alt Hacker NewsPublic transport has inherent problems that cannot be solved that will always have it be less convenient than a car.
(1) Does not pick you up from your home and does not drop you off at where you need to go.
(2) Does not start at your schedule. Missed by a hair? Wait up to 2h.
(3) Impossible to transport more than you can carry.
(4) Does not scale. When there are too many people, some will have to wait for the next train or bus. When there are too few people everything still moves around nearly empty.
(5) Being exposed to the public, which could mean drug addicts and insane people that will stab you in the neck for no reason. But mostly just smelly lowlifes that might take a piss in front of you.
No matter how great your public transport is, it cannot solve these inherent issues while being cheaper than a car.
Replies
Says the person whose obviously never been to a city with functional public transit
Out of order:
4. Most cars move around nearly empty. When there are too many people (often 1 per car), you get stuck in jams. So cars do not scale either. In this regard public transportation arguably scale better.
1. Bicycles, electric scooters or even walking answer 90% of that concern unless your city is designed against its users.
3. When you need to carry lotta stuff then yes, use a car (either yours or rental). Does it justify bringing your whole car when you do not need to carry anything?
5. True, but I am concerned about what that means about your relationship with society. Or the society you live in.
2. You would NOT wait up to 2 hours in any decent public transportation system.
So yes, cars are still the best solution in some cases. No one argues against that. It is just a poor default.