About commuting
A large portion of the rush hour traffic has to be attributed to people living outside of town in suburbs. That’s natural for any major city, as I would like to think that most of us appreciate clean air and quiet when we’re not at work (I guess I’m a freak, I appreciate those two AT work as well, heh)
Anyways, in these panicky days of environmental suspense, everyone says “Take the train” or “take the bus”… (children, look away now, this is going to get ugly) – What retard actually believes that this is going to help? How stupid can you be, if you believe that those of us living outside of the city centers are willing to leave the car when
- There’s no (safe) parking to accommodate every commuter. The habitual morning “fight” to get to work starts right there, constant fear of not finding a spot to park your car is frustrating. For those living in the northern parts of the world, such as myself, parking your car outside means you’ll have to scrape off snow and ice when you get home, tired from work.
- Never mind frequent departures of trains and buses, when you commute, you regularly fight the same people for a chance of getting a seat. You recognize all of the people at the station, they’re the same every day, they commute just like you, yet, they’re enemies, looking to take that seat you so sorely wanted…
- Even when you occasionally win a seat, the stench of far too many people crammed into that train or bus, just makes your breakfast want to jump off at the next stop. It disgusts me how train companies can cut costs so far. And when the morning is bad, you know that the evening is going to be horrible.
There are only two options for people today, you can live with it, and be a complete looser, or you can take the car, and be an environmental jackass. Either way, you loose, and either way, you’re not to blame.
Let me dream a little:
Give me somewhere near the train station to park my car that is under a roof. Keep backup train wagons and extra buses and use them dynamically so that everyone gets a seat. Make me want to take the train to work, and I will.
Choking our economy by raising the prices of gas, upping the cost of ownership for cars, and placing toll charges all over may reduce the number of people that can afford to have a car, but you’re really only hurting those that are trying to raise children in a healthier environment, away from the city centers. They depend on cars, and are usually not the richest people on the planet.
There ya have it, my two cents on commuting.
I agree with you, commuting should not be such a troublesome or demoralizing experience. However, on the subject of taking cars into urban centers we probably disagree. As an urban dweller, I think my neighbors and I deserve to have clean air as well. At the same time, we shouldn’t have to give up large portions of our public space to private vehicles. Those who choose to drive into cities need to bear the burden of the impact of that choice. Higher fuel costs, taxes, tolls and congestion charges serve to make people think about the impact of their decision to drive in a very meaningful way (via their wallet).
I don’t think we’re disagreeing. What I’m saying, is that you really can’t blame people for driving, given the conditions that commuters are under.
I fully understand that people rather sit in their cars than go through the agony of commuting every single day. There are two things that are important for commuters:
– That the trains and buses are on time
– Some degree of comfort
Ideally, very few people would have a need to take the car into town, thereby making conditions a wee bit better for those that live there as well.
Now, take a family with kids. Given todays environmental conditions, you really don’t want to be raising kids in Manhattan, nor do you want to do so in the heart of Oslo. There are too many cars, too much dust in the air, noise, and pollution and weird people. Given a choice, you move far enough away to be clear of that, and at the same time, close enough to not have to spend more than maybe a couple of hours on travel every day.
But, unless you are an heir to a fortune, or a house in a fancy suburb, you won’t be able to afford a wife and kids anywhere near town. Thus you’re forced to move away, and commute. Raising kids where everything is ten miles from everything else also means that you are going to depend on a car.
Taxing cars will only hurt young people getting established in life and those with a low income.
It is not so obvious in the states as owning a car there has been relatively easy. In Norway, a family car will cost you a big deal if you want something that is half-decent. A new family car with two or three extras (air conditioning, a stereo, and winter tyres) will set you back around 350 000 NOK (57 000$, or 43 000€). For that amount, you’re lucky to get 140 horsepower. More realistically around 100. I am not talking high quality cars, such as the higher profiled German brands, but your everyday russian and asian car brands.
Filling up the gas tank costs around 700 NOK (close to 115 USD, or around €87). At the same time, trains and buses are not really that much cheaper than driving. I figured it’s only around 30% more expensive to drive to work for a whole month, compared to taking the train. Many will argue that I forget to add insurance and garage expenses to that, but I live outside of town, and I need the car, so those expenses are there either way.
(Granted, I could’ve bought a less expensive one, but, heh.. nerds privilege)
So I don’t think we disagree 🙂