi metro) is better than american.
even a third world country-Philippines-has a 4-5 minute frequency of buses in most cities...can't believe some Americans are proud of their country when their public transport is like this.
@@cafeswith8549 sed for them
I've heard tales of what Asian public transit is. It sounds like a magical universe complete with unicorns and permanent rainbows. I'm sure Mitch O'Connell would shudder at its efficiency.
@@cafeswith8549 also add that Philippines has UV Express, Jeepneys, Tricycles as Public Transport aside from the Trains and Buses. There's even a rise for motorcycles as public vehicles. Those smaller public vehicles often go to inner city neighborhoods and are pretty much connected with each other.
Its almost like General Motors lobbied successfully to guarantee future profits for themselves
I have to agree with you.
@@dixonhill1108 more cars = more gas. Fossil fuel companies lobby against public transportation as well. Don’t fool yourself into thinking public transportation isn’t as efficient as having millions of miles of roads and car infrastructure.
... and then lost the market to Japanese companies
@@dixonhill1108 *leaning in, lips on microphone* "I pick the 'who is the closeted racist who's friends are too scared to say anything', please Alex"
it's a myth that GM dismantled america's train and trolley network. The destruction of the train network began in the late 1800's with the rail system in such bad shape by the first world war that it was nationalized by the federal government, as for the trolley system, that mostly just came down to the convince and affordability of busses and cars. There was of course lobbying by GM but there's not really substantial evidence of shenanigans/bribery and more the simple fact that post war Americans wanted cars
The gap gets even worse when you compare it to Europe. They are extremely well connected in every sense be that trains, trams, metros and buses. All European residents I’ve met say that cars are not necessary at all because one-month public transportation tickets cost about one tank of gasoline and get you pretty much anywhere in the city. That is one area where the US is strongly lagging with respect to other developed countries.
I am saddened to hear this. As someone living in the Philippines, I have experienced an AWFUL public transportation especially on navigating from my province to Metro Manila. PLUS THE TRAFFIC THAT NO WORD CAN DESCRIBE HOW TERRIBLE IT WAS, BROKEN ROADS, AND SOMETIMES EVEN MORE CHAOTIC POLICY in terms of coding and such. Seeing this and reading the comments gave me perspective on how transportation looks like in different parts of the world.
I envy Seoul and Japan residents so much 🙃
They should just inspire from or even copy the European or Asian ones.
So, Canada.
@@Sinaeb not Canada it's a mix of both
@It's Ken What? A lot of Asian countries have great train/metro systems. On the top of my head, I can think of S. Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
@@KDH-br6hy Exactly.
But pleas don´t copy germany we still got planty problems in this area our self
US people argue on whether everyone should get affordable health care, I don't think they can make a change in public transport
Public transportation is not efficient. Also American cities are spread out more than other places. The best way to solve the problem is to not having to go anywhere. The automated car will solve most of these problems. And we may need to get a 6G network.
@@teedub9295 Canada or Australia have a very similar city structure to the US and yet they have pretty decent public transportation. And in comparison to the automated car, public transport is much more efficient. More people in less time for less cost :) and also much more environmentally friendly
@@t-bone9239 I look at public transportation that it should be self sufficient and that it operates totally on ridership. Take Toronto, at best the TTC only covers about 70% of its expenses through fares. The Government has to kick in the rest. To me a system isn't successful unless it can cover all of its costs. The US generally have larger cities (sq. miles) than other cities on the planet. (yes, New York would be an exception) But a city like Austin, TX has 1/7 the people as Taipei with 4 times the area. A mass transit system just won't work that well. And finally, Americans have a love affair with their vehicles. And Americans in general, live 1.8 times the distance from their work than other global cities. So I would expect any American system to be not as effective as other countries systems.
@@teedub9295 I mean there are also a lot of transportation systems that operate at a profit like Singapur or Hongkong for example (granted they have a very small area with a high population density so making a profit is fairly easy).
From my point of view public transportation is a basic service like education and healthcare and shouldn’t need to operate at a profit, so if government subsidies are necessary for making it available I am all for it. But I know that’s something that a lot of Americans won’t see the same way.
And like I said, Canada and Australia have veery similar city structures often even more spreadout and the somehow manage to have halfway decent public transport.
But yes, Americans love their cars and trucks and look down on public transport like it’s only for poor people. They are to arrogant to even consider it and god forbid the government would try to subsidize it....because then it would be socialism and giving free stuff to the lazy poor.
@@t-bone9239 You proved my point. Hong Kong has a density of over 17,000 people per sq. mile. Singapore has a density of over 20000 people per sq mile. Austin is about 800 people per sq. mile. It should work at a profit. And Yes they should operated at a profit. If you're paying more than the service produces then you don't need it.
The United States is the only developed country in the world without a sophisticated public transportation system and universal healthcare, which is a shame because you just know our country can afford to have both but chooses not to.
Makes you question the “developed” moniker
I'll save you a watch American public transit is so bad because American urban planners prioritize car traffic above all else. Roads and highways will get widened before extra transit is added or frequency is increased.
America used to have good walkable cities. They were eventually bulldozed and replaced with highways because car manufacturers lobbied against it.
So that’s why in movies Americans always take there car where ever they go & I’m like why don’t you just walk
Not just in movies but also in real life. I live in a suburb outside of Cincinnati and im telling theres barely any side walk for pedestrians to walk on. My commute to work is about 8 miles and theres no other choice to get there besides driving. Every store has either a drive thru where you could buy stuff from your car(even grocery stores). Everything is built around cars specially in mid west america. I used to live in new york city and there i didnt need a car and public transportation is bettered designed and more convenient than a car
Everyone normally drives 30 mins for anything, residential is separated from commercial.
Because only losers take public transit.
@@juliusd637 That’s a ridiculous statement
Where I love you can’t get anywhere without driving. I got yelled at for walking to a friend’s house that was less than 2 miles away by my mom because there are no sidewalks anywhere near us so I had to walk on busy roads to get there. It’s a massive pain
If Toronto is used as a benchmark for "good" then it must be really bad in the States lol
That’s what I’m sayin 🤣
vancouver is exactly like the states, three lines, two of them overlap and all connect to downtown so if you want to go from new west to richmond you have to go downtown and from there go to richmond or take a series of busses.
@@michelleh4717 No, I recall there was a bus route that went over the Queenborough Bridge directly between the two suburbs.
@@alainarchambault2331 a bus, not a metro line.
@@michelleh4717 Aye, but still better than taking the Skytrain all the way downtown. We are talking about public transit after all.
Imo it's always about the money. If you look up the USA's 5 biggest exports ...
1 unrefined oil (makes cars go)
2 refined oil (makes cats go fast)
3 cars ( vroom)
4 integrated circuits (for cars)
5 car parts (that grow up to be cars)
I lived in Charlotte for 3 years and this is very accurate. There is ONE light rail that runs diagonally from i485 to UNC Charlotte. That's it. Other than that you have to take a bus which takes MUCH longer, and the further you are from city center the less options you have for bus routes.
People in Europe scratching their head a bit confused...
It’s just not even close. I live in Vancouver and 20 minute drive is a 90 minute transit. Europe is so much better
Different country different culture
@@mustang8206 then maybe we should try to change the culture to better suit the needs of the people. The US is only infatuated with the car because the auto industry lobbied for government investment in roads and freeways rather than public transit. Maybe instead of simply saying "it is what it is" we can try to improve our country and its infrastructure
Here to get to Glasgow it’s only a half hour train ride. By car it would take like 45-50 min.
@@kdmedia1534 thats amazing.
I live in Europe. I'm 25 and I don't even have driver's license. I will get it soon, but I just didn't feel the pressing need. I can go basically everywhere I want with public transport anyway.
Same, im 19 and i dont think i need a driver license. Cause public transportation is great enough here in turkey. I even can use a yatch transport to go another side of the city i live!
So during the week I got to go 100 miles south take a bus to trolly 8 miles I take a trolly from chula vista to the train in san diego 15 miles from downtown san diego to downtown LA 100 miles then get on the trolly to go to long Beach 20 miles then a bus to san Pedro 8 miles yeah not everybody has a convient part of the world then come back to work in san diego the next day pshh
I got mine when I was 26 as I needed it for work in remote locations.
Im only 16 but for now im a 100% sure i wont need a car... im a passionate biker and together with all the metros and trains and busses i can reach every single place i want to in my hometown in germany
Here in Toronto, we use the bus my friend.
Yeah, it's true. I live in Toronto. I own a car. No way , NO WAY would I drive downtown to work. I take a 25-minute bus ride to the subway for another 20-minute ride downtown. Even if I have to stand, it's not that bad. But the drive? It's just nuts. No way, man. No way.
As a Tokyo resident, Chicago's transit system seems well designed. What seems ill-designed is the city's zoning policy which allows employers to locate their offices out into suburbs. Chaotic sprawling of workplaces. Not just Tokyo but London, Paris, Seoul, and other major cities have some concentration of offices and workplaces around central districts. Don't blame transit systems. Blame employers and city's zoning officials.
Public transportation? Yes. Public/Community safety? No. That's why public transportation is not connected to the residential areas. Democrats deserve the blame that they promote and encourage criminals in urban areas.
You have a point but having some offices and workplaces in each suburb can be a really good idea. If the workplaces are near houses, people can commute on foot and on bicycles. The issue is, the suburbs often aren’t walkable or cyclable, and you tend to get imbalanced development, if you have one suburb that’s got too many offices and another that has too few people will drive between suburbs, and the density is too low to have reliable public transit. Where I live in the UK, we have shops within 5-10 minutes of each house, with a walkable town centre with bikes and bus lanes (and routes) to get there, and an “industrial” estate near the airport which is full of offices and also has bike and bus routes even though the distance is less walkable from my part of town to up there. There are ways to get everywhere without a car, and although most people commute to London, having shops and offices in my town is beneficial.
I think the big difference between Chicago and Tokyo’s development is that Chicago’s downtown has such a dominant share of the jobs, while Tokyo has several “downtowns” spread throughout the city.
Chicago actually has the second largest public transit system in the US, most other cities have nothing more than a few buslines and a tram, if you're lucky
Exchange students in Australia:
From Asia & Europe: Wow your public transport is so infrequent, slow and expensive.
from USA & Canada: omg what a great public transport system! I can get almost anywhere! & I get a student discount!
Oi mate, don't throw the Canadians in with them Americans.
We Canadians try our best to seperate amarican habits in almost everything. It's a fun but challenging process.
Do you mean buses? AUS subway is tiny.
I think international students do not get a student discount on transit in Australia.
@Tre C
- Rich enough to afford a car
- But not rich enough to afford a house or good apartment in the city rather than the distant burbs
- White flight happens and the middle class reluctantly moves out of cities to live in the car highway dystopia as it fails to secure neighbourhoods from integration
- Cities deteriorate into current LA, Detroit, and Chicago
- Middle class is forced to live in culturally and intellectually barren burbs with no influence in the country
- The cities are now trash, but project their trash views onto the country because they still retain cultural hegemony
- Elites can still afford to live in the city, but need to convert to the local trashy culture
The situation is irreversible since it's impossible to have density with cars (try driving a car in Manhattan or central Moscow), so any conversion of cities due to mass white return is blocked. But it's also impossible to reform public transport since it would require lots of middle class tax money - but why would they pay if they don't live there?
Today I learned: transit in the US is so bad, It makes Toronto transit look good.
Nah they are just are comparing The number of bus routes in Toronto (a city with ~ 3 million people) to a bunch of >700k cities. Compare Toronto to any other equivalent city (NY, Chicago, LA) and you get reminded that it’s really a Micky Mouse Transit system.
@@omerkleiner3578 I don’t understand what you are trying to say
@@kaidebenz5152 I doubt he understand it himself
Yeah commenters tend to do that.... So annoying
Lived in both Chicago and Toronto. Chicago is definitely easier and more efficient. Buses in chicago are less prevelent but there are several different rail lines to take. Toronto is just a mess.
If she took a bike at a leasiourly pace via Wrightwood Avenue the entire bike trip would take only 39 minutes. Much less than the average american commute. If she got a electric bike that can do standard legal speeds it would take less than 15 minutes to get to her workplace. the distance is only 6.8 miles. I get that Chicago gets somewhat cold in the winter, but it has the same temperature profile in winter as Oslo, and in summer the same as Bucharest. So biking is absolutely an option. Copenhagen has about the same weather as Chicago year round (a bit colder summers) but 40% of the population travel by bike.
For more on the history of why it's so bad here in the US, I highly recommend reading The Power Brokers, and checking out Robert Moses and his influence on urban development from the early 1900s! I live in Arizona and my 25 minute drive to work would take me almost 2 hours on public transit, it's just really sad.
lol if you’re using the ttc as a good example then it must be BAD in the us
I think this video isn't entirely true. If u live in the city of Chicago like i do, and want to travel from one part of the city to the other side or even just down town (using the transit). Your commute can be any from 20min to a hour. The Bus and L system arrival time is anywhere between 5-10mins. Now the suburbs is a different story. Chicago transit is call the CTA. While the suburbs transit is call the Pace. The Pace bus run once every hour. There service also start late and ends early. So if you lives in the suburbs your definitely going to need a car. Both transit company are under the same umbrella call the RTA. Chicago, if not the best in the country is second to New York City transit. That can also be debated. There are room for improvement but not much. An there been rumor of planning for a CTA expansion throughout the suburbs in the near future.
RIGHT!?
@@jamesallen5068 i think the idea was to start a debate about things that you dont see talked about within the actual greater election
@@jamesallen5068 This is exactly what the video says.. like what??
@@vanhoot2234 And one of things is infrastructure and public transit.
An issue that always gets bogged down in political conflicts.
Imho, strictly residential / strictly business areas are SO depressing. So much of the US looks like it wasn't built for humans.
never though of this and youre so right
Yeah
How to plan an American city in the 60s:
- build highways out of nowhere
- destroy neighborhoods of the poor
- repeat.
Pyongyang is the best transit city. Trams, trolleybuses, a beautiful metro, and people use bicycles everywhere. Hardly any cars. Americans may not like our country, but they have to at least admit when it comes to this topic, we are far better. Here, money doesn't go to waste. We use it to not only protect the people by putting it towards modernizing the military, but for infrastructure FOR the people. To make their lives better overall.
Best Korea
Seoul literally has the worst transit system
Pyongyang is soo much better.
This is why I'm thankful living in Sydney. Extensive train line, lots of bus stops, Ferries to multiple stops Light Rail that's been extended in 2019 and building another one out west in 2023, Metro built in 2019 and more in 2024. I see there's transport projects being built in the U.S in Dallas, Chicago, California and a few others which is good.
Advertisement on public transit is one source of funding that shockingly isn't too popular in the US, but is very widespread in many other countries. I'm surprised, that of all places, the USA didn't jump on.
That really doesnt generate that much, but might help day to day operations
@@Hans.Dewitt tell that to TFL
Just like universal healthcare and affordable collage, public transport is yet another area where somehow America has failed to catch up with the rest of the developed world
Because we barely have any public transit. Car companies made sure of that
In korea it feels like half of the public transport is funded by kpop fans. Half of the billboards and screens are filled with birthdays wishes paid for by fans for groups that probably haven't taken the subway in ages. It's kinda weird.
Vox: Uses Toronto as an example of good transit
Torontonians in the comments: hold up
The high-frequency bus system in Toronto is exactly as presented on the map at 5:10 and in the thumbnail.
@@MultiCappie
Meanwhile there are plenty of points a and b, where it is faster to bike.
@@MultiCappie okay?
they should compare with Asian and European cities. They are the best in public transit.
@@Han-rq3yq But that would make it so painfully obvious that the American Oligarchy cares not for peasants
Thank you for bringing in how frequent bus grids (and MORE SERVICE in general), leads to better usage of transit.
that “45 minute walk” on your animated map spanned no more than 8 blocks.
This was the biggest culture shock I experienced when I was living in the US. I suddenly found I couldn't get to any supermarket in my city, even though I was smack next to multiple bus stops. I had to bicycle for half an hour to get there, or take a Uber.
Most Americans buy enough groceries to last them a week or two. I couldn't imagine having to carry that much on the bus or train. For that matter I live 2/3 of a mile from a supermarket (a one minute drive), but I couldn't walk there during the day. Too much traffic during the day on the 4 lane highway with no sidewalks or pedestrian crossings. My town actually has a pretty good bus system. But only during the day, after 9PM it's useless, as the only routes still going are for the college campus's routes going from the dorms to the bars, and even then only till midnight on the weekend.
@@joseph1150 Yea, when I went to the US I noticed most food was simply, well, not fresh.
Here in Belgium I go shopping almost every day for fresh food basically. Except Saturday when I buy food for 2 days of course.
The big shopping trip that needs to happen on occasion is maybe 4 times a year or so.
@@joseph1150 for me I've got five small supermarkets and one big one all within a five minute walk. I don't know how you americans can do it.
@@joseph1150 I’ve done that many years here in Phoenix the buses run every 30 minutes for the most part there always late and we pay 64 dollars a month for a pass well I don’t since I know they’re ripping us off I pay the 32 a month for now. But I can expect a few miles to take me up to 2 hours anywhere in Glendale to Mesa to Phoenix Arizona. They’re the worst I can’t wait to Own a car or for god to take me so I can stop suffering without a family. Been on my own since 2016 when I became homeless after aging out of foster care.
@@juliorobinson5386 If you can make it to Indiana you can find a factory or warehouse job that doesn't require any certifications or education that pays well enough to buy a house in short order. Failing that construction around here is always looking for grunt labor to train up. If you speak Spanish and English well you would have a place, probably make line coordinator in short order where I work. To put it into perspective my mortgage is 800 including escrow, and my job might only pay 48k, but that is enough room after bills to easily afford a car payment on a 2021 Honda. You can find 1-2 bed apartments in the 500-700 range in my city, possibly cheaper if you don't mind a neighborhood with some section 8 in it.
I used to live in Phoenix, but now I live in Seoul, South Korea. I've never seen public transport this good. It's gonna be hard if I go back to an an American city.
Ugh, Phoenix is the worst.
Japan >
@@cielecelestine3469 Weeb
If you dont like people and want your own space and land america is the way to go. Not a lot of public transportation in rural areas because they require to go offroad and drive around to maintain their farmland or ranch. Different lifestyles and thats OK
@@722Moo True, but Phoenix isn't rural. It's very urban and even the center city area is a mess. Could definitely use some rethinking.
I'm guessing Toronto was used as an example instead of Montreal because that's the only city Americans might find on a map.
As I Mexican I always wonder how people in the US move without a car...and now I see they don't, even Mexico in almost all the territory we have a decent system of public transport, mostly buses and vans I you only have to wait no more than 10 minutes till you spot the vehicle you need
Was debating universal health care. Someone quipped, if we have “socialized” health care, why not “socialized” car care. I responded that we do and it is called public transport. Didn’t realize that public transit was such a unicorn!
Where I live the government gives you money for buying an electric/hibrid car and you can get grants to buy any car if you have a job. So a 10k car can be a 1-3k one. I don't know if it is around the country because we are ✨ *different and special* ✨
@@iconquer1672 Roads are already paid for. It is very generous to include car maintenance.
He obviously meant ownership and maintenance should be subsidized or outright payed for by the government
@@cevapipapi8920 the bus system in most places is outright paid for by the government, including maintenance. As are many light rail systems. Sometimes what we have in our heads of what we are looking for is not what it actually turns out to be in reality. The fictional prospect of the government paying for maintenance and costs of personal vehicles is played out in reality by public transportation. The government running a private vehicular service for everyone is kind of absurd (which was the point of my adversaries position) while at the same time the function of such a proposal, that everyone has government sponsored transportation, is in fact reality.
neither is an emergency room
As someone who lives in Japan and have formerly lived in the US, I can’t stress enough how amazing public transportation is. Everyone uses it and it’s become so well done that owning cars is seen as either costly, unnecessary, and in some cases flashy. The best part is many stations have access points for the above ground rail, subway systems, and all have bus stops, and taxi services at the ready. Whenever I visit my family members in the US, I decide I can do the same thing and my goodness, I swear I waste about 45 minutes waiting for the right buses.
Aside from efficacy and efficiency, I’m wondering though, would implementing these changes, actually change people? I feel that Americans have this overly romantic image of cars, some if not many tie their masculinity to owning certain cars. Within a culture like this, I’m curious as to how well these programs would be. Just a thought
The new generation is driving less, I think
I loved taking trains and buses in Japan. When I lived there for 3 years I truly felt like I could go anywhere. I feel so trapped and restricted by way public transit works in US. I don't like driving and I hate how the city and transits are designed to force me to drive
Public transportation in SF is good imo
@Bob Jones that's more of an exaggeration as a whole, maybe in your area might be, but in general, just because in movies or news they show it that way, doesn't means it really is.
@Bob Jones The only reason public transit is filled with homeless people is because they’re forced to buy a car to be successful. Need a house? Get a job. Need a job? Buy a car. Need a car? Get a job. It’s a lose-lose unless you’ve inherited a car or a house from your parents.
Thnaks, RUclips, for putting this in my feed after only 2 years. Those logarithms are killing it! *dramatic eye roll*
Excellent video.
Would be good to add in the issues of DUI/accidents: without a viable alternative to driving, people tend to DUi more readily.
And health issues in general tied to extensive use of cars.
As a Singaporean, watching this video has really made me appreciate how well my country's bus operators have planned bus routes. I used to take for granted the ease of accessibility between suburbs/towns.
Ah yes good thing the transport system here is well thought out 😅
Yeah as a singaporean too, it makes us realize how fortunate we are and how clean public transport is given how cheap it is vs other developed countries. Makes you realize that cars are mostly for showing off here lol
I am Singaporean but we should never compare to the worst examples or it will make us complacent. Compare to the best and we shall do better.
tbh I'm not surprised
as a Bulgarian living in a coastal touristy city we are always disappointed with something in our transit system such as: Old buses, expensive tickets, buses being late, no GPS on the buses, overcrowded buses in rush hour and lunch time, drivers being aggressive, not opening the first door, buses breaking down, bumpy rides, not maintained properly by the company and angry conductors. When I watched this video I was so proud of the transit system in my city. LoL
Love how y’all have Toronto’s transit system in the thumbnail as if it’s actually good (it isn’t). Best transit systems exist in Asia and Europe.
Obviously, Asian and European transit systems are far superior in every respect. But Toronto is the closest approximation to a US city with a somewhat "better" system that illustrates that you can have North American urban planning with a passable transit system that reaches most areas. It's an easier leap to make than, say, using Hong Kong's metro where the city design is far, far different than in the US.
Racist.
Yes,true but everything is relative. They were comparing it to American systems. Outside of New York, Toronto is easily the best in North America ( with lots of room for improvement, yes.)
that's the problem. Even Toronto's transit is better than most of the US
it’s p good
It's also not only about public transit, the most exercise most Americans get is walking from the house to the car and from the car to the workplace. With a 10-15 minute walk to a public transit site plus another 10-15 walk to work, repeat again at the end of the day, there goes the daily 1 hour exercise.
The irony of this is that Chicago has one of the best systems in the country. There is a plan on the books to do a ring our side the loop but its never had the money. The last go at doing anything on the El is the extension of the Red Line that is over budget and studies have shown not needed but is being done b/c of promises maybe to the area 100 years ago. Maybe with the infrastructure bill the outer ring could happen. The other problem with Chicagoland area is that their isn't a reginal transit authority. There is the suburbs and Chicago with different boards and all that comes with that. The inability to combine into one board and work together has been disastrous for the region. But again better than most cities.
Same with Toronto. Toronto transit is separate from Mississauga transit and Mississauga is a medium size city outside Toronto. But Toronto city itself is pretty big.