Can we just get some real public transportation options in the USA? I’ve visited Washington D.C., Boston, and New York City recently, and I’m in love with the subway (etc). Where I live would still require a car, but afaik, none of the major cities around me have anything more than a lackluster bus system.
Ok, hear me out: What if we were to dig a system of narrow tunnels under the city, and then let people drive through them. Of course, cars would need to be on some form of automated tracks to make it safe. Then you could link up multiple cars and make long lines of cars following the tracks to the same destination.
It’s a brand new concept, I know, but modern problems require modern solutions. Maybe we can sell hats and flamethrowers to generate support.
it would have to be on rails. Sure, buses have fewer wheels per passenger but they are also heavier so go through their tyres much faster. Its probably still a net benefit but it doesnt eliminate the problem.
E-Bikes, maybe. There’s argument to be made that given a typical western diet heavy on meat (and not changing that) it’s better to just use electricity to power bicycles rather than meat filtered through humans
Sure, buses have fewer wheels per passenger but they are also heavier so go through their tyres much faster.
Per Passenger? A bus weighs like 40,000 pounds at most going by a quick google. The average car in the US weighs about 4,000lbs and the occupancy rate of cars is about 1,5, so 2,666lbs / passenger on a given trip. Every bus that has an average passenger rate of 15 and up beats that.
15 passengers on average seems way higher than most buses I’ve been on. Maybe during the very busiest times, but buses run all day. The many hours they spend with just four or five people aboard will really tank the average.
Buses also have more tires than cars – usually at least 6, but sometimes 10 or more. I still doubt they’re emitting more microplastics than cars per trip but the math isn’t so simple.
15 passengers on average seems way higher than most buses I’ve been on. Maybe during the very busiest times, but buses run all day. The many hours they spend with just four or five people aboard will really tank the average.
I don’t wanna say there isn’t busses that might producre more microplastic but an average of 15 passengers per bus isn’t like some insane goal to achieve, even in the current world, especially once you factor in that there’s also times that there’s way more than 15 people on one for a given trip
There could be rapid trains between major city clusters and light rail networks within those cities, so you could, say, take a light rail from your neighborhood to the central hub, then a fast train to another city, then a light rail to your destination.
I’m not saying NYC to LA, but NYC to Philly/Boston/DC and LA to Albuquerque, Vegas, Salt Lake City, even Denver.
Can we just get some real public transportation options in the USA? I’ve visited Washington D.C., Boston, and New York City recently, and I’m in love with the subway (etc). Where I live would still require a car, but afaik, none of the major cities around me have anything more than a lackluster bus system.
Best we can do is another lane on the highway. That should fix the problem!
Ok, hear me out: What if we were to dig a system of narrow tunnels under the city, and then let people drive through them. Of course, cars would need to be on some form of automated tracks to make it safe. Then you could link up multiple cars and make long lines of cars following the tracks to the same destination.
It’s a brand new concept, I know, but modern problems require modern solutions. Maybe we can sell hats and flamethrowers to generate support.
(/s in case it wasn’t obvious)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACXaFyB_-8s&t=78
This is a great idea! It might work if you give everyone fake steering wheels and pedals.
it would have to be on rails. Sure, buses have fewer wheels per passenger but they are also heavier so go through their tyres much faster. Its probably still a net benefit but it doesnt eliminate the problem.
oh god imagine if the math works out that it isn’t.
trains, bikes, and sailing ships only.
E-Bikes, maybe. There’s argument to be made that given a typical western diet heavy on meat (and not changing that) it’s better to just use electricity to power bicycles rather than meat filtered through humans
Per Passenger? A bus weighs like 40,000 pounds at most going by a quick google. The average car in the US weighs about 4,000lbs and the occupancy rate of cars is about 1,5, so 2,666lbs / passenger on a given trip. Every bus that has an average passenger rate of 15 and up beats that.
15 passengers on average seems way higher than most buses I’ve been on. Maybe during the very busiest times, but buses run all day. The many hours they spend with just four or five people aboard will really tank the average.
Buses also have more tires than cars – usually at least 6, but sometimes 10 or more. I still doubt they’re emitting more microplastics than cars per trip but the math isn’t so simple.
I don’t wanna say there isn’t busses that might producre more microplastic but an average of 15 passengers per bus isn’t like some insane goal to achieve, even in the current world, especially once you factor in that there’s also times that there’s way more than 15 people on one for a given trip
There could be rapid trains between major city clusters and light rail networks within those cities, so you could, say, take a light rail from your neighborhood to the central hub, then a fast train to another city, then a light rail to your destination.
I’m not saying NYC to LA, but NYC to Philly/Boston/DC and LA to Albuquerque, Vegas, Salt Lake City, even Denver.
That would be a crazy undertaking, but very cool
A lovely thought, but I’m too rural for it to be a possibility in my lifetime, even if things seemed headed that way now.