How do you fix American public transportation?

[Samof94]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

Quite true, indeed.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

I have very high standards for public transit (there's no excuse for being behind Hong Kong, let alone Paris) so even New York fails my expectations, but California transit is very clearly better the national average.

[SevenEleven]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

I have very high standards for public transit (there's no excuse for being behind Hong Kong, let alone Paris) so even New York fails my expectations, but California transit is very clearly better the national average.

CA is way above national average. The state of public transportation and mass transit in this country is horrific. Still, there is more than plenty of objections or criticisms of the reality of pubic transit in CA.

I think Hogan is the worst/second worst governor in the country mostly because of this issue.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I think Hogan is the worst/second worst governor in the country mostly because of this issue.

Yes! (Charlie Baker is also useless on this.)

[SevenEleven]

I think Hogan is the worst/second worst governor in the country mostly because of this issue.

Yes!

This is where CA is underrated. "Liberal" states like VT, MA, MD can still elect Republicans. CA, OR, WA, and HI are leading the way. Never Republican. The west coast is the heart and soul of the Democratic Party.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I think Hogan is the worst/second worst governor in the country mostly because of this issue.

Yes!

This is where CA is underrated. "Liberal" states like VT, MA, MD can still elect Republicans. CA, OR, WA, and HI are leading the way. Never Republican. The west coast is the heart and soul of the Democratic Party.

That’s cause the OR GOP is much much more to the right of those republican parties and so is the CA GOP

[OSR stands with Israel]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

I have very high standards for public transit (there's no excuse for being behind Hong Kong, let alone Paris) so even New York fails my expectations, but California transit is very clearly better the national average.

How is public transportation in LA compared to Portland. People say Portland has one of the best public transportation systems due to TriMet

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

I have very high standards for public transit (there's no excuse for being behind Hong Kong, let alone Paris) so even New York fails my expectations, but California transit is very clearly better the national average.

How is public transportation in LA compared to Portland. People say Portland has one of the best public transportation systems due to TriMet

It's somewhat better in LA--but that's to be expected because of size. Tri-Met is fine but its big issue is not having grade separation Downtown which makes trains from Goose Hollow to the Lloyd Center take an obscenely long time. LA has this in some places but has invested in actual subway tunnels along several corridors. As a general rule, I'd say transit in LA, the Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle is similar in quality and better than the American average but lags the international standard.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Stop electing Republicans would be the first step.

True. Also, you’d need to change the attitudes towards cars, especially in the South.

Even CA still struggles here, it's a sunbelt problem as most of the eastern seaboard has fairly decent transport (though still largely inadequate outside of DC, NYC, and maybe Philly).

I have very high standards for public transit (there's no excuse for being behind Hong Kong, let alone Paris) so even New York fails my expectations, but California transit is very clearly better the national average.

How is public transportation in LA compared to Portland. People say Portland has one of the best public transportation systems due to TriMet

It's somewhat better in LA--but that's to be expected because of size. Tri-Met is fine but it's big issue is not having grade separation Downtown which makes trains from Goose Hollow to the Lloyd Center take an obscenely long time. LA has this in some places, but has invested in actual subway tunnels along several corridors. As a general rule, I'd say transit in LA, the Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle is similar in quality and better than the American average but lags the international standard.

Yah that is true , and TriMet is actually removing two train stops to increase speed.


Another problem is the busses come too infrequently and take way too much time to get to the MAX station , so its not really convenient in using a bus to get to a MAX station. When I used to commute to PSU I had to drive to the max station and sadly because there is almost no parking available at Sunset Transit Center you have to park elsewhere which makes your train trip even longer.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Y'all have so far been approaching the problem in the wrong way; in fact you're approaching the wrong problem.

Improved public transportation isn't a end, but a means.

The desired goal is reduced use of private transportation. Improvements in telecommuting and in delivery services are far likelier to bring that about in the U.S. than improvements in public transportation. Especially delivery services. I can't imagine ever wanting to go grocery shopping by public transport.

[Former President tack50]

Y'all have so far been approaching the problem in the wrong way; in fact you're approaching the wrong problem.

Improved public transportation isn't a end, but a means.

The desired goal is reduced use of private transportation. Improvements in telecommuting and in delivery services are far likelier to bring that about in the U.S. than improvements in public transportation. Especially delivery services. I can't imagine ever wanting to go grocery shopping by public transport.

I mean yes, those help too with the aims of reducing traffic congestion and what not. But you are also kind of approaching it the wrong way.

Nobody, not even in major European cities with good public transportation, ever goes shopping for groceries on public transportation.

This ties back to the previous point I made about American cities being too sparse for good public transportation in the first place; but with denser developments you don't really "go shopping for groceries"; especially not in huge quantities that would fill up your car's back.

When you live in a densely populated area, it is a near certainty that you will have a supermarket well within walking distance; no more than say, 10 minutes away by foot. At those distances you don't really "shop for your weekly groceries" but rather really shop for a handful of things at a time, whenever you need them.

I know this first hand because I have been both in the city centre and in a suburb with no shops within reasonable walking distance nearby other than an overpriced gas station (really only good for emergencies) and arguably a tiny supermarket with very limited opening hours that was still 15-20 min away by foot. (and this in an area that is way more densely populated than the usual American suburbs as per seen in Google maps)

When I have been in the city centre; I did what I described and went for groceries whenever they were needed. If I suddenly needed eggs or whatever I'd go down to the supermarket (5-10 min away by foot) and just buy those and a handful of things.

Meanwhile when you live in a suburb like that it is a lot more inconvenient, so you end up having to do a big "weekly shopping" and then not really buy anything else (other than emergencies or things that have to be eaten fresh like bread)

Nobody, even with good public transportation, goes shopping for groceries by bus (unless there is literally no other option). The closest thing I can think of to "buying groceries on public transport" is what I used to do when I did a semester abroad; which happened due to a very weird set of circumstances. (supermarket that was considerably cheaper than the ones near my house and which was literally next to the subway station I had to go to in my commute back from college)

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Nobody, even with good public transportation, goes shopping for groceries by bus (unless there is literally no other option). The closest thing I can think of to "buying groceries on public transport" is what I used to do when I did a semester abroad; which happened due to a very weird set of circumstances. (supermarket that was considerably cheaper than the ones near my house and which was literally next to the subway station I had to go to in my commute back from college)

Define "literally no other option". People in my city go shopping for groceries by bus all the time.

[Former President tack50]

Nobody, even with good public transportation, goes shopping for groceries by bus (unless there is literally no other option). The closest thing I can think of to "buying groceries on public transport" is what I used to do when I did a semester abroad; which happened due to a very weird set of circumstances. (supermarket that was considerably cheaper than the ones near my house and which was literally next to the subway station I had to go to in my commute back from college)

Define "literally no other option". People in my city go shopping for groceries by bus all the time.

They do? I've never met anyone who goes by bus to buy groceries. Even looking at my city I was only able to find 2 neighbourhoods close-ish to the city centre where the residents are pretty much forced to go buy groceries by bus.

Of course, I can see scenarios where even if you have a supermarket nearby you might want to take the bus. Maybe you are an old person who can't walk 15 minutes with your groceries. Or maybe your nearest supermarket is a very small one with little variety so you might want to go to a bigger one that is further away.

But I'd imagine a good majority of people go by foot to buy groceries if they live in the "city proper"

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Nobody, even with good public transportation, goes shopping for groceries by bus (unless there is literally no other option). The closest thing I can think of to "buying groceries on public transport" is what I used to do when I did a semester abroad; which happened due to a very weird set of circumstances. (supermarket that was considerably cheaper than the ones near my house and which was literally next to the subway station I had to go to in my commute back from college)

Define "literally no other option". People in my city go shopping for groceries by bus all the time.

They do? I've never met anyone who goes by bus to buy groceries. Even looking at my city I was only able to find 2 neighbourhoods close-ish to the city centre where the residents are pretty much forced to go buy groceries by bus.

Of course, I can see scenarios where even if you have a supermarket nearby you might want to take the bus. Maybe you are an old person who can't walk 15 minutes with your groceries. Or maybe your nearest supermarket is a very small one with little variety so you might want to go to a bigger one that is further away.

But I'd imagine a good majority of people go by foot to buy groceries if they live in the "city proper"

Old people who can't walk 15 minutes with their groceries are... a lot of people, actually.
Going to a large supermarkets is also a factor.
I should also mention that my city has hilly, steep, residential parts (including where yours truly lives) right besides the historic centre. People DON'T like to walk up staircases, even if the actual distance on a map is small.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

When you live in a densely populated area, it is a near certainty that you will have a supermarket well within walking distance; no more than say, 10 minutes away by foot. At those distances you don't really "shop for your weekly groceries" but rather really shop for a handful of things at a time, whenever you need them.

You are putting the dogcart before the dog. For a variety of reasons, land use patterns in Europe encouraged keeping as much rural land as possible as rural rather than urban or suburban. I would posit that there wasn't any greater desire to live in densely populated areas in Europe than America, but rather that those in rural areas had both the desire and ability to keep them rural. NIMBYism is responsible for land use patterns on both sides of the pond, it just is than on one side it has served more to keep suburban areas from becoming urban while on the other it helped keep rural areas from becoming suburbs and exurbs.

[dead0man]

NYC may have the answer to bailing out their failing mass transit, putting a tax on online deliveries

With the Metropolitan Transportation Authority facing a budget crisis, New Yorkers may have to dig into their pockets to help out.

Under a new proposed bill, New York City residents would be required to pay a $3 surcharge on packages they ordered online, with the exception for medicine and food.

Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who proposed the bill, says the online shopping fee would raise more than $1 billion a year "to fund the operating costs of buses and subways in the city of New York."

In a joint Daily News op-ed with John Samuelsen, the International President of the Transport Workers Union, Carroll (D-Brooklyn) said the MTA cannot rely solely on a federal bailout.

They argued that the surcharge would incentivize New Yorkers to support small local businesses instead of buying from corporations like Amazon or Walmart.

"A delivery surcharge will also undoubtedly encourage consumers, and the Amazons of the world, to more regularly consolidate multiple items into a single package for delivery," they wrote.

it's interesting that (at least) 2 of the most "successful" mass transits (DC and NYC) in the US are in desperate need of bail outs.  (and were long before any of us had heard of Covid)