Comments by "Colorme Dubious" (@colormedubious4747) on "Why Public Transportation Sucks in the US" video.

  1. "Have fun waiting for the bus while I'm already on my way." -- Have fun being stuck for hours on I-66 or the Dan Ryan while my train (and 8 other trains) blows past you in the median. I'll be at my desk eating a bagel while you'll still be trapped in your car. Are you having fun, yet?
    2
  2. An excellent summary of an intricately nuanced and complex subject, but: 1) The shift to cars was VERY bipartisan, politically speaking. 2) You can't really discuss the evolution of the American highway without discussing the pernicious influence of Robert Moses (who taught the world how to get away with looting public transit budgets to fund highways and punching massive freeways through viable communities while displacing hundreds of thousands of residents, among too many other abuses of power to list here). 3) If you're going to talk about crappy rail systems, WMATA's Metrorail is NOT the best image to use, being one of our most high-tech, safe, and successful systems. 4) it wasn't just GM who killed the streetcars (although the National City Lines case emphasized their "conspiracy" with Firestone and Standard Oil), it was ALL the car makers, tire makers, and oil companies pushing rail transit out of the picture. Even though they were fined some symbolic pocket change re the conspiracy charges, there was no law forbidding their takeover of the streetcar companies (it turns out that all these entities, including the streetcar companies, had numerous politicians of every party in their pockets, it's just that the auto-tire-oil pockets were much deeper).
    1
  3. "HSR creates new travel markets from nothing" -- Not at all, it's simply a modal shift. People currently travel between those cities via car, bus, or plane.
    1
  4. Riley, your focus is ridiculously narrow. Look at the broader picture.
    1
  5. Actually NOT a streetcar, That UTA line is Light Rail.
    1