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this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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You can build all the infrastructure you want but none of that matters if people won't take public transport. I don't do it because only the sketchiest, creepiest people take public transport in the US. You can't get on a train/bus/subway/whatever in this country without fear of getting stabbed.
Until that problem is addressed, cars aren't going away.
I know what you mean, but that turns out to be empirically untrue. Good transportation infrastructure encourages use in measurable ways (economists and urban planners call this "induced demand"). When you build out a train of bus network so that it's actually useful, people start using it.
When it comes to safety and public transportation, I think the causality works the other way. In places with excellent public transportation, like New York and Toronto, everyone, including the middle class, uses public transportation. Not coincidentally, these places also have very low crime: New York is in the bottom 20% of US cities for crime severity, and Toronto is the safest city in North America. Under investing in the well-being of poor people, including public infrastructure, causes crime.
I've used the public transportation in several large US cities, and have never felt threatened by or fearful of the other passengers.