🚲What transit activist/advocacy groups are doing good work in your area? 🔗Support OCC on Patreon: www.patreon.com/OurChangingClimate ✊To take action, join up with a transit group in your area. Here's a list to start (and check the comments below!): rb.gy/nzjp1o 📰Try Ground News today and get 30% off your subscription: ground.news/occ
In Chicago, Bike Grid Now, Active Transportation Alliance, and Better Streets Chicago have been doing solid work to create more justice and human-centered transit.
my group in Toronto TTCriders has successfully been able to pressure politicians into moving forward with funding various transit infrastructure. an example of this is with getting the city to add platform screen doors to Bloor-Yonge subway station (Torontos busiest subway station), which was a place where many people died after falling onto the tracks (homocides, suicides etc.). The station was already undergoing a $1.5B infrastructure upgrade anyways and the subway line had the technology to allow for PSDs to be installed. Now a precedent has been set to hopefully make the entire lines platforms safer and more efficient to walk along (since you now know exactly where to board)
I approve of this - it's all well and good highlighting the issues and proposing a solution, but the thing that gets left out the most is how to actually make it happen. Mentioning transit advocacy groups should be more widespread with these kind of channels
I dont remeber from where or who i heard it, but this quote resonated with me and ive argued it since; "Electiric vehicles werent created to save the environment, they were created to save the auto industry..." I may have even heard it in one of these videos.
I’m pretty sure the majority of EV startups are not motivated by the notion that auto industry is somehow at risk of extinction. A huge chunk of the motivation to create electric vehicles is to wean off of dependency of fossil fuels.
they're also created to save the ruling class. why else would Teslas need to be bulletproof? the only people who can afford them are the people with obscene hoards of wealth, or the people designated to protect the people with obscene hoards of wealth. when the lowly peasants get unruly the ruling class can stay safe in their speeding hunks of bulletproof steel.
In Germany, the big car companies only started building electric cars very late, just to save themselves. The state has heavily subsidized this. So I would say that this statement is really true here!
When seeing the horror that is public transport in the US, European public transport with all its flaws seems like heaven on earth. Germany just announced that the "Germany ticket" will stay in place unchanged, meaning you can use all buses, trams and trains except for the high speed trains throughout Germany for 49 EUR per month.
I was surprised that we were able to implement something like this in Germany. The car industry is very strong and most of the subsidies are put into car infrastructure. More money is needed for public transportation infrastructure. There are many train cancellations and delays and buses do not drive for lack of staff.
@@nates9105 I did exactly that. Previously, I lost 90 minutes per day driving to and from work and now I sit in a bus and two trains and can read, work or simply sleep during the 120 minutes it takes that way. I don't see it as losing 30 mins per day but gaining 60.
@@mickeygraeme2201Not any that are affordable, at least in the US. They're the hottest places to move to and therefore have the highest cost of living. It's simply inaccessible to most people.
On a psychedelic trip, one of the most repulsive things I've experienced was the noise and congestion of a highway at a distance. I wasn't even in the traffic. Everything about it just seemed unpleasant and stress-inducing. Like a giant metal stretched out Godzilla constantly screeching.
Yeah, it's horrible noise. I think that trip simulated to some degree for you what it's like to be autistic. I'm autistic and I can't block out any sensory input. The modern world is so overwhelming and I wish other people and designers and engineers valued quiet as much as I do.
I don't mind EVs, they're a good alternative. What I mind is all the car companies who've jumped onto making more EVs to sell to customers instead of putting in the effort to support better public transportation and communities. All these now think they're doing something for the environment by buying an EV, it's basically a bandaid.
If we're focusing solely on the environment, then they're like adding a tar filter. Sure, it's a step up and you aren't getting quite as many carcinogens, but you're still probably gonna end up with cancer. In terms of urbanism, that comment is 100% correct. They're not even good menthols either. (This comment was written by a former smoker. Don't smoke kids.)
It makes me so disappointed that my town prioritises cars above all else. They are upgradeing the railway in the town and they put no space for bikes or pedestrians on the overpass.
As a Dutch person, I would like to add that bike infrastructure is an important aspect in the whole of the Netherlands, which includes but is not only present Amsterdam.
I lost my cousin, first cousin, to a wreck in October 2023. She was only a year older than me, 26 at the time. She was living a very happy life, having the time of her life at the moment, on the way home after a concert. She left behind a 6 year old son, and she thought she was pregnant at the time as well. Tens of thousands of people die due to cars every year. So it's not just due to economics, pollution, social issues, etc. This is putting people's lives DIRECTLY on the line. People can't get out and do basic functions in life like going to get food without seriously risking their LIVES. This is an epidemic. So yes, we need to get rid of cars. Vehicles should only be in cities for commercial purposes, like transporting cargo, or the disabled. Or for commuting across the country, and for personal pleasure and recreation. But not everyday commute for most people. I'm not saying ban cars. But they should be fizzled out of our everyday lives. People's lives are on the line.
I'm sorry for your loss. I agree and in the meantime we need speed governors on cars. This should continue to be a requirement even after we transition car trips to walking/rolling, biking, and transit.
As a car guy, I can agree that cars shouldn't be in cities but rather be made for long drives or racing. I hate being caught up in 15-40 min traffic jams all because one dumb driver decided to make an illegal u turn and got t-boned by a driver going the opposite direction.
I believe that traffic jams are mostly caused by an ever growing population. No population growth - no traffic jam. The infrastructure could be optimized.
Well, "car guy" you should just love attempts to keep the riff raff and their personal autos out of urban areas as in London. Frees up the roads for the money privileged few.
Enjoy your car! And enjoy this movie! Every child deserves to see this movie. They’ve been abused enough the last five years. It needs to stop. Children are literally flocking to psychologists over climate change lies. It is disgusting what we’ve done to them and are doing to our planet believing the lies about electric cars, wind farms, solar panels etc. Everyone, actually, deserves to see this outstanding movie and hear directly from Nobel Prize winners, MIT and Harvard scientists, researchers and professors the true data and science about “climate change” the political system pushes for geopolitical financial interests. “Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth)” Should be required in every school, through every level, in every country.
@@TheMidnightBandit It's important to have passions! You should support building better public transit so you don't have to share the road with people who don't like driving. 👍
Crossing the street is always a source of anxiety for me, I don't know if it's because I was hit by a car when I was a kid. Yeah ban cars, make streets safe for children again. Driving in traffic isn't fun anyway, maybe in the future people will only drive cars in closed tracks, like we do with horses today.
Boy never go on a airplane u could die from a plane crash, never go outside cuz you could get struck by lightning, never take public transit cuz u will encounter crime. Everything has its own cons but should u be anxious about everything?
Ok so maybe you don’t drive a car. But leave us alone. Also anything and I mean anything we do in life has risks. We have the freedom to chose what risks we want to take.
Yes. Though, i want to say, a world with LESS cars. Because i'm a fan of race cars and i don't want them gone, but i do want the dependency of cars to die out. And yes, car enthusiasts like me are PRO trains and bikes.
This, the urbanist movement shout such an extreme that it turns off people who are in the middle. I'm fortunate enough to live in the Uk in Europe. I can ride my bike to do my errands in my town and do all my shopping and appointments on it. I can take the train if I want to visit the capital or see my parents, at the same time I have a project car that I love to take out to the backroads and have a drive in.
exactly, and even amongst the local transit activist groups like the one i work with in Toronto, the types of policies we advocate for are nowhere in the vicinity of “abolishing all cars”. like outback road driving and rural work cars/vehicles are obv gonna still exist even after enacting policies to make cities and small towns more walkable. if anything not having to deal with insane levels of traffic jams better supports the drivers as well, which is why our largely “pro-car” conservative premier Doug Ford is still willing to invest in major transit projects (otherwise driving to commute would literally take many hours each way)
@@MrLense like what “extreme” positions are you referring to? and I say this because even amongst the more provocative transit TH-camrs like NJB, i’ve never heard them once say something akin to “abolishing all cars”. making transit malls in the downtowns of various towns and cities is not the same thing as abolishing all cars ftr
@@MrLense Except the thing is, extremes are how you get the message out there. Take the 15-minute city's main point is to create urban villages to facilitate community engagement and this has pushed many cities to listen. Except for Seattle.
As someone who does on average two hours of bus-and-subway ride to study every morning (and a little more to come back home) because the public transportation system is inefficient, someone who sees older people struggle to take the subway because of the gigantic flights of narrow stairs (the few elevators I have seen do not cover all the stairs), someone who is terrified to use the bike because the only two roads connecting my neighbourhood to the city services are 70km/h densely transited highways without space for pedestrians or bikes... Yes, absolutly yes. We must change the way we organize transportation. Connect people to eachother. (And not endager pedestrians😭)
I've been car free in SF for 14 years. I started as a broke college student and now I have a family and still rely on my bike and mass transit. I know this seems far off but we're much closer than it seems in some of our major urban centers.
Well done! It’s not always easier, but most of the time I have far less stress and much more enjoyment getting around without needing to own or use a car! Car free in beautiful Chicago for 5 years!!
That's awesome. I've never owned a car in my life, and have been living in a Philly car free for 20 years. With the money I saved I bought my house in 2015, and at this point own it free and clear. Recently there was a parade and it had one of the center streets blocked form east to west. Cars were gridlocked all around, but I rode through everything on my bike like butter. Most people don't realize how free one actually feels when they can get to where they want to go in a city without obstruction. The only real concern is fast driving reckless cars. Ironically I welcome traffic because it forces people to drive slower. As a biker I want there to be either as little cars as possible, or as many cars as possible so that people realize how miserable cars are in general.
@@AB-wf8eksuch a great story! More people should be able to choose whether they even need to own a car or not throughout the US. It’s similar to supporting small businesses - so important to do and yet the specific benefits aren’t obvious to most until they have such an experience themselves.
Wow this is nice to hear. If I start a family of my own one day then I plan to not own a car and rely on public transit. I’m already planning on leaving the US and moving to Switzerland so that will be a first big step
I really hate cars, they occupy lots, but lots of precious space, they produce so much noise. literally, all cities around the world look like jungles of concrete, asphalt, and steel.
I also like the idea of incentivizing people to trade their "normal" cars for things like golf carts and microcars which provide a familiar, comfortable, and easy experience but fit in so much better in cities. So much slower, so much smaller, and so much more affordable, but also usable by almost everyone and close enough to cars that most people can get along with them
I love cars as machines, they’re fun to drive and work on and have a rich culture. But they’re so incredibly inefficient and environmentally destructive there is no justification for our lack of public transit and walkable, bikeable, cities. The infrastructure is just absurd, it’s time to radically change the way we do transit.
Its hard for me because I live somewhere that went straight from horses to automobiles. We have a railroad first built in the 1890s and for the longest time it was our only reliable link to the world but there was never enough population density to make the railroad useful for local transit just long distance. The nearest place resembling a city is 6 hours away in another province so we definitely arent suburbs looking for an excuse. If automobiles just got banned outright everywhere we'd have no choice but to get back on horses. We couldnt make transit work on this scale without forcing everyone to live a strictly scheduled life. We used to build temporary railroads back in the day before trucks but at a certain point using railways like that becomes more harmful because youre laying and tearing up track whereas a properly built bush road can be reclaimed to a corridor that animals end up using to move more quickly.
@@gencreeper6476 your example is used in the video to point out that cars do have valid use cases. Don't feel bad that cars happen to be the best solution in such rural areas as yours.
Fun fact to do whatever you want with: Eisenhower's Federal Highway Act was intended as a defense project. Very easy to move tanks around the country quickly with the highway system we have
It was meant to be an alternative in case that was destroyed, damaged, overloaded, or otherwise unsuitable. But even Eisenhower hated how these highways were rammed through urban centers willy nilly.@@gijskramer1702
It was meant for military vehicles and commercial vehicles… not private cars. Private cars being allowed on the highway system was directly the result of a GM executive becoming secretary of defense. They pushed for private usage so the company could sell more and more cars.
@@drakewalters2618 Close ish. Ike was always going to allow civillian traffic in time of peace. Part of the motivation for "inter""states" was states not all having road connections to eachother so civillian traffic was always planned for. What got changed from the original plan was the creation of urban freeways. The original idea is that cities would have a few on/off ramps nearby but the interstates would be set up strictly for high speed long distance and local traffic was to be the responsibility of local road networks. Now just as Ike predicted pushing interstates through cities and using them to move local traffic has crippled the interstate's actual purpose as a high speed long distance network.
I would love to see public transit in my area. Our town would be well covered by a few trolley lines, and our neighboring larger towns are big enough for an actual bus system - that could easily interconnect the smaller communities in between. Reducing car traffic to the rural folks and business deliveries would be fantastic. It would actually be safe to bike as well.
Appreciate the Pittsburgh mention. Cars are so prioritized here still, and as someone who primarily tries to bus everywhere it's hard to unsee how little our community is interested in planning a way out of a car dominated city.
We’re better than many other cities. Could be better, but we rank 21 for cities with the lowest car ownership among households. And most of our neighborhoods are very walkable. We also have pretty good transit within the city, even if it’s heavily reliant on buses.
I left Los Angeles to come to Berlin and it's been life changing because I don't need a car to get around anymore. I'm not stressed out about getting a parking ticket on street sweeping day or getting into a huge car crash (which I had been in a year before), I save SOOO much money on not having a car payment, insurance, gas, or parking to pay for, I can do things I love while commuting on the trains like reading a book or crocheting now that I don't have to constantly keep my eyes on the road, and walking around the city is actually enjoyable. I walk so much more, I have way more energy, and I don't know if I'd ever go back to living somewhere so car dependent. I have hope that LA will make strides in improving its transit, which it has, but there's so so much more that needs to change.
As someone who drives 16miles a day. I’d welcome this. There is a major highway a little ways down the road where I live. I’d love to bike to a station and take a tram into town. Being in the country unless something like that was close by. I’d still be forced to own some vehicle. I felt more free moving around in Paris than I’ve ever felt in the states with my car. I’d love to take train to see family members in another state, I hate driving the 6hrs it is tho. Train could be faster and a lot more comfortable.
I feel like most people saying that cars are terrible actually owns a car, BUT, that is only because cars are widespread and accessible while other forms of transportation are more expensive and not that common now. I still hope mass transit will expand.
I think it starts with the fact that we have lost confidence in our own abilities. We are denied the ability to get from A to B dry in the rain without a car. The car driver from his parking space to the building can be wetter than a well-dressed pedestrian or cyclist. As long as there is no good local transportation, walking and cycling are almost free. We also greatly overestimate the time saved by the car. We also need to rethink why we constantly want to travel such long distances or whether it makes more sense to organize our everyday lives more locally.
I'm in my 40's, born & raised in the US and proud to say I've never owned a car in my life. Even in the 80's growing up cars just gave me anxiety. Visualizing driving around at 80 mph surrounded by concrete seemed like a reckless endeavor, and the fact that's how everyone got around was insanity to me. At the same time I don't blame people for owning cars, because our infrastructure simply requires it. To me, seeing all these urbanist videos and reading all the comments has finally validated what I saw as a child. I'm really hopeful that their are more people waking up to this everyday.
@@dividedstatesofamerica2520 I know how to drive, but I also know that being a good driver doesn't always prevent a collision at 80 mph in a 2 ton hunk of metal
We're slowly making progress. It helps that more people are now aware of the issues with cars! I've been car free for almost 7 years now. Best decision of my life!
@@jhodapp LOL. I been to Chicago, I will never own a vehicle if I live there. I camp in my truck in the summer months, so it acts as a temporary mobile house. Save on motel/hotel costs and being closer to nature. I'm also a former biker (mountain/road) but there is no dedicated road for bikes in the U.S. Got hit 4 times and died before paramedic revived me.
One thing you should have touched on is that as cars have gotten more efficient over the years we've actually seen per capita transportation emissions go UP. The reason for this is because as you make it cheaper and easier to drive it means more people will drive that wouldn't have before, it also means people will drive more often, further, and make trips they wouldn't have previously made. This more than outweighs the efficiency gains seen from making cars emit less. This same thing would happen if everyone adapted electric vehicles, if anything I'd argue it'd be even worse because now the "stigma" surrounding emissions and your car is even lower so people feel even less bad about driving and will do it even more. Someone who could have biked to a destination might now take their electric vehicle because it's "green" even though it's not. Electric personal vehicles are a cancer to this earth and should not be seen as any form of "solution" to the problem of car dependency
GM used to be the largest North American producer of both buses and railway engines. The non politically motivated information against social media overuse is stronger than that against Big Oil. Not that Big Oil is totally innocent, but most people in America back then simply thought cars were the way to go, just like people thought the same of smartphones circa 2007.
I'm a car enthusiast but even I want as few cars on the road as possible. Cars, if they deserve to exist, should be something for the people that actually love their car and want to drive it beyond your usual commutes and groceries. Cars should be an enthusiast's hobby, not Average Joe's only means to get to the office or the grocery store.
One of the top rated places in the world where it's good to be a driver is the Netherlands which is famous for having really good biking and public transportation. As it turns out, removing everybody who doesn't need to drive or want to drive from driving makes driving better, even if the amount of physical space devoted to cars is greatly reduced.
@@youtubesucks1499 I get where you are coming from but at one point I bought two computer monitors in Nijmegen and brought them back home to Amsterdam on the train (+- 2 hours). Honestly most people here who don't own a car usually just orders large things online and have them delivered. This is another point where I disagree with the video companies like Ikea, Bol and Amazon make living this way much more convenient by offering home delivery. One delivery van in front of your home for 10 minutes is a lot better than a car parked in front of every home. But in general yes, you can take office supplies / tv's on the bus but it is usually easier to get them delivered.
@@youtubesucks1499 yes or delivery, when me and my roommate bought a kitchen table from goodwill we walked home with it If you gotta do then then there's probably some way to do it without a car
Our shopping habits will also need to change. In Canada, we often go to places like Costco to buy groceries in bulk and it’s not possible for everyone to buy groceries over the course of a week. Also, not everyone likes buying groceries online.
I'm with you brother, that's why I'm moving out of the US. One of the MOST DANGEROUS countries for bike riders. I'm really envy Denmark & the Netherlands.
I studied in the NL and LOVED being able to bike all over the small city (Nijmegen) I lived in! The only happier time in my life was when I lived in Istanbul, and could walk to work and most places I needed, but if I couldn't, I could take one of the MANY forms of public transit they have to get around. Not having the stress of driving, upkeep of a car, and ridiculous amounts of money for car payments and/or insurance is SOOOOOO liberating. I visited Denmark, too, because my husband is Scandinavian-American (as in his great-grandparents and grandma were FOB from Denmark, and grandpa was FOB from Sweden), and especially close to his Danish culture because they had a big farming family, and kept the traditions for Xmas and such. It is AMAZING, I wish they did like Italy and Scotland and gave citizenship to the grandchildren of immigrants, but they don't. 😢 We would be there in heartbeat if he could get residency. Anyhow, best of luck wherever you move. I'm stuck in Albuquerque ATM, biking when I can, but this city is NOT set up for it, the whole d*mn city looks like a burb, like LA. As it's one of the oldest European-founded cities in North America, Old Town is walkable, but not liveable, of course.
I intend to do the same eventually, though I want to have a skill that’s marketable worldwide (cybersecurity is what I’m aiming at) before I try leaving the country 😅
@@TheCrazyCapMaster I'm a little lucky as I worked in law enforcement. I intend to ride bicycle DAILY until I die. As in I'm so old I can't even lift the bicycle!
I go to college in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the buses have been fare-free since 2020 thanks to federal pandemic relief money. They've really come in handy for me this semester, where I'm interning in Boston, so I've been taking the bus every week to the train station to head into the city. Unfortunately, it will expire in June, but there is a movement to make it permanent, so I hope that goes somewhere!
Even with my college, it is like a 15 drive away since there's no infrastructure such as bike lanes or even a sidewalk to go from our home to college. The only way to go there is by car and boy, it sure does create a lot of traffic. Even with people saying colleges are infected with liberals or whatever, people there still see driving as the way to go or to have fun with friends. I get it since its the only way they experienced in their lifetime, which is driving and not riding a commuter train since they've never been into one or aren't used to it. When I had my first job, I switched from driving to using my e-scooter and it really imrpoved my mental well being and save gas since driving at the same workplace almost everyday seemed weird to me when I could just do the exact same thing by biking or scootering.
"Roads now occupy 20% of the Earth" is a very misleading conclusion from that article. You even highlight the "1km buffer" used in the study, which would mean more like "If all roads were 2 km in width, then they would occupy 20% of the Earth". Considering there are very few roads that are 2 km wide, and roads are generally less than 100 m in width (often closer to 20) that percentage would be far less than 1%. Not to mention that a 1km buffer width was specifically chosen so that the 1 mile (1.6 km) land parcel grid of North America would cause the majority of the continent to be considered "a road". Reducing car dependency is extremely important, but we shouldn't go around making false claims that only serve to discredit the other actual facts.
And don't forget the race baiting fallacy: the highways were constructed where they were to avoid paying more money to acquire the land from residents. The bottom line was financial.
@@btudrus You are correct, please show me an example of someone saying people who live far from the nearest town should also live car free. If you are not trolling and really believe someone is advocating for this I would recommend you reconsider your trusted news sources. The absolute worst someone in my position would be advocating for is that you would need to park your car outside the city center when visiting and commute in by public transport but even that would be a fringe position for most people who would otherwise agree with me.
Better zoning is the only real solution. Everyone should live as close as reasonably possible to where they work, and that outcome should be achieved by flooding the entire city in housing. So much housing, that it all becomes cheap and affordable. They would also be forced to be high quality, because anything that wasn't high quality wouldn't get renters.
I personally use ONLY sustainable types of transportation: walking, bicycling, electric train, fully occupied car transfers. Flying with planes & buying a new car should ALWAYS be the last resort!
The main problem with planes is that they make it seem reasonable to go really far away quite often. It's ridiculous that corporations habitually make their employees fly thousands of kilometres for a few days trip.
In Germany we have a problem if there is any public transport the housing prices will got really really high. Also we have the problem that train stations are very crime places and very dirty. Also many trains are very dirty. I think they have to fix this.
electric cargo bikes are fantastic for urban deliveries and small scale contractors like landscapers or painters. They won't replace it all, but they can really help, even in colder cities like Toronto they're used all year round by companies including FedEx. Emergency vehicles are obviously an exception, and this would mean they don't get stuck in traffic or behind cars that can't hear them due to loud music in the cabin
@@pex3 The only way you can move bulk shipments is with either a Sprinter or p10. Cargo bikes are good for small deliveries like food or shirts, but they can't be used to deliver to businesses. Commercial vehicles would have to stay on the road that's in everyone's best interests.
Less cars would be a benefit to ambulances and firetrucks. The number one obstacle that emergency responders need to deal with when they're getting to the scene is personal drivers
Unfortunately Poland is still going down the path to a car-centric society. After 1989 Poles were sold to the idea of an American dream - single family home in suburbs, car, corporate job which is still perpetuated by Millennials. Cars are still viewed as a symbol of status and like in the US a few decades ago, SUVs and pickups are getting more and more popular.
Hopefully the reverse happens, and they’ll end up going down the path of Western Europe with efficient public transit and alternatives. The Netherlands almost became car centric in the past but fortunately it didn’t happen, so hopefully the same can happen for Poland.
Interestingly Amsterdam is currently doing the next step: they are basically removing the car lanes on many roads. What is left, is called a fietsstraat (bicycle street): a wide bike lane, where cars are allowed as guests, where they hav to adjust to the speed of bicycles around them. However often only local residents and relatively small delivery vehicles are allowed. Similar concepts exist in Germany and Belgium, however there they are usually only used on major cycling routes.
Vienna has a few of those too and is building more, as I just found out (because I was about to complain again xD). Bike infrastructure here isn't comparable to Amsterdam but it's good to see they are actually trying at the moment.
I'm all for better public transportation. But what are the alternatives to business related car traffic? Trucks that deliver stuff to grocery stores, moving trucks. And the example of ikea is also good, if you make living areas inaccessible for cars, how will you deliver any large appliances or furniture to them, how will ambulances get there?
I was thinking too! It doesn't have to please the businesses, but this is about real service. A truck delivered my washing machine some time ago, and if these delivery services weren't allowed and I don't have a car, how would I transport this washing machine home??? However, I would really love to have a less car-depended society in my country.
I like the idea of slower less powerful EVs, something to get around town or a short drive between towns while still leaving trains or other public transit for longer distances or within cities.
The Curitiba's bus system mention was unexpected. I used it sometimes when visiting and it is really good. They have bus-only lanes through the city and bus stops that work like mini stations, so with one ticket a person can go anywhere in the city.
I have never owned a car and transported my son on my Yuba Mondo cargo bike when he was in day care and elementary school. I knew that i would not be able to afford a mortgage, expenses and being a single mom on one income in Canada. It was hard to do when my son was younger but we just had to stop being wimps and get on the bike all year round. Now my son is 18 and wants to buy an electric car so he can say he is environmentally friendly but not have to be cold or in discomfort. The Liberal environment minister has recently stated that he is in favor of maintaining existing road networks in Canada but not building new ones. The amount of hate mail and vitriol against him for daring to go against the grain of private vehicle use and promote alternative transportation was overwhelming. I am not sure if there will ever be a gentle transition to a car free future. People will be saying you can rip the car keys out of my cold dead hands before a car free society happens.
Electric cars are not environmentally friendly. A lot of pollution goes into the manufacturing of them. Plus like any other car, it will often only transport one person while occupying lots of space, creating lots of noise, and presenting a danger to people outside the car. An electric bike would be a more environmentally sustainable. Yes, they use batteries as well but you can create hundreds if not thousand of electric bikes with the batteries required for one electric vehicle.
Fun fact : Amtrak has the priority over freight by law - but - the freight trains are getting longer and longer and the sidings are still the same so the shorter trains have to make way. With no surprise it’s always Amtrak !
In Stockholm, Sweden somewhere between 2005 and 2006 they reduced the price for the metro, bus and commuter trains and imposed a tax for all the cars that passed through the city or the main highway. That tax subsidized the low fare on the public transport. With only two ways to go from the northern part to the southern part of Stockholm, either through the city or through Essingeleden, the only highway through Stockholm, a lot of people started to ride the public transport. But when the rightwingers got to power they removed the low fares and kept the tax for taking the car through the city.
The tax doesn't even subsidize the low fare on the public transport, realistically. Car infrastructure costs a lot more than car owners ever pay back on taxes - it just isn't sustainable. It only gets worse when you buy into the whole "suburb" plan, where even more of the money and development is lost by the "rich" who commute by car to work in the city every day (though still not nearly to the extent they are in the US). In my (European) capital city, the expenditures are pretty telling. Taking road maintenance as the baseline, buses cost a fifth of that, as does rail. The whole public transport system inside the city takes slightly less than three times as much, which might sound expensive... until you realize that personal cars represent only about 20% of people transported... while producing more than 90% of the traffic (and the vast majority of the road maintenance expenses goes towards infrastructure that's only there because of cars and for cars). And those public transport expenditures include vehicle purchases, maintenance and fuel - needless to say, those are a lot cheaper (and more eco-friendly) than cars too, per-passenger. And of course, most of the PT is electric (rail, trams and underground; buses are lagging behind). I'm not even going to get started on pollution and especially noise, or the ridiculous amount of land area the car infrastructure takes (which in turn makes _every_ transportation take longer and cost more, because things are further apart). Not to mention the effect car use has on communities, whether _they_ use them or not. Use a car if it makes sense. Don't use it habitually. If there's somewhere you need to go by car every day, maybe you could do better. Especially if you live in (or commute to) a city. And if you don't live in a city... the reason your rural area sucks is mostly tied to the car too; cars took away local businesses and jobs. And again, that's coming from a country where people always commuted to a city by mass transit much more than using cars. Even today, the car traffic comes mostly from out-of-city commuters... and the amount of passengers transferred this way is still dwarfed by intercity mass transit. And sure, some trips in PT take longer than in a car. But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, I don't lose that time. In a car, you have to pay attention to the road, there's plenty of stress and it's entirely wasted time (especially once you have to do it often and it stops being fun). In PT, I can read a book and relax, or take care of something on the go. And a lot of that time advantage disappears once you account for all the extra time you have to deal with in a car other than just the A->B trip.
Whenever I argue it should be easy and fun for a lot more people to live car-free, others say "But what about those in the countryside?" "I need to visit my grandma every week who lives in a small village" and so on ... Replacing car necessity starts in the big cities but the backcountry shouldn't be forgotten. Where there's not enough demand for a bus, offer on-demand services. But don't force people to buy and maintain a car (that will then stand around most of the time). I'm 53 years old and never owned a car but I'm also carefully choosing my living place to be near a station with frequent train service. It's the main criteria for where I'm going to move in october this year.
Cities and suburbs without cars yes. When you get far enough away we actually need cars and trucks and they arent even necessarily driven every day but we went straight from horses to automobiles and we would never meet our transportation needs with transit.
11:08 According to my empirism (yes, I have not properly researched yet), around 65% of cars in my city are replaceable with public transport and 10% with small transport (bikes and similar, and walking, to put it a name), but a huge avenue goes throught the middle of the city, making small transport a deadly risk. There is train infrastructure that could be easy to expand, yet, it is only for industrial-comercial purposes.
@@DrizzyB And the people who _think_ they are, or _aspire_ to be the rich elites, don't forget. That's one of the crazy things about the American world - how many people are ready to harm themselves and their friends and acquaintances just because they think one day, they'll be part of "the rich" and reap the rewards.
Cars are not the problem, they solve several problems that a world without cars would not solve. The problem is the addiction to them and the pretending that they are the solution to every problem. Trains are so much better in so many situations, but they don't work in every situation.
It is important to note that the Belts and Roads initiative is FAR less restrictive on its terms than any "loan" from the IMF and in many places that China has funded these infrastructure projects the recipient towns and cities aren't currently expected to put all capital ahead of humanitarian needs in the area and some of the wealth is staying in those places. Which is a lot better than can be said about western colonization through economic control.
@@BlueScreenCorp Thank you! And thanks for telling me. I didn't mean to cause offense. I get it. This is social media and we're leftists (which means that, even if our ideas are popular, we ourselves are outnumbered, at least depending on where you are).
I remember how many birds there were in my city in 2020 during lockdown, which was rather short here. And comparing it with later springs and summers it is obvious that constant noise of cars makes birds to hide or seek places with less noise so it is harder to find many of them. I wish for the cities filled with birdsongs not car noises
If cities weren't expensive as f I would ride a bike or take a train...the amount of money I could save from not owning a car is crazy to think about...
I live in a city in Europe where I dont need a car, its the best honestly. Cars are a waste of space and resources (and time! Trains are way faster than driving between states).
Indian here. Our railway network is basically a common railway for an area as big as continental Europe minus Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics. It is slow, but it caters to a sixth of humanity and serves it well. There are long waiting lists and you have to book early, months in advance on some routes, but the poorest can travel with some dignity. Of course, due to lack of education for a large population, sometimes the much smaller urbanised population has to face a lot of inconvenience on account of unsanitary behaviours of the rural uneducated. But it's a small price to pay for the unfailing availability of public transport for the masses. We also have highways, air traffic and for a few years we also had decent Work From Home policies. In many metros we have 5-6 different public transport options - tuktuks/rickshaws, taxis/cabs, trains, buses, metro and Uber.
Great video! Cities need to be designed for people, not cars. For those interested there is a large national group in the United States (and I think Canada too) called strong towns that advocates for housing and transportation refrom. Try to get involved to better your community!
1:11 HBLR is a bad example to use here because HBLR isn't really for connecting suburbs to downtowns. It connects all the dense cool places in Hudson County, from Bayonne to JC to Hoboken to Bergenline Avenue (we don't talk about Tonelle Ave), which are all nice city like places. It's essentially just one big city.
I live this channel! I hate cars so much, I think for me personally, the noise pollution is the worst. It is never ending from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. It never stops.
The section of the video that starts at 7:25 sounds like something from a dystopian novel, and yet this indeed is life in much of America in 2024. I hope in this decade we tackle these problems before it’s too late. Great video!
Fun fact: most Chinese HSR stations are 3-7 KM outside of the city center so while you might be able to bus or bike to it, I wouldn't say that's convenient or something you should aim for. Since the US and its car brained allies are so far behind China; we should make sure every station built has the most optimal catchment area to support the most amount of people.
I don't want to drive a car, because: - bad for environment - traffic jams - I don't think I could EVER be both skilled AND confident enough to control such a massive piece of metal - car dependency - bad land use - public transit does everything better anyway! Sadly, Germany is known as the "Autoland", figure out why... (Volkswagen, Audi, BMW etc. You name it!)
the bus system in my area isn't terrible, at least to get to the city. However if i wanted to get to one of the other towns nearby that isn't already in a route with my town id have to go into the city and back out again. The same goes for the nearest train station. Its about a 40 minute walk from my house but the bus that goes to it from the town center only comes once an hour so it can be a pain to get to. There are so many easy fixes, the bus company wont do it because it doesn't make enough money.
As someone who lives in a rural area and uses a car daily, yes. When I visit “civilization” I don’t want to be driving. I spent a week driving a rental car in central Florida and was horrified.
This is a such a great video, thank you for all the work that you and your team have put into it. I want to add that many American ‘communities’ don’t actually function like communities should in a theoretical sense. Unless you live in a city, a lot of us have to drive a 30min + radius to go to school, the store, work, play, etc. So I think so long as our communities are built for this to be the case, even if public transportation is better integrated, it will just be incredibly overcrowded. I can’t even fathom being able to walk/bike or even metro to work, the grocery store and other places I frequent from my American suburb, which has no public transportation connected to my neighborhood. I think we need to start building communities as actual communities where people can work, go to school, eat and more all close to where they live. This however is impossible under capitalism, where most people work quite far from where they live.
I essentially agree. In my midsized City the buses are free but the vast majority still drive. Zoning is the biggest impediment to having people living closer to where they live, shop and play. In the States the other concern in dense neighborhoods is the fact that the schools are terrible. Whether based on drama or reality crime is a concern too. I have never understood why each adult needs their own vehicle. Class and race are key too as you pointed out.
Very true, geographies and transport are highly political and ideological. And that is quite sad. I often think about modern cities where all the residents have smart cards which give them access to public transport and many amenities to a reduced cost (or even for free). Public transport is not there to make money with; Cities and regions need to understand that they might be their most valuable asset, in which they have to invest into to make their home even more liveable. I have my doubts seeing a car free future because they can be quite useful but who knows. Politicians and planners should focus on building or redesigning districs pedestrian and bikecentric. The car has the advantage of speed anyway so it shouldnt be an issue if they have to circumnavigate some places.
Can people stop saying “ban cars”. I get it, but the more you say those two words, the more likely nothing is gonna change. We NEED moderates to enact political change. Those words scare them away.
I'm not going to deny public transportation for transporting large amounts of people is better than cars. But as someone who doesn't like interacting with people, driving in my car isolated from other people as I go to work and go shopping is a huge weight off my shoulders. Again, I agree cars aren't good for the environment. Even electric cars have downsides. But I don't enjoy being around people unless it's my family and my friends.
I agree as a fellow introvert with immunodeficiency I do not enjoy public transportation. People especially in the US don't care about the safety of disabled and immunocropromised. I know public transportation is overall better for environment but there always feels to be a oversight for the needs of some neurodivergent and disabled people.
I fully agree with this. I do think public transportation is way better than having an individual car, however many times on buses and other public transports, a lot of harassment happens. There are very creepy and dangerous people using these transports for their evil wants. Personally I'm afraid of getting into a bus in fear of harassment. This should also be addressed as an issue if we want to switch to public transportation.
I don't have problem with cars individually, on the contrary. It is the oil-dependent infrastructure that is forced upon me to drive just to go to grocery shopping or to hang out with friends. Car-dependent infrastructure, not cars, are the problem.
We should ban car ownership for the general person. You can hire them, you can get a taxi, but no ownership. Only those with permits in companies such as the trades can regularly use them. Other quasi ownership sections should be emergency services, people with mobility and mental health impairments and parents with newborns. If public transportation actually reaches the point of becoming the circulation of the body of a city then cars will not be needed.
"We should ban car ownership for the general person." Or you can go p!ss off and stop trying to control people because you cant or dont drive. But the more you people clearly not understand how deranged you sound, the more people that get turned off by you.
I'm from South Korea and came to the U.S. about three years ago. South Korea is well-known as one of the countries with a good transportation system, and many people in Korea can live well without their own car. I never really appreciated public transportation in Korea because I always took the subway and buses for a very long time, from when I was a very young child holding my mother's hand to my adult life. However, after coming to the United States, I realized how much I appreciate the subways and buses that I used to take for granted in Korea. I was able to see that some cities in the U.S., like San Francisco, Seattle, New York, etc., have a public transportation system that is not as good as Korea's, but not bad for people to commute to work and school. However, given the size of the United States, there are only a few places in the country that have such a good public transportation system. And this makes people spend a lot of money by taking Uber or buying their own cars. 🥲
i live in one of the loudest cities in germany. we have a different problem. our trains just aren't punctual but our society values punctuality so too many people commute by car. i'm sensitive to loud noise and only leave the house with noise canceling headphones, it feels dystopian. (btw our trains aren't punctual because public transport doesn't make any money and our train system has been privatized, so the company DB has no incentive to make their trains punctual, they earn money in other countries with other business models.)
It is one thing to say that we "need" something, while it is another thing altogether to determine how we can accomplish that thing. It helps to understand the cultural and geographic issues involving others when you make these statements.
Cars should not be eliminated as an option to move people, we just need to create more options. People should be able to choose how they want to get somewhere.
In fact most countries have options before problem is car take way lot of space and some city like USA choose to bulldozed to make more space for car When people were take public transit notice you can take car to travel on empty road => traffic jam and public transit end up have less passenger and country also rip all of them to make more space for car We called it "Induced Demand" "Either you pick car centric or sustainable city, you can only pick one" - AdamSomething
Cycling for short distances and public transit for longer is. Mass transit can never have the flexibility and speed needed to be really attractive on short distances.
Fun fact : Amtrak has the priority over freight by law - but - the freight trains are getting longer and longer and the sidings are still the same so the shorter trains have to make way. With no surprise it’s always Amtrak ! 4:57 Sorry,a lot of cities have Ring Highways to prevent passing through the center. 17:06 In Europe, some cities have electric freight bikes for delivery or even barges where it make sense…! The Highway system is public owned - why is High Speed Rail not ? CHSR is just the right model ! Build the infrastructure public - run the trains privately…
🚲What transit activist/advocacy groups are doing good work in your area?
🔗Support OCC on Patreon: www.patreon.com/OurChangingClimate
✊To take action, join up with a transit group in your area. Here's a list to start (and check the comments below!): rb.gy/nzjp1o
📰Try Ground News today and get 30% off your subscription: ground.news/occ
In Chicago, Bike Grid Now, Active Transportation Alliance, and Better Streets Chicago have been doing solid work to create more justice and human-centered transit.
my group in Toronto TTCriders has successfully been able to pressure politicians into moving forward with funding various transit infrastructure. an example of this is with getting the city to add platform screen doors to Bloor-Yonge subway station (Torontos busiest subway station), which was a place where many people died after falling onto the tracks (homocides, suicides etc.). The station was already undergoing a $1.5B infrastructure upgrade anyways and the subway line had the technology to allow for PSDs to be installed. Now a precedent has been set to hopefully make the entire lines platforms safer and more efficient to walk along (since you now know exactly where to board)
Join an org, everyone.
I approve of this - it's all well and good highlighting the issues and proposing a solution, but the thing that gets left out the most is how to actually make it happen. Mentioning transit advocacy groups should be more widespread with these kind of channels
@@OurChangingClimatewhere can i get the thumbnail picture? It looks really nice
I dont remeber from where or who i heard it, but this quote resonated with me and ive argued it since; "Electiric vehicles werent created to save the environment, they were created to save the auto industry..."
I may have even heard it in one of these videos.
Why is the EV market in trouble?
No one wants an EV.
True😮
I’m pretty sure the majority of EV startups are not motivated by the notion that auto industry is somehow at risk of extinction. A huge chunk of the motivation to create electric vehicles is to wean off of dependency of fossil fuels.
they're also created to save the ruling class. why else would Teslas need to be bulletproof? the only people who can afford them are the people with obscene hoards of wealth, or the people designated to protect the people with obscene hoards of wealth. when the lowly peasants get unruly the ruling class can stay safe in their speeding hunks of bulletproof steel.
In Germany, the big car companies only started building electric cars very late, just to save themselves. The state has heavily subsidized this. So I would say that this statement is really true here!
When seeing the horror that is public transport in the US, European public transport with all its flaws seems like heaven on earth. Germany just announced that the "Germany ticket" will stay in place unchanged, meaning you can use all buses, trams and trains except for the high speed trains throughout Germany for 49 EUR per month.
Zamn, that's pretty cheap, actually
I was surprised that we were able to implement something like this in Germany. The car industry is very strong and most of the subsidies are put into car infrastructure.
More money is needed for public transportation infrastructure. There are many train cancellations and delays and buses do not drive for lack of staff.
That sounds amazing 😢 wish I could loose mt 45 min drive, 90 min total per work day, for work
@@nates9105 I did exactly that. Previously, I lost 90 minutes per day driving to and from work and now I sit in a bus and two trains and can read, work or simply sleep during the 120 minutes it takes that way. I don't see it as losing 30 mins per day but gaining 60.
If that had happened 30 years ago, you might have had age demographics more like the UK, than Italy these days.
If I lived in a place that allowed me to live without a car, I would not own a car. This would be fantastic.
same~
Why not just move to those places then? There are literally thousands of them.
@@mickeygraeme2201Not any that are affordable, at least in the US. They're the hottest places to move to and therefore have the highest cost of living. It's simply inaccessible to most people.
@@givemedeath5801 A) that's not true. B) living without a car can be done easily in any city if one picks where they live to be close to work.
Yeah. I just. Try getting that through to my government.
They'd look at you like you're crazy.
Especially the rural areas.
On a psychedelic trip, one of the most repulsive things I've experienced was the noise and congestion of a highway at a distance. I wasn't even in the traffic. Everything about it just seemed unpleasant and stress-inducing. Like a giant metal stretched out Godzilla constantly screeching.
Your comment was like a psychedelic trip lol
love this comment 🙃
Yeah, it's horrible noise. I think that trip simulated to some degree for you what it's like to be autistic. I'm autistic and I can't block out any sensory input. The modern world is so overwhelming and I wish other people and designers and engineers valued quiet as much as I do.
@@aubriethegreat8175 I'm Autistic and I get this completely.
@@comradestannisI came here to say the same haha! I’m also autistic, this is my daily life.
A comment I saw somewhere said, "EVs are to transportation as menthol cigarettes were to smoking"
We can say the same thing about the buses that replaced streetcars.
true electric cars are useless toys, get real car.
I don't mind EVs, they're a good alternative. What I mind is all the car companies who've jumped onto making more EVs to sell to customers instead of putting in the effort to support better public transportation and communities. All these now think they're doing something for the environment by buying an EV, it's basically a bandaid.
If we're focusing solely on the environment, then they're like adding a tar filter. Sure, it's a step up and you aren't getting quite as many carcinogens, but you're still probably gonna end up with cancer.
In terms of urbanism, that comment is 100% correct. They're not even good menthols either.
(This comment was written by a former smoker. Don't smoke kids.)
@@bruderdereintagsfliege3327 not everyone wants to freeze at the bus stop and then catch flu at the bus from 100 strangers.
It makes me so disappointed that my town prioritises cars above all else. They are upgradeing the railway in the town and they put no space for bikes or pedestrians on the overpass.
yeah, same with my town as well...
most of the time there are ways to participate in planning the development of your town.
As a Dutch person, I would like to add that bike infrastructure is an important aspect in the whole of the Netherlands, which includes but is not only present Amsterdam.
ahhh the netherlands, the country where biking is considered patriotic
@@sugandesenuds6663Where biking is considered normal!!
I lost my cousin, first cousin, to a wreck in October 2023. She was only a year older than me, 26 at the time. She was living a very happy life, having the time of her life at the moment, on the way home after a concert. She left behind a 6 year old son, and she thought she was pregnant at the time as well. Tens of thousands of people die due to cars every year. So it's not just due to economics, pollution, social issues, etc. This is putting people's lives DIRECTLY on the line. People can't get out and do basic functions in life like going to get food without seriously risking their LIVES. This is an epidemic. So yes, we need to get rid of cars. Vehicles should only be in cities for commercial purposes, like transporting cargo, or the disabled. Or for commuting across the country, and for personal pleasure and recreation. But not everyday commute for most people. I'm not saying ban cars. But they should be fizzled out of our everyday lives. People's lives are on the line.
I'm sorry for your loss. I agree and in the meantime we need speed governors on cars. This should continue to be a requirement even after we transition car trips to walking/rolling, biking, and transit.
@@LoveToday8 What are Speed Governors?
@@wolfboy20Speed limiters, essentially a cap on how fast cars can go. Governor is a synonym for controller, or something that makes decisions.
@@LoveToday8 I'm not sure about that now, I can see that being abused
Honestly majority of this could be prevented if they just put more regulations to get your license
As a car guy, I can agree that cars shouldn't be in cities but rather be made for long drives or racing. I hate being caught up in 15-40 min traffic jams all because one dumb driver decided to make an illegal u turn and got t-boned by a driver going the opposite direction.
I believe that traffic jams are mostly caused by an ever growing population. No population growth - no traffic jam. The infrastructure could be optimized.
Same
Well, "car guy" you should just love attempts to keep the riff raff and their personal autos out of urban areas as in London. Frees up the roads for the money privileged few.
Cars should be _niche,_ not the _norm._
Enjoy your car! And enjoy this movie! Every child deserves to see this movie. They’ve been abused enough the last five years. It needs to stop. Children are literally flocking to psychologists over climate change lies. It is disgusting what we’ve done to them and are doing to our planet believing the lies about electric cars, wind farms, solar panels etc. Everyone, actually, deserves to see this outstanding movie and hear directly from Nobel Prize winners, MIT and Harvard scientists, researchers and professors the true data and science about “climate change” the political system pushes for geopolitical financial interests.
“Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth)”
Should be required in every school, through every level, in every country.
Future generations will mock and distain those who defend car dependency. Less lanes, more trains.
Turn the Highways into Rapid Transit
@@IndustrialParrot2816*high speed trains
I don't want to ever have to take public transportation again. Driving cars is one of my greatest passions.
@@TheMidnightBandit It's important to have passions! You should support building better public transit so you don't have to share the road with people who don't like driving. 👍
Not going to happen. Nice fantasy.
Yes. Public transportation, for free, and almost no cars. Excellent video.
Love the avi. I think I've seen it before. Black Power?
@@comradestannis It's the Pan-African flag rotated 90 degrees
In some places making public transportation free will make it downright dangerous because of the crowd that it will attract.
@@soundscape26 what crowd? 🤨 you think poor people shouldn't be able to get around? why?
if people can get themselves to a stable job they won't have to be out there stealing
Crossing the street is always a source of anxiety for me, I don't know if it's because I was hit by a car when I was a kid. Yeah ban cars, make streets safe for children again. Driving in traffic isn't fun anyway, maybe in the future people will only drive cars in closed tracks, like we do with horses today.
Don't try to speak for me.
Youre dangerous
Boy never go on a airplane u could die from a plane crash, never go outside cuz you could get struck by lightning, never take public transit cuz u will encounter crime. Everything has its own cons but should u be anxious about everything?
Ok so maybe you don’t drive a car. But leave us alone. Also anything and I mean anything we do in life has risks. We have the freedom to chose what risks we want to take.
@@TheCarlinCoop I completely agree with u
Yes. Though, i want to say, a world with LESS cars. Because i'm a fan of race cars and i don't want them gone, but i do want the dependency of cars to die out. And yes, car enthusiasts like me are PRO trains and bikes.
This, the urbanist movement shout such an extreme that it turns off people who are in the middle. I'm fortunate enough to live in the Uk in Europe. I can ride my bike to do my errands in my town and do all my shopping and appointments on it. I can take the train if I want to visit the capital or see my parents, at the same time I have a project car that I love to take out to the backroads and have a drive in.
Exactly. Cars are only for hobbies and sport, and should stay that way while Trains, Trams, Buses and Bikes are for transportation.
exactly, and even amongst the local transit activist groups like the one i work with in Toronto, the types of policies we advocate for are nowhere in the vicinity of “abolishing all cars”. like outback road driving and rural work cars/vehicles are obv gonna still exist even after enacting policies to make cities and small towns more walkable. if anything not having to deal with insane levels of traffic jams better supports the drivers as well, which is why our largely “pro-car” conservative premier Doug Ford is still willing to invest in major transit projects (otherwise driving to commute would literally take many hours each way)
@@MrLense like what “extreme” positions are you referring to? and I say this because even amongst the more provocative transit TH-camrs like NJB, i’ve never heard them once say something akin to “abolishing all cars”. making transit malls in the downtowns of various towns and cities is not the same thing as abolishing all cars ftr
@@MrLense Except the thing is, extremes are how you get the message out there. Take the 15-minute city's main point is to create urban villages to facilitate community engagement and this has pushed many cities to listen. Except for Seattle.
As someone who does on average two hours of bus-and-subway ride to study every morning (and a little more to come back home) because the public transportation system is inefficient, someone who sees older people struggle to take the subway because of the gigantic flights of narrow stairs (the few elevators I have seen do not cover all the stairs), someone who is terrified to use the bike because the only two roads connecting my neighbourhood to the city services are 70km/h densely transited highways without space for pedestrians or bikes...
Yes, absolutly yes.
We must change the way we organize transportation. Connect people to eachother. (And not endager pedestrians😭)
I've been car free in SF for 14 years. I started as a broke college student and now I have a family and still rely on my bike and mass transit. I know this seems far off but we're much closer than it seems in some of our major urban centers.
Well done! It’s not always easier, but most of the time I have far less stress and much more enjoyment getting around without needing to own or use a car! Car free in beautiful Chicago for 5 years!!
That's awesome. I've never owned a car in my life, and have been living in a Philly car free for 20 years. With the money I saved I bought my house in 2015, and at this point own it free and clear.
Recently there was a parade and it had one of the center streets blocked form east to west. Cars were gridlocked all around, but I rode through everything on my bike like butter.
Most people don't realize how free one actually feels when they can get to where they want to go in a city without obstruction.
The only real concern is fast driving reckless cars. Ironically I welcome traffic because it forces people to drive slower. As a biker I want there to be either as little cars as possible, or as many cars as possible so that people realize how miserable cars are in general.
@@AB-wf8eksuch a great story! More people should be able to choose whether they even need to own a car or not throughout the US. It’s similar to supporting small businesses - so important to do and yet the specific benefits aren’t obvious to most until they have such an experience themselves.
Wow this is nice to hear. If I start a family of my own one day then I plan to not own a car and rely on public transit. I’m already planning on leaving the US and moving to Switzerland so that will be a first big step
I really hate cars, they occupy lots, but lots of precious space, they produce so much noise. literally, all cities around the world look like jungles of concrete, asphalt, and steel.
I'm Autistic and hate driving one.
Me too! In fact, people often walk less and accidents are common!
According to WHO, 2 people die from a car accident every minute
@@Vacouryard Plus, you meet more people when you're out walking and get more exercise and social infrastructure is maintained as a result.
what about old cars from the 20's, 30's, 50's, 80's, and early 2000's?
I also like the idea of incentivizing people to trade their "normal" cars for things like golf carts and microcars which provide a familiar, comfortable, and easy experience but fit in so much better in cities. So much slower, so much smaller, and so much more affordable, but also usable by almost everyone and close enough to cars that most people can get along with them
Then maybe electric tricycles seem to be the better option
Then maybe electric tricycles seem to be the better option
Can you drive golf carts and microcars in cities and suburbs?
@@comradestannis Not legally in most of the US
@@13ccasto That's a pity... I would've like to have one.
I love cars as machines, they’re fun to drive and work on and have a rich culture.
But they’re so incredibly inefficient and environmentally destructive there is no justification for our lack of public transit and walkable, bikeable, cities. The infrastructure is just absurd, it’s time to radically change the way we do transit.
Do you really believe your first sentence?
@@LarryInNM more or less yeah
Its hard for me because I live somewhere that went straight from horses to automobiles. We have a railroad first built in the 1890s and for the longest time it was our only reliable link to the world but there was never enough population density to make the railroad useful for local transit just long distance. The nearest place resembling a city is 6 hours away in another province so we definitely arent suburbs looking for an excuse. If automobiles just got banned outright everywhere we'd have no choice but to get back on horses. We couldnt make transit work on this scale without forcing everyone to live a strictly scheduled life. We used to build temporary railroads back in the day before trucks but at a certain point using railways like that becomes more harmful because youre laying and tearing up track whereas a properly built bush road can be reclaimed to a corridor that animals end up using to move more quickly.
@@gencreeper6476 your example is used in the video to point out that cars do have valid use cases. Don't feel bad that cars happen to be the best solution in such rural areas as yours.
Fun fact to do whatever you want with: Eisenhower's Federal Highway Act was intended as a defense project. Very easy to move tanks around the country quickly with the highway system we have
You can also just put the tanks on trains. Saves fuel and everything
It was meant to be an alternative in case that was destroyed, damaged, overloaded, or otherwise unsuitable. But even Eisenhower hated how these highways were rammed through urban centers willy nilly.@@gijskramer1702
It was meant for military vehicles and commercial vehicles… not private cars. Private cars being allowed on the highway system was directly the result of a GM executive becoming secretary of defense. They pushed for private usage so the company could sell more and more cars.
@@drakewalters2618
Close ish. Ike was always going to allow civillian traffic in time of peace. Part of the motivation for "inter""states" was states not all having road connections to eachother so civillian traffic was always planned for. What got changed from the original plan was the creation of urban freeways. The original idea is that cities would have a few on/off ramps nearby but the interstates would be set up strictly for high speed long distance and local traffic was to be the responsibility of local road networks. Now just as Ike predicted pushing interstates through cities and using them to move local traffic has crippled the interstate's actual purpose as a high speed long distance network.
I would love to see public transit in my area. Our town would be well covered by a few trolley lines, and our neighboring larger towns are big enough for an actual bus system - that could easily interconnect the smaller communities in between. Reducing car traffic to the rural folks and business deliveries would be fantastic. It would actually be safe to bike as well.
Appreciate the Pittsburgh mention. Cars are so prioritized here still, and as someone who primarily tries to bus everywhere it's hard to unsee how little our community is interested in planning a way out of a car dominated city.
We’re better than many other cities. Could be better, but we rank 21 for cities with the lowest car ownership among households. And most of our neighborhoods are very walkable. We also have pretty good transit within the city, even if it’s heavily reliant on buses.
I PRAY for the future your videos envision
I left Los Angeles to come to Berlin and it's been life changing because I don't need a car to get around anymore. I'm not stressed out about getting a parking ticket on street sweeping day or getting into a huge car crash (which I had been in a year before), I save SOOO much money on not having a car payment, insurance, gas, or parking to pay for, I can do things I love while commuting on the trains like reading a book or crocheting now that I don't have to constantly keep my eyes on the road, and walking around the city is actually enjoyable. I walk so much more, I have way more energy, and I don't know if I'd ever go back to living somewhere so car dependent. I have hope that LA will make strides in improving its transit, which it has, but there's so so much more that needs to change.
And what about muslim criminals in Berlin?
As someone who drives 16miles a day. I’d welcome this. There is a major highway a little ways down the road where I live. I’d love to bike to a station and take a tram into town. Being in the country unless something like that was close by. I’d still be forced to own some vehicle. I felt more free moving around in Paris than I’ve ever felt in the states with my car. I’d love to take train to see family members in another state, I hate driving the 6hrs it is tho. Train could be faster and a lot more comfortable.
I agree 1000%
Sounds like a you problem.
@@dividedstatesofamerica2520 It doesn't sound like a problem, it sounds like an opinion
I feel like most people saying that cars are terrible actually owns a car, BUT, that is only because cars are widespread and accessible while other forms of transportation are more expensive and not that common now. I still hope mass transit will expand.
I think it starts with the fact that we have lost confidence in our own abilities.
We are denied the ability to get from A to B dry in the rain without a car. The car driver from his parking space to the building can be wetter than a well-dressed pedestrian or cyclist. As long as there is no good local transportation, walking and cycling are almost free. We also greatly overestimate the time saved by the car. We also need to rethink why we constantly want to travel such long distances or whether it makes more sense to organize our everyday lives more locally.
I'm in my 40's, born & raised in the US and proud to say I've never owned a car in my life.
Even in the 80's growing up cars just gave me anxiety. Visualizing driving around at 80 mph surrounded by concrete seemed like a reckless endeavor, and the fact that's how everyone got around was insanity to me.
At the same time I don't blame people for owning cars, because our infrastructure simply requires it. To me, seeing all these urbanist videos and reading all the comments has finally validated what I saw as a child.
I'm really hopeful that their are more people waking up to this everyday.
@AB-wf8ek If you knew how to actually drive(unlike most people), you would have nothing to worry about.
@@dividedstatesofamerica2520 I know how to drive, but I also know that being a good driver doesn't always prevent a collision at 80 mph in a 2 ton hunk of metal
We're slowly making progress. It helps that more people are now aware of the issues with cars! I've been car free for almost 7 years now. Best decision of my life!
Same here, 5 years car free in Chicago. I save thousands of dollars a year not owning a car!
I just bought a brand-new truck---best decision of my life!
@@OGtruthserum More power to you, but that was also a completely unnecessary comment for the audience you know is here.
@@jhodapp LOL. I been to Chicago, I will never own a vehicle if I live there. I camp in my truck in the summer months, so it acts as a temporary mobile house. Save on motel/hotel costs and being closer to nature. I'm also a former biker (mountain/road) but there is no dedicated road for bikes in the U.S. Got hit 4 times and died before paramedic revived me.
We need a world where people have priority over cars. Not a wolrd without cars...
I agree! We'll still need cable cars, for instance.
Cars need to go from norm to niche.
@@denelson83 Exactly.
One thing you should have touched on is that as cars have gotten more efficient over the years we've actually seen per capita transportation emissions go UP. The reason for this is because as you make it cheaper and easier to drive it means more people will drive that wouldn't have before, it also means people will drive more often, further, and make trips they wouldn't have previously made. This more than outweighs the efficiency gains seen from making cars emit less. This same thing would happen if everyone adapted electric vehicles, if anything I'd argue it'd be even worse because now the "stigma" surrounding emissions and your car is even lower so people feel even less bad about driving and will do it even more. Someone who could have biked to a destination might now take their electric vehicle because it's "green" even though it's not. Electric personal vehicles are a cancer to this earth and should not be seen as any form of "solution" to the problem of car dependency
You have essentially described Jevons' paradox.
The Oil companies ensured that the US never had Public Transport!!!
Oil companies are also tied to the military industrial complex.
GM used to be the largest North American producer of both buses and railway engines. The non politically motivated information against social media overuse is stronger than that against Big Oil. Not that Big Oil is totally innocent, but most people in America back then simply thought cars were the way to go, just like people thought the same of smartphones circa 2007.
Actually no they ripped out the Fantastic streetcar systems
@@delftfietser No.
Tough crowd in the com boxes. GM's formerly owned divisions of Truck and Coach Division and Electro-Motive Division. Comforting lies are still lies.
I'm a car enthusiast but even I want as few cars on the road as possible. Cars, if they deserve to exist, should be something for the people that actually love their car and want to drive it beyond your usual commutes and groceries. Cars should be an enthusiast's hobby, not Average Joe's only means to get to the office or the grocery store.
One of the top rated places in the world where it's good to be a driver is the Netherlands which is famous for having really good biking and public transportation. As it turns out, removing everybody who doesn't need to drive or want to drive from driving makes driving better, even if the amount of physical space devoted to cars is greatly reduced.
Yeah, so the person bringing office supplies to a company brings them on the bus?
You go to Walmart and need to buy a t.v. you carry it home?
@@youtubesucks1499 I get where you are coming from but at one point I bought two computer monitors in Nijmegen and brought them back home to Amsterdam on the train (+- 2 hours). Honestly most people here who don't own a car usually just orders large things online and have them delivered. This is another point where I disagree with the video companies like Ikea, Bol and Amazon make living this way much more convenient by offering home delivery. One delivery van in front of your home for 10 minutes is a lot better than a car parked in front of every home.
But in general yes, you can take office supplies / tv's on the bus but it is usually easier to get them delivered.
@@youtubesucks1499 yes or delivery, when me and my roommate bought a kitchen table from goodwill we walked home with it
If you gotta do then then there's probably some way to do it without a car
Our shopping habits will also need to change. In Canada, we often go to places like Costco to buy groceries in bulk and it’s not possible for everyone to buy groceries over the course of a week. Also, not everyone likes buying groceries online.
I'm with you brother, that's why I'm moving out of the US. One of the MOST DANGEROUS countries for bike riders. I'm really envy Denmark & the Netherlands.
Yeah, bike-riding is hard in the USA; I've tried.
I studied in the NL and LOVED being able to bike all over the small city (Nijmegen) I lived in! The only happier time in my life was when I lived in Istanbul, and could walk to work and most places I needed, but if I couldn't, I could take one of the MANY forms of public transit they have to get around. Not having the stress of driving, upkeep of a car, and ridiculous amounts of money for car payments and/or insurance is SOOOOOO liberating.
I visited Denmark, too, because my husband is Scandinavian-American (as in his great-grandparents and grandma were FOB from Denmark, and grandpa was FOB from Sweden), and especially close to his Danish culture because they had a big farming family, and kept the traditions for Xmas and such. It is AMAZING, I wish they did like Italy and Scotland and gave citizenship to the grandchildren of immigrants, but they don't. 😢 We would be there in heartbeat if he could get residency.
Anyhow, best of luck wherever you move. I'm stuck in Albuquerque ATM, biking when I can, but this city is NOT set up for it, the whole d*mn city looks like a burb, like LA. As it's one of the oldest European-founded cities in North America, Old Town is walkable, but not liveable, of course.
I intend to do the same eventually, though I want to have a skill that’s marketable worldwide (cybersecurity is what I’m aiming at) before I try leaving the country 😅
@@TheCrazyCapMaster lol Good idea.
@@TheCrazyCapMaster I'm a little lucky as I worked in law enforcement. I intend to ride bicycle DAILY until I die. As in I'm so old I can't even lift the bicycle!
I go to college in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the buses have been fare-free since 2020 thanks to federal pandemic relief money. They've really come in handy for me this semester, where I'm interning in Boston, so I've been taking the bus every week to the train station to head into the city. Unfortunately, it will expire in June, but there is a movement to make it permanent, so I hope that goes somewhere!
Frequency is better no
@@qjtvaddict What do you mean?
Thank god you don't have to deal with the MBTA.
@@IzzyBone10000 Oh I do. I take the commuter rail to South Station every week.
Even with my college, it is like a 15 drive away since there's no infrastructure such as bike lanes or even a sidewalk to go from our home to college. The only way to go there is by car and boy, it sure does create a lot of traffic.
Even with people saying colleges are infected with liberals or whatever, people there still see driving as the way to go or to have fun with friends. I get it since its the only way they experienced in their lifetime, which is driving and not riding a commuter train since they've never been into one or aren't used to it.
When I had my first job, I switched from driving to using my e-scooter and it really imrpoved my mental well being and save gas since driving at the same workplace almost everyday seemed weird to me when I could just do the exact same thing by biking or scootering.
"Roads now occupy 20% of the Earth" is a very misleading conclusion from that article. You even highlight the "1km buffer" used in the study, which would mean more like "If all roads were 2 km in width, then they would occupy 20% of the Earth".
Considering there are very few roads that are 2 km wide, and roads are generally less than 100 m in width (often closer to 20) that percentage would be far less than 1%. Not to mention that a 1km buffer width was specifically chosen so that the 1 mile (1.6 km) land parcel grid of North America would cause the majority of the continent to be considered "a road".
Reducing car dependency is extremely important, but we shouldn't go around making false claims that only serve to discredit the other actual facts.
And don't forget the race baiting fallacy: the highways were constructed where they were to avoid paying more money to acquire the land from residents. The bottom line was financial.
Proud to be Dutch i live near a Forrest all a round my home its Car free from my front door to my garden entrance next to a cycling path ❤
Living in a villiage in mountains in Germany, car-free is just not an option. And you cannot build rail to every villiage...
@@btudrusmaybe not, but alternatives to driving sure have a lot of potential yet to be met, especially in dense areas
Great until it rains or three feet of snow .@@christafranken9170
I'm so jealous.
@@btudrus You are correct, please show me an example of someone saying people who live far from the nearest town should also live car free. If you are not trolling and really believe someone is advocating for this I would recommend you reconsider your trusted news sources. The absolute worst someone in my position would be advocating for is that you would need to park your car outside the city center when visiting and commute in by public transport but even that would be a fringe position for most people who would otherwise agree with me.
Better zoning is the only real solution. Everyone should live as close as reasonably possible to where they work, and that outcome should be achieved by flooding the entire city in housing. So much housing, that it all becomes cheap and affordable. They would also be forced to be high quality, because anything that wasn't high quality wouldn't get renters.
I personally use ONLY sustainable types of transportation: walking, bicycling, electric train, fully occupied car transfers. Flying with planes & buying a new car should ALWAYS be the last resort!
The main problem with planes is that they make it seem reasonable to go really far away quite often. It's ridiculous that corporations habitually make their employees fly thousands of kilometres for a few days trip.
In Germany we have a problem if there is any public transport the housing prices will got really really high.
Also we have the problem that train stations are very crime places and very dirty. Also many trains are very dirty. I think they have to fix this.
Except for maybe cars like ambulances or vehicles to move a ton of objects or heavy objects like a piano to the train, depending on the location?
electric cargo bikes are fantastic for urban deliveries and small scale contractors like landscapers or painters. They won't replace it all, but they can really help, even in colder cities like Toronto they're used all year round by companies including FedEx.
Emergency vehicles are obviously an exception, and this would mean they don't get stuck in traffic or behind cars that can't hear them due to loud music in the cabin
@@pex3 The only way you can move bulk shipments is with either a Sprinter or p10. Cargo bikes are good for small deliveries like food or shirts, but they can't be used to deliver to businesses. Commercial vehicles would have to stay on the road that's in everyone's best interests.
Ambulance still exist. It's personal cars that are an unnecessary burden on society.
Yeah, like the Soviet Union.
Less cars would be a benefit to ambulances and firetrucks. The number one obstacle that emergency responders need to deal with when they're getting to the scene is personal drivers
Unfortunately Poland is still going down the path to a car-centric society. After 1989 Poles were sold to the idea of an American dream - single family home in suburbs, car, corporate job which is still perpetuated by Millennials. Cars are still viewed as a symbol of status and like in the US a few decades ago, SUVs and pickups are getting more and more popular.
Hopefully the reverse happens, and they’ll end up going down the path of Western Europe with efficient public transit and alternatives. The Netherlands almost became car centric in the past but fortunately it didn’t happen, so hopefully the same can happen for Poland.
Interestingly Amsterdam is currently doing the next step: they are basically removing the car lanes on many roads. What is left, is called a fietsstraat (bicycle street): a wide bike lane, where cars are allowed as guests, where they hav to adjust to the speed of bicycles around them. However often only local residents and relatively small delivery vehicles are allowed. Similar concepts exist in Germany and Belgium, however there they are usually only used on major cycling routes.
Vienna has a few of those too and is building more, as I just found out (because I was about to complain again xD). Bike infrastructure here isn't comparable to Amsterdam but it's good to see they are actually trying at the moment.
I'm all for better public transportation. But what are the alternatives to business related car traffic? Trucks that deliver stuff to grocery stores, moving trucks. And the example of ikea is also good, if you make living areas inaccessible for cars, how will you deliver any large appliances or furniture to them, how will ambulances get there?
I was thinking too! It doesn't have to please the businesses, but this is about real service. A truck delivered my washing machine some time ago, and if these delivery services weren't allowed and I don't have a car, how would I transport this washing machine home???
However, I would really love to have a less car-depended society in my country.
In fact leftists do not think this, they only wanna make shut down the most possible works.
how about planes/helicopters??? that run on solar energy?
A politician was once asked how to fix gridlock traffic. His reply was that gridlock is a sign of a robust economy.
I live without a car now. Its hard, but worth it.
Just wanna let you know that in addition to being informative and helpful, your videos are beautiful. Hats off to the person(s) who edit them. 🙏🏼🥰
We need more videos like this to spread the awareness among governments and influential figures
Basically all influential people drive cars so that's a bit of a moot point.
Los Angeles just passed measure HLA and will require the city to aggressively pedestrianize their stroads! If LA can do it then any city can.
I like the idea of slower less powerful EVs, something to get around town or a short drive between towns while still leaving trains or other public transit for longer distances or within cities.
The Curitiba's bus system mention was unexpected. I used it sometimes when visiting and it is really good. They have bus-only lanes through the city and bus stops that work like mini stations, so with one ticket a person can go anywhere in the city.
I have never owned a car and transported my son on my Yuba Mondo cargo bike when he was in day care and elementary school. I knew that i would not be able to afford a mortgage, expenses and being a single mom on one income in Canada. It was hard to do when my son was younger but we just had to stop being wimps and get on the bike all year round.
Now my son is 18 and wants to buy an electric car so he can say he is environmentally friendly but not have to be cold or in discomfort.
The Liberal environment minister has recently stated that he is in favor of maintaining existing road networks in Canada but not building new ones. The amount of hate mail and vitriol against him for daring to go against the grain of private vehicle use and promote alternative transportation was overwhelming. I am not sure if there will ever be a gentle transition to a car free future. People will be saying you can rip the car keys out of my cold dead hands before a car free society happens.
Electric cars are not environmentally friendly. A lot of pollution goes into the manufacturing of them. Plus like any other car, it will often only transport one person while occupying lots of space, creating lots of noise, and presenting a danger to people outside the car. An electric bike would be a more environmentally sustainable. Yes, they use batteries as well but you can create hundreds if not thousand of electric bikes with the batteries required for one electric vehicle.
Fun fact : Amtrak has the priority over freight by law - but - the freight trains are getting longer and longer and the sidings are still the same so the shorter trains have to make way. With no surprise it’s always Amtrak !
In Stockholm, Sweden somewhere between 2005 and 2006 they reduced the price for the metro, bus and commuter trains and imposed a tax for all the cars that passed through the city or the main highway. That tax subsidized the low fare on the public transport. With only two ways to go from the northern part to the southern part of Stockholm, either through the city or through Essingeleden, the only highway through Stockholm, a lot of people started to ride the public transport.
But when the rightwingers got to power they removed the low fares and kept the tax for taking the car through the city.
The tax doesn't even subsidize the low fare on the public transport, realistically. Car infrastructure costs a lot more than car owners ever pay back on taxes - it just isn't sustainable. It only gets worse when you buy into the whole "suburb" plan, where even more of the money and development is lost by the "rich" who commute by car to work in the city every day (though still not nearly to the extent they are in the US). In my (European) capital city, the expenditures are pretty telling. Taking road maintenance as the baseline, buses cost a fifth of that, as does rail. The whole public transport system inside the city takes slightly less than three times as much, which might sound expensive... until you realize that personal cars represent only about 20% of people transported... while producing more than 90% of the traffic (and the vast majority of the road maintenance expenses goes towards infrastructure that's only there because of cars and for cars). And those public transport expenditures include vehicle purchases, maintenance and fuel - needless to say, those are a lot cheaper (and more eco-friendly) than cars too, per-passenger. And of course, most of the PT is electric (rail, trams and underground; buses are lagging behind). I'm not even going to get started on pollution and especially noise, or the ridiculous amount of land area the car infrastructure takes (which in turn makes _every_ transportation take longer and cost more, because things are further apart). Not to mention the effect car use has on communities, whether _they_ use them or not.
Use a car if it makes sense. Don't use it habitually. If there's somewhere you need to go by car every day, maybe you could do better. Especially if you live in (or commute to) a city. And if you don't live in a city... the reason your rural area sucks is mostly tied to the car too; cars took away local businesses and jobs. And again, that's coming from a country where people always commuted to a city by mass transit much more than using cars. Even today, the car traffic comes mostly from out-of-city commuters... and the amount of passengers transferred this way is still dwarfed by intercity mass transit.
And sure, some trips in PT take longer than in a car. But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, I don't lose that time. In a car, you have to pay attention to the road, there's plenty of stress and it's entirely wasted time (especially once you have to do it often and it stops being fun). In PT, I can read a book and relax, or take care of something on the go. And a lot of that time advantage disappears once you account for all the extra time you have to deal with in a car other than just the A->B trip.
Whenever I argue it should be easy and fun for a lot more people to live car-free, others say "But what about those in the countryside?" "I need to visit my grandma every week who lives in a small village" and so on ...
Replacing car necessity starts in the big cities but the backcountry shouldn't be forgotten. Where there's not enough demand for a bus, offer on-demand services. But don't force people to buy and maintain a car (that will then stand around most of the time).
I'm 53 years old and never owned a car but I'm also carefully choosing my living place to be near a station with frequent train service. It's the main criteria for where I'm going to move in october this year.
Cities and suburbs without cars yes. When you get far enough away we actually need cars and trucks and they arent even necessarily driven every day but we went straight from horses to automobiles and we would never meet our transportation needs with transit.
Of course. I’m researching methane-powered Kei trucks.
11:08 According to my empirism (yes, I have not properly researched yet), around 65% of cars in my city are replaceable with public transport and 10% with small transport (bikes and similar, and walking, to put it a name), but a huge avenue goes throught the middle of the city, making small transport a deadly risk. There is train infrastructure that could be easy to expand, yet, it is only for industrial-comercial purposes.
Then we know what to do next... We just don't do it.
@@comradestannis Basically all our worldy issues can already be solved, but we don't because it's not profitable for the ricu elites.
@@DrizzyB And the people who _think_ they are, or _aspire_ to be the rich elites, don't forget. That's one of the crazy things about the American world - how many people are ready to harm themselves and their friends and acquaintances just because they think one day, they'll be part of "the rich" and reap the rewards.
Cars are not the problem, they solve several problems that a world without cars would not solve. The problem is the addiction to them and the pretending that they are the solution to every problem. Trains are so much better in so many situations, but they don't work in every situation.
13:00 - 13:10
Wow. That transition... touched me.
My hope in humanity has been restored.
It is important to note that the Belts and Roads initiative is FAR less restrictive on its terms than any "loan" from the IMF and in many places that China has funded these infrastructure projects the recipient towns and cities aren't currently expected to put all capital ahead of humanitarian needs in the area and some of the wealth is staying in those places. Which is a lot better than can be said about western colonization through economic control.
China cancels almost all loans.
Also, imperialism isn't "when trade."
@@BlueScreenCorp I didn't say that though. I was compounding your point.
@@comradestannis That was my mistake, I misinterpreted, I am far too used to comments from the other side... I will remove that response
@@BlueScreenCorp Thank you! And thanks for telling me. I didn't mean to cause offense.
I get it. This is social media and we're leftists (which means that, even if our ideas are popular, we ourselves are outnumbered, at least depending on where you are).
@@comradestannistry masquerading as a trump like figure
I remember how many birds there were in my city in 2020 during lockdown, which was rather short here. And comparing it with later springs and summers it is obvious that constant noise of cars makes birds to hide or seek places with less noise so it is harder to find many of them.
I wish for the cities filled with birdsongs not car noises
If cities weren't expensive as f I would ride a bike or take a train...the amount of money I could save from not owning a car is crazy to think about...
LOL, not everyone lives in a city. This shows how these "climate folks" are just discriminatory and rassist...
I live in a city in Europe where I dont need a car, its the best honestly. Cars are a waste of space and resources (and time! Trains are way faster than driving between states).
Indian here. Our railway network is basically a common railway for an area as big as continental Europe minus Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics. It is slow, but it caters to a sixth of humanity and serves it well. There are long waiting lists and you have to book early, months in advance on some routes, but the poorest can travel with some dignity. Of course, due to lack of education for a large population, sometimes the much smaller urbanised population has to face a lot of inconvenience on account of unsanitary behaviours of the rural uneducated. But it's a small price to pay for the unfailing availability of public transport for the masses. We also have highways, air traffic and for a few years we also had decent Work From Home policies.
In many metros we have 5-6 different public transport options - tuktuks/rickshaws, taxis/cabs, trains, buses, metro and Uber.
You say for a couple of years you had decent WFH policies? What were they, what changed if it did?
Being able to not have to own a car and be able to get around just fine would be awesome
Great video! Cities need to be designed for people, not cars.
For those interested there is a large national group in the United States (and I think Canada too) called strong towns that advocates for housing and transportation refrom. Try to get involved to better your community!
1:11 HBLR is a bad example to use here because HBLR isn't really for connecting suburbs to downtowns. It connects all the dense cool places in Hudson County, from Bayonne to JC to Hoboken to Bergenline Avenue (we don't talk about Tonelle Ave), which are all nice city like places. It's essentially just one big city.
I live this channel!
I hate cars so much, I think for me personally, the noise pollution is the worst.
It is never ending from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep.
It never stops.
The section of the video that starts at 7:25 sounds like something from a dystopian novel, and yet this indeed is life in much of America in 2024. I hope in this decade we tackle these problems before it’s too late. Great video!
because like it's literally the first start in the USA as he mentioned about the government act
First 😂😂😂❤❤❤. A big fan from Taiwan. Hope our society progresses and improves
Love from this Communist Party USA member.
@@comradestannis honestly anything other than capitalism is looking real appealing right now
@@DrizzyBincluding US capitalism without the ultra wealthy being able to buy politicians through lobbyists and super PACs!
@@DrizzyB Eh, as long as the alternative isn't fascism, I'm good. 😅
Of course we need cars, but not inside city centers.
Cars have done way more harm to the environment than steam locomotives.
And roads themselves too.
what have steam trains ever done wrong?
@@ryanmatthews3609 Nothing.
@@eggballo4490 then why the hate for them after all the good they did?
@@ryanmatthews3609 I don't. I love steam locomotives.
Fun fact: most Chinese HSR stations are 3-7 KM outside of the city center so while you might be able to bus or bike to it, I wouldn't say that's convenient or something you should aim for. Since the US and its car brained allies are so far behind China; we should make sure every station built has the most optimal catchment area to support the most amount of people.
I don't want to drive a car, because:
- bad for environment
- traffic jams
- I don't think I could EVER be both skilled AND confident enough to control such a massive piece of metal
- car dependency
- bad land use
- public transit does everything better anyway!
Sadly, Germany is known as the "Autoland", figure out why... (Volkswagen, Audi, BMW etc. You name it!)
And by the way, no one else here believes a world without cars was even possible. Same with money...
the bus system in my area isn't terrible, at least to get to the city. However if i wanted to get to one of the other towns nearby that isn't already in a route with my town id have to go into the city and back out again. The same goes for the nearest train station. Its about a 40 minute walk from my house but the bus that goes to it from the town center only comes once an hour so it can be a pain to get to. There are so many easy fixes, the bus company wont do it because it doesn't make enough money.
Great video as usual, Keep shedding light on these important issues please ⚜️I really hope we can get to a (personal) car-free future soon! 💚
As someone who lives in a rural area and uses a car daily, yes. When I visit “civilization” I don’t want to be driving. I spent a week driving a rental car in central Florida and was horrified.
This is a such a great video, thank you for all the work that you and your team have put into it. I want to add that many American ‘communities’ don’t actually function like communities should in a theoretical sense. Unless you live in a city, a lot of us have to drive a 30min + radius to go to school, the store, work, play, etc. So I think so long as our communities are built for this to be the case, even if public transportation is better integrated, it will just be incredibly overcrowded. I can’t even fathom being able to walk/bike or even metro to work, the grocery store and other places I frequent from my American suburb, which has no public transportation connected to my neighborhood. I think we need to start building communities as actual communities where people can work, go to school, eat and more all close to where they live. This however is impossible under capitalism, where most people work quite far from where they live.
Well-said.
I want a car-lite world. Being able to commute by public transportation would be very nice.
Looking forward to living car-free or at least car-lite one day soon.
Same~
I essentially agree.
In my midsized City the buses are free but the vast majority still drive.
Zoning is the biggest impediment to having people living closer to where they live, shop and play.
In the States the other concern in dense neighborhoods is the fact that the schools are terrible.
Whether based on drama or reality crime is a concern too.
I have never understood why each adult needs their own vehicle.
Class and race are key too as you pointed out.
Very true, geographies and transport are highly political and ideological. And that is quite sad.
I often think about modern cities where all the residents have smart cards which give them access to public transport and many amenities to a reduced cost (or even for free). Public transport is not there to make money with; Cities and regions need to understand that they might be their most valuable asset, in which they have to invest into to make their home even more liveable.
I have my doubts seeing a car free future because they can be quite useful but who knows. Politicians and planners should focus on building or redesigning districs pedestrian and bikecentric. The car has the advantage of speed anyway so it shouldnt be an issue if they have to circumnavigate some places.
Can people stop saying “ban cars”. I get it, but the more you say those two words, the more likely nothing is gonna change. We NEED moderates to enact political change. Those words scare them away.
Ive always dreamed of this. Just the oil and car industry have a different dream
Public transit is easy where there's little urban sprawl. High density living makes it much easier.
I'm not going to deny public transportation for transporting large amounts of people is better than cars. But as someone who doesn't like interacting with people, driving in my car isolated from other people as I go to work and go shopping is a huge weight off my shoulders. Again, I agree cars aren't good for the environment. Even electric cars have downsides. But I don't enjoy being around people unless it's my family and my friends.
When you go outside, there's people out there
@@noahboucher125😱
If you were around more people, maybe you'd be more used to it.
I agree as a fellow introvert with immunodeficiency I do not enjoy public transportation. People especially in the US don't care about the safety of disabled and immunocropromised. I know public transportation is overall better for environment but there always feels to be a oversight for the needs of some neurodivergent and disabled people.
I fully agree with this. I do think public transportation is way better than having an individual car, however many times on buses and other public transports, a lot of harassment happens. There are very creepy and dangerous people using these transports for their evil wants. Personally I'm afraid of getting into a bus in fear of harassment. This should also be addressed as an issue if we want to switch to public transportation.
I don't have problem with cars individually, on the contrary. It is the oil-dependent infrastructure that is forced upon me to drive just to go to grocery shopping or to hang out with friends. Car-dependent infrastructure, not cars, are the problem.
We should ban car ownership for the general person. You can hire them, you can get a taxi, but no ownership. Only those with permits in companies such as the trades can regularly use them. Other quasi ownership sections should be emergency services, people with mobility and mental health impairments and parents with newborns.
If public transportation actually reaches the point of becoming the circulation of the body of a city then cars will not be needed.
"We should ban car ownership for the general person."
Or you can go p!ss off and stop trying to control people because you cant or dont drive.
But the more you people clearly not understand how deranged you sound, the more people that get turned off by you.
I'm from South Korea and came to the U.S. about three years ago. South Korea is well-known as one of the countries with a good transportation system, and many people in Korea can live well without their own car. I never really appreciated public transportation in Korea because I always took the subway and buses for a very long time, from when I was a very young child holding my mother's hand to my adult life.
However, after coming to the United States, I realized how much I appreciate the subways and buses that I used to take for granted in Korea.
I was able to see that some cities in the U.S., like San Francisco, Seattle, New York, etc., have a public transportation system that is not as good as Korea's, but not bad for people to commute to work and school. However, given the size of the United States, there are only a few places in the country that have such a good public transportation system. And this makes people spend a lot of money by taking Uber or buying their own cars. 🥲
Great video
i live in one of the loudest cities in germany. we have a different problem. our trains just aren't punctual but our society values punctuality so too many people commute by car. i'm sensitive to loud noise and only leave the house with noise canceling headphones, it feels dystopian.
(btw our trains aren't punctual because public transport doesn't make any money and our train system has been privatized, so the company DB has no incentive to make their trains punctual, they earn money in other countries with other business models.)
I fully agree (pls dont delete this comment youtube)
It is one thing to say that we "need" something, while it is another thing altogether to determine how we can accomplish that thing. It helps to understand the cultural and geographic issues involving others when you make these statements.
Wow! I didn't know about that! 😅
Now you do.
Cars should not be eliminated as an option to move people, we just need to create more options. People should be able to choose how they want to get somewhere.
In fact most countries have options before
problem is car take way lot of space and some city like USA choose to bulldozed to make more space for car
When people were take public transit notice you can take car to travel on empty road => traffic jam
and public transit end up have less passenger and country also rip all of them to make more space for car
We called it "Induced Demand"
"Either you pick car centric or sustainable city, you can only pick one" - AdamSomething
Great video. Love your point. Public transportation is the only answer
Cycling for short distances and public transit for longer is. Mass transit can never have the flexibility and speed needed to be really attractive on short distances.
Fun fact : Amtrak has the priority over freight by law - but - the freight trains are getting longer and longer and the sidings are still the same so the shorter trains have to make way. With no surprise it’s always Amtrak !
4:57 Sorry,a lot of cities have Ring Highways to prevent passing through the center.
17:06 In Europe, some cities have electric freight bikes for delivery or even barges where it make sense…!
The Highway system is public owned - why is High Speed Rail not ? CHSR is just the right model ! Build the infrastructure public - run the trains privately…
Thanks dude 🙏🏼🙏🏼
roads dividing humans and others is the definition of good intentions bad outcomes
Not fully, but mostly.
Get cars out of city centers.