Post #1362794 · Elektrine

2026-01-23 16:48 UTC

Robust public transit is for sure the solution in highly dense population areas. Unfortunately it is rarely implemented in the US. A lot of foreigners have trouble grasping just how big the US is, and just how far you have to travel to get anywhere. A few hours gets you from one side of a country to another in many european and latin american nations. In the US it takes many days to drive from one side to another. Some states take many hours to cross. Robust public transit isn't feasible in the majority of the US, and there is immense negative reactions to imminent domain.

Replies (1)

@snowdriftissue@lemmy.world 2026-01-23 17:41

I think you should watch this video: https://youtu.be/REni8Oi1QJQ The US was built on rail. Almost every US city only exists because it used to be on a rail line. Most US cities used to have tram networks that were ripped out and paved over to make way for cars. LA, despite now being a sprawling car centric wasteland used to have the biggest tram network in the country. Rail is also just a far better solution to travelling vast distances than cars for many reasons, so I really don't understand why that argument comes up again and again. Who the fuck wants to drive from New York to California? I don't. The reason for the dominance of cars in the US has way more to do with the power of the auto industry and the lack of political will than any real practical concerns.

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