• Pheonixdown@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      40
      ·
      1 year ago

      If only employers cared. It has been nice, now my employer is rolling out a arbitrary but mandatory 4 days return to office policy. In like 8 years of employment I never needed to be there that much. Whatever, 100% remote job market looks decent for me, hopefully find a better place soon.

    • agoseris@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I mean, you still need to leave the house for groceries and other stuff

        • agoseris@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          The people making the deliveries still need to have a way to deliver your groceries to you + not everyone has the money to pay someone to deliver all their groceries. Wfh is great, but it does not mean the transportation system doesn’t need to be reformed, since not every job can be done from home, and people usually have other places to go besides work and grocery stores.

  • frezik@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    109
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    Most of the criticisms that come from the right are solvable problems, such as lack of chargers, electricity coming from dirty sources, or lithium mining. We pretty much know how to solve all those at this point. Just a matter of doing it.

    Criticisms that come from the left tend to be more fundamental. Things like car-based cities being too spread out, infrastructure costs spiraling out of control, or having the average person operate a 2 ton vehicle at speeds over 60mph and expecting this to be safe. None of those are specific to EVs, and are only solvable by looking at different transportation options.

    • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      46
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      But solving problems costs money! We need to be transferring those dollars to our wealthy donors, not spending them on public improvements!

      • frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        1 year ago

        Oceanic sources. The projects getting underway are focusing on brine pools like California’s Salton Sea, but sea water sources of lithium in general are basically indefinite, and can work anywhere with a coastline. Other harvested salts may also produce useful byproducts, and you may even be able to run it as part of a general desalination plant for freshwater.

    • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      The problems you’re describing from vthe right and the left are really the same problems. They’re just expressing their perception of them differently. Infrastructure solutions and spiraling costs are more challenging in less dense areas where the right tends to hold more sway. It isn’t a simple, cost effective answer. Yet.

  • Goodtoknow@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    75
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    1 year ago

    People don’t want to change the status quo or inconvenience themselves slightly in any way for the greater good. People want a magic drop in replacement that magically “fixes/solves” the environmental crisis and allows life to continue on as is. (So they don’t have to take “yucky” public transit)

    What really needs to be known though is life has to somewhat drastically change so we can make the world a healthier place for generations to come in the future.

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      50
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      You’re being downvoted because you’re right. I’ve had people argue that EVs still aren’t a good alternative because they may require a bit more effort every once in a while. Like, charging for 30 minutes at a charger on a long road trip vs just gassing up. Other than that they are pretty much a drop in alternative and people still balk at them.

      Then trying to get them to use public transit instead? Doesn’t even matter if it’s more convenient, they’re stuck in their ways and will refuse to change ever.

      Get out of your ruts people. Just because “this is the way things are” doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Ffs the amount of midwesterners who come to my city to visit and think we’re being “unsafe” by using the train, just get out of your mindsets.

    • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      What’s kinda funny is we already have a mode of public transit almost everybody, even those who drive everywhere, use: elevators. Buses, trains, etc. are only seen as “yucky” because most people (at least in America) don’t use them and refuse to spend their tax dollars on them, leaving them to be used primarily by the poor and desperate. But when you have public transit that is used by everybody, like elevators, you find they’re well-funded and well-kept, and absolutely no one will bat an eye about having to use it.

      • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        It really boils down to 2 things. First is the obvious comfort, they think it’s more comfortable to be in a car. But that is broken down with traffic. You bring up traffic and they’ll complain for hours about it.

        Second is fear. They won’t admit it but they’re just terrified because they just hear of the big bad city and think stepping on a train is a one way ticket to getting stabbed, while never having any real knowledge of what it’s like.

        • GoodGrief_HowDareYou@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          ·
          1 year ago

          Commuted for a decade - never got stabbed, but got mugged a number of times. My parents told me repeatedly how fantastic catching the tram, train, bus etc. was - they loved catching it in on a Sunday at 11am and leaving around 2pm. They never did the 8am rush hour crunch or 6pm post-school commute. Public transport can be as fancy as you like, but if you need to travel via a rough area and the transport lacks security…

    • 47 Alpha Tango@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      So what’s the solution for people like me that live 10 miles from the closest shop, 15 miles from the kids schools and 10 miles to the closest train station and we have no bus services that serve the village?

      • CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        32
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        Well either you could move to a different location if you want to, convince your community and local politicians to build better infrastructure, or realize that you are a minority, an edge case that usually is not adressed in these talks because a few people in remote locations using a car doesn’t hurt if we could get rid of car dependency in densely populated areas where the vast majority of humans live.

      • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Vote to allow more dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented development as well as more and better public transit. In many cases there’s a chicken-and-egg problem of NIMBYs blocking new, denser development because of fears of bringing too much traffic, but the public transit that would allay those fears isn’t built because there’s not enough density.

        And so what happens is places get stuck in a trap of perpetual car-dependence, which is bad for the environment, bad for the economy, and bad for social equality (cars are super expensive and thus a particular burden on lower income folks, and many people with disabilities simply can’t drive).

        The only way to break the cycle is for people to recognize what’s happening and intentionally vote their way out of it.

        • Ibex0@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          13
          ·
          1 year ago

          “Vote to allow more dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented development as well as more and better public transit.”

          But I don’t want that. My neighborhood is great, and I don’t want to turn it into my local small city or my local big city. Plus, what you’re describing is very expensive, and taxes are already high.

    • ch00f@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Try arguing that people should bring their own bags to the grocery store. Responses get hilarious quickly.

  • johnthedoe@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    67
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    I tell people yes do get an EV for your next car. But also use this chance to really think about if you need the car at all. Or does every adult in the household need a car each. Our city is trash for everyone having to own a car.

    Best is to run your car to the ground. Then get an EV if you must own a car.

    • Lintson@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      1 year ago

      Unfortunately mass transit that works for everyone is the enemy of vehicle manufacturers.

    • drdalek13@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      If I could guarantee that my job is remote forever, or have it written in my contract, I would sell my car.

      • johnthedoe@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        I live a short bike ride away from the shops. I have some side bags for the ebike I built so lugging groceries isn’t too much of an issue.

        The biggest shift is learning you wouldn’t shop the same way you do with a car. With a car you go to a big supermarket and load up a trolley. Spend over a hundred for a week’s worth and drive home. With a bike you kinda just buy as needed for the next couple days. You do more trips throughout the week which is kinda nice too. Forces you to get out of the house more. Benefit I realised when doing this was vegetables were less likely to just die out in the fridge since I bought as needed. Which meant I spent a little less overall.

      • RushingSquirrel@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Do you have access to food, stores, etc using public transport? How do you go about buying stuff and bringing it back home?

      • BeefPiano@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        Your car will be worth less the longer you hang on to it. You can sell it and hang on to the money until your company tries to get everyone back in the office.

        • GoodGrief_HowDareYou@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          This is likely not going to be the case for the classics (old->modern-day). A Honda Jazz will lose it’s value, a classic Aston? Less likely - even static some of them are works of art.

          • BeefPiano@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ok but what if the Aston isn’t cared for properly and left out to rust? Then the price will go down!

            Is my bringing-up-a-small-edge-case helpful? Does pointing to 1% of situations refute the general case or further the discussion in any meaningful way?

            • GoodGrief_HowDareYou@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Simply pointing out that not all cars will depreciate in value. Well maintained ones should continue to hold their value until oil prices and taxes make them out-of-reach for the average citizen. Let us not forget that 80 percent of vehicles are bought in the second-hand market… Nobody has raised the prospect of killing that market off yet in a policy sense (of which I am aware).

    • andy_wijaya_med@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Live in a not so small town in Germany. I haven’t had the need to have a car after I have been living for 9 years.

      I commute with bike to work, take public transport when it’s a farther journey.

      Until I have a daughter a couple of months ago. I realize that I really need a car. :(

      • johnthedoe@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s hard to have a baby without a car. It’s for sleep, for nappy changing, your closet and your pantry. Those first few years especially. If you need one even for a few years it’s totally understandable.

        • andy_wijaya_med@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah. It’s very difficult. Going to pediatrician for example. Or if it’s raining. It’s so troublesome to bring a baby with a bike in that situation.

      • Katana314@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Even in America, I have seen a fair few parents carrying their kids around by bike. It seems it’s not totally impossible, though you may need to put your bike through some upgrades.

        • andy_wijaya_med@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          I don’t dare to bring my now 3 months old baby with bike. The weather is still "summer"y now. In winter I wouldn’t do it. I myself have fallen down from bikes at least 4 times in the last couple of years. I can’t imagine if that happens while I’m taking my baby with bike.

        • AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          It’s possible, but it’s really obnoxious and shitty. Especially if the weather is too cold for a new born to be outside.

          New born parents is one of the few true excuses to use a car over a bike, imo.

          But that’s okay, we’ll still need roads for emergency services anyway so it’s okay if some people use them.

        • pewter@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          9
          ·
          1 year ago

          I bet those people are doing it for economic reasons, not environmental ones. A bicycle is probably the most dangerous form of transportation for you to have your kid on.

          • Michal@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            13
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            How us bicycle more dangerous than cars?

            Sure cars have all the safety features for people on the inside, but on a bike you’re exposed to much slower speeds and better field of view. Bike accidents have much smaller fatality rate than car accidents.

            Unless of course you mean cycling among cars is less safe, but that argument just confirms that cars are unsafe, not bikes. Bikes are not dangerous. Cars are.

          • CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            7
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            It wouldn’t be any dangerous if car and bike infrastructure was structurally separated (and if there were far fewer cars).

                • pewter@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Of course, but if my vehicle was the only vehicle in the world, I’d still feel like a 2 year old kid on the back of my bike going 7 miles is more dangerous than on a bus, train, or even a car over the same distance.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Best is to run your car to the ground.

      Absolutely not if you have an older ICE car with bad gas mileage and/or a diesel. Even getting a NEW EV would be better for global warming and the health of your fellow humans than continuing THAT shit show.

      Of course, as per the OP, bicycle and mass transit is still much better than any EV, but the really bad emissions cars should NOT stay on the road until their “natural” death unless absolutely necessary.

  • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    49
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’m entertained by the fact that everyone gets hung up on how EVs are still not totally green because the electricity comes from coal fired plants or that there’s still manufacturing emissions and stuff…

    It’s like, yeah, but compared to an ICE car, which has all the same problems (environmental cost of manufacturing the vehicle, mining and refining the fuel, transporting it, etc) but EVs don’t actively pollute nearly as much during use, and they speak as if these are of equal environmental cost, and they’re not. Additionally, ICE vehicles need a lot more oil to operate that needs to be changed and disposed of every few thousand miles.

    It’s like doing less harm isn’t valuable to the people arguing against it, but then again, those are probably the same people who drive their V8 truck to get groceries.

    • vithigar@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      28
      ·
      1 year ago

      Plus there are plenty of people, like myself, who live in areas where the electricity comes from mostly renewable sources.

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        11
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Me too. I’m pretty well surrounded by nuclear and hydro-electric here in southern Ontario.

          • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            11
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Somewhat renewable through breeder reactors.

            Still, nuclear energy has a very good carbon footprint (unlike coal plants) and the public image of them being polluters was a joint disinformation project by Greenpeace and the oil companies in the early 2000s. Greenpeace backpedaled hard on their stance in the recent years.

    • grue@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      It’s like, yeah, but compared to an ICE car, which has all the same problems (environmental cost of manufacturing the vehicle, mining and refining the fuel, transporting it, etc) but EVs don’t actively pollute nearly as much during use, and they speak as if these are of equal environmental cost, and they’re not. Additionally, ICE vehicles need a lot more oil to operate that needs to be changed and disposed of every few thousand miles.

      None of that is the real problem with electric cars.

      The real problem with electric cars is that they’re still cars, which means they embody the same arrogance of space as regular cars. In other words, they take up too much space – both while driving and while parked – physically forcing trip origins and destinations further apart and ruining the city not only for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders, but even also for the drivers themselves.

      (That last link is from the perspective of a car enthusiast, by the way.)

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m not going to argue with you on that point, I think cars are too big in the first place. With electric vehicles they can be reconfigured to ebikes or something much, much smaller. but I’m only mentioning the ICE vs EVs cost of manufacturing and how “green” they are. It’s a step in the right direction; it’s not the whole journey. Walkable cities and more compact designs of metro areas is still something that needs to be done, but it’s an entirely separate argument to the one I was making.

        As someone who primarily drives because I live in a small suburb in the middle of a farm region, I’d be happy to park at the edge of a larger city and walk/bike/e-scooter/transit my way into the city. I think transit costs and the costs associated with most of the bike/e-bike/scooter services to be a bit high, given that I just drove to the city in the first place, but that’s a minor gripe among the plethora of other issues it could and would likely solve to have the city more pedestrian friendly.

        Personally, given where I live, I’m more or less obligated to have a car, and if that car is a PHEV or full EV, would benefit the world overall; maybe not by a lot, but certainly more than using ICE vehicles to get around.

        • Beliriel@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          I just visited the US and I was dumbfounded how insane your city planning is. Like you literally can’t just make a short shopping trip on foot. You’d have to walk half an hour to even reach basic stores because the sprawl is so bad (City in CA with about 100k inhabitants) and then there are parking spaces everywhere. Like atleast half to 2/3 of the land space is used for parking. And ofc most parking is planned so they can accomodate everyone which means they’re always atleast half empty.

          • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            I live in Canada, we’re not any better. And for someone who lives here, it doesn’t make sense to me either.

    • pingveno@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      1 year ago

      Also, charging from the electrical grid means EV’s immediately get future improvements in CO2 usage when the grid improves its mix of power sources.

      • excitingburp@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        Larger engines (such as those in power plants) are also generally more efficient. And RVs don’t use oil to drive the oil to where the car can get oil - we have the grid (a modern wonder of the world) to do that for us.

    • Rooty@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      The magical Nirvana solution that will turn our society into Star Trek still isn’t here, so we need to obstruct less harmful solutions while failing to offer anything usable.

    • KeenFlame@feddit.nu
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      They will continue to astroturf any and all arguments no matter how stupid to see what sticks. We must continue to refute these idiotic claims and progress towards cleaner air

    • ℛ𝒶𝓋ℯ𝓃@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      Environmental impact is still less than ICE, yes, but until we figure out a better way to process lithium and make batteries last longer hybrids still have a smaller environmental impact over the lifetime of the vehicle. Eventually we need to cut out petrol entirety of course, but until we get clean batteries the better short-term solution is hybrids when a vehicle is strictly necessary, and bikes or waking in all other cases. An electric motorcycle might be a good short-term solution too, but as of now battery manufacturing is unacceptably dirty. But as you said, it’s still better than ICE. I just think hybrid would be better as a transition while the technology is improved.

      • Starshader@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        Actually hybrid cars aren’t more green than electric cars. As much as electric cars aren’t perfect, they are by far the greenest option. Don’t trust oil lobbies :)

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        I agree that battery tech needs to be better. We also need to put in the work now to improve the grid so that when there’s wide scale adoption, the grid won’t collapse under the strain.

        For the most part it’s a transit issue… we simply cannot move that many watts of power.

        For the rest of it, and hybrids versus full electric vs bikes vs walking, that’s a much larger discussion, since not everyone will be able to adopt something more green than a highly efficient vehicle (whether hybrid or EV or otherwise)…

        My main point is that they’ll argue dumb crap like manufacturing, that causes so much pollution, and say it in a way that almost seems like they think that ICE cars are better for that, somehow?

        It’s like, we know it’s not “carbon neutral” or whatever… it’s just carbon massively reduced and that’s the point Carl.

        • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          From a practical standpoint, hybrid cars make no sense. You inherit the problems of both electric and fossil and you gain pretty much nothing. I don’t understand why they are still being made.

          • AlgeriaWorblebot@lemmy.nz
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            1 year ago

            I understand the electric bit is cheaper and more efficient in city traffic while the fossil bit is more supported over long distance travel.

            It seems intended for the teething stage where the charging point infrastructure isn’t rolled out extensively enough for pure EV usage, and public transport doesn’t do the thing.

            I see a risk in complacency where the final steps aren’t taken of rolling out charging points and buffing transit because hybrids are “good enough”. Probably not a massive risk though as fossil’s stigma grows and fuel prices rise.

  • KeenFlame@feddit.nu
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    38
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    1 year ago

    That argument will be thrown at every god damn step we make towards a better planet. It’s not valid.

    • drkt@feddit.dk
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      24
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Electric cars will not save the planet. Electric cars will save the car industry.

      • GreenM@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Actually, they are not common yet because car manufacturers knew they could potentially lose profit as it`s simpler (mechanically ) machine and thus car should break less and they would sell less as result.

    • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      1 year ago

      The problem is that the real way to cut down on emissions would be to accept that not every good can be available at any time and that’s a bitter pill to swallow.

      We have tuna caught in South America, hauled to Thailand for canning and hauled back to the US to be sold. Turns more profit than local catches because the megacorporations can save a couple bucks on worker salaries. And that is just an example, it’s not just the food industry, hauling shit to hell and back and back to hell and back is common practice.

      • Fogle@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Doesn’t even have to be unavailable at times. They could can it in north America if they wanted to. Outsourcing jobs (read: exploiting foreign countries and their workers) should be heavily taxed if not banned in most industries

  • bestnerd@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    33
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    If I could hop on a train from the country side or ride my bike 20m on a dirt road or ice and winter to get to a store I’d be happy but that’s not happening

      • bonn2@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 year ago

        If you live in a city or its suburbs maybe, I live a 20 minute drive away from civilization. Not going to get public transit out there any time soon unfortunately.

    • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.one
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      If I could hop on a train from the country side

      Yes please!

      This reminded me of that Caojiawan metro station built in the middle of nowhere lol

      Spoiler

      Please govt start doing what the US railroads did in the past, why is expanding train structure approached with such scepticism outside of asia 😭 public transport should not be viewed as a profit machine IMO

      My nearest city has got the right idea by making public transport in general more like a right - I can bike 30min from my village to free (staffed) bike parking, and get around on the city’s free shuttle bus.

      There’s another shuttle (or, BRT as it skips loads of bus stops) free for hospital workers and paid for everyone else, which jumps between various shopping/housing areas, hospitals and main train station. I used to take it a lot as the drivers could freely divert off route to skip traffic, due to not needing to stop at every single bus stop. Sadly it gets very packed at multiple times of day, wish it was a tram or metro sometimes TBH

      • mondoman712@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        Caojiawan metro station

        That station was just built ahead of other development (which is a sensible thing to do), this is what it looks like now:

  • Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Public transport is awesome…

    It just doesnt always go where everyone needs to go

    Bikes are great right until you have to do large grocery shopping or get to a place far away.

    I cant do without a car where i live.

    • Liz@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      31
      ·
      1 year ago

      You live in a place designed around cars, that’s the problem. Society worked fine without cars for a good long while. We could have adopted trains, bikes, and buses without the car and things would be going swimmingly. The idea is to fix our bad town planning so that it’s reasonable to get to any destination using any mode if transportation.

      • Polar@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        You live in a place designed around cars, that’s the problem.

        Exactly. Then Europeans downvote people who say they need a car, because their country/city/state/whatever has terrible planning or public transit.

        Not my fault I need a car. Stop blaming me. I didn’t design the city. I didn’t plan where the public transit will go.

        Do you really think I love paying $1200+ per year for insurance, $120+ per week for fuel, and $20,000-80,000 for a new vehicle when mine borks itself?

        • GreenM@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          I partially agree but you forget that every country = its people and people can either not give a crap or start complaining. Politics are same everywhere, they want to secure their position, so they will follow those who are heard. Otherwise they will follow their own interests.

        • rgb3x3@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Nobody is blaming the American people. It’s the car corporations that bought and dismantled light rail and train systems and lobbied the government to build cities around the car.

          And now the American people are so brainwashed into thinking owning a car is freedom and public transit is “socialism” that they will fight tooth and nail against anything that is against their “freedom” to be forced to own and pay for a car.

      • Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        You live in a place designed around cars, that’s the problem.

        Worse: they may live in a place bulldozed to make way for cars. Plenty of car-dependent places used to have good places for walking, good transit services, all that jazz, but it was all torn down to make room for cars.

    • GreenM@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      In my city public transport is free, anyone can get anywhere else via train or bus cheaper than via car, there is even bicycle dedicated road that goes trough city and connects dozens of neighboring towns and cities but I admit that car is just so much more convinient to use. It’s all about comfort or fear of loosing one, rether than it would be impossible to give people alternative to use.

    • Primal@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      Bikes also aren’t great for snow, heavy rain, or extreme temperatures.

      • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Bikes are better than cars in snow, however. A fat bike’s tires ‘float’ across the surface of the snow, like snowshoes, and can handle any snow depth. Regular mountain bikes and commuter bikes with knobby tires handle a few inches of snow quite well, because the knobs capture snow between them, and snow sticks to snow. Cars, on the other hand, need a vast expenditure of effort to plow the snow off the road surface, so they don’t slide around in a few inches of snow, or get stuck in deeper snow.

    • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Man I was gonna type something about how it’s because your city is designed around car centric infrastructure and density and cargo bikes and shit but honestly there ain’t no way I’m gonna say anything to you that hasn’t already been said.

    • HarriPotero@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      My car is in the shop for some tricky troubleshooting.

      I’ve been doing my weekly grocery shopping with my foldable bike and dog trailer. I live in a rural area, so it’s a bit of a trip. I don’t particularly enjoy it, especially the hauling the load home. It would probably be bearable with a bit of electric assist on the bike.

  • jaybone@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    26
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    But I can’t put a 75” TV and a 48 pack of Pepsi on the back of a bike duh.

  • PelicanPersuader@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    1 year ago

    It would be great if our public transit system in the US was funded enough to actually be useful for more than just occasional, highly specific trips.

    • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      Came to say the same. Where I live (Bay Area), we have a train system that works great if you are in a supported area. If not, I don’t imagine the bus system is very convenient. I want something like the NYC subway system. I want it to be inconvenient to drive, compared to regular trains. I’d never drive to San Francisco because it’s a hassle. I want all destinations to be like this (by making the alternative more attractive, not by making driving worse).

  • pascal@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    1 year ago

    I remember saying it about 10 years ago:

    You can see the culture shock in how progress works across different countries:

    Japan, let’s build a shockingly fast and quiet train! USA, here’s an electric car that drives itself.

  • Facebones@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    19
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Imagine if all the posting just to shit on biking and public transit just rode a bike or something instead of sucking on a tailpipe for dear fucking life.

    Blocking anybody who has to argue in bad faith, I have better things to do with my time then listen to your disengenuous bullshit.

    • Polar@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Imagine if people understood that not everyone lives where they can ride a bike or take public transit.

      Stop blaming people for being born into a country that essentially requires cars.

      • arin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Unless you live in the countryside there used to be public transportation in cities until the car companies bought them out and dismantled them

        • DeprecatedCompatV2@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Some of us live in places that used to be country and are slowly turning to sprawl. Public transport will work when you bulldoze an area the size of a small country and start over.

            • DeprecatedCompatV2@programming.dev
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              ·
              1 year ago

              No they didn’t. They tore up railroad lines and got rid of reliable public transportation. You claim to support the environment, but you’re talking about replacing undeveloped land or farmland with a train. There isn’t enough traffic here to saturate a normal 2-lane road, much less a damn train.

        • Polar@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Doesn’t sound like blaming people trying to get to work is the correct move, then. Sounds like the car companies are to blame. Yell at them, not random users online who have no other choice.

      • Facebones@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        Imagine if people who said “We CaNt JuSt TeAr DoWn CaR iNfRaStRuCtUrE fOr TrAnSiT” understood that’s EXACTLY what we did for cars. 🤷

        Stop worshipping your tailpipe and crack a book sometime.

        • rgb3x3@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I as an individual can’t just go and start tearing up roads and install a light rail system. So until there are enough people voting alongside me to change our car dependent infrastructure, I’m going to have to use a car if I want to go anywhere.

          That’s not worship, it’s a necessity.

          • Facebones@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            The worship is in your incessent need to defend the fossil fuel addiction at all cost, your inherent absorption of driving into your sense of being so you’ll dedicate your time to attacking people who want more and better options for EVERYBODY instead of questioning why you can’t have nice things in the name of Big Oil.

            THAT’S worship.

            • DeprecatedCompatV2@programming.dev
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              I live somewhere that never had anything but car infrastructure. Should I ride my bike across a 5 line intersection to go to the mall? And before you suggest my local government install a light rail from my house to the mall, I’m surrounded by farmland.

          • Facebones@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Ah, the argument of the uninformed with no leg to stand on. Imagine if you put half the energy you put into fighting advocates of alternative transportation into literally anything useful. 🤷

            Enjoy your blind worship of big oil.

            • Polar@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              My blind worship because I live where public transit isn’t good, and I’m not biking 45km one way to the store?

              Again, you’re ignorant. You’re fighting nothing. Grow up.

    • sexy_peach@feddit.deOPM
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      If you use it every day and can afford it, maybe look at brand electric bikes! They’re a bit like bikes, but sturdier and on bad/rainy days and whatnot it really motivates to have the motors help. They’re almost like motor scooters, if you ever had one.

      • lobut@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Is ebike theft an issue? I’m paranoid about my push bike that I have no idea how I’d leave an ebike out.

        • sexy_peach@feddit.deOPM
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yes it is but you can get cheap insurance, just like you would get for a motor scooter or a car.

        • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏@lemmy.one
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          Yes, although I try to take precautions to prevent or catch it. For shopping I carry two u-locks and a wheel wire for my loaner ebike, and on my personal dutch-style non-e bike I rely on the built-in lock and chain.

          Out of the several years I’ve owned my personal bike, there has been one attempted theft (they made off with my light, action cam, and bike computer) and that was during an hour long shopping close to midnight.

          Look into whether your area has secure bike parking, such as within train stations with key card access, maybe ones attached to your local authority’s office, or even run by any local bike charity of some sort.

          I personally have left my loaner ebike locked up in train station keycard storage overnight while visiting another city, there are cameras everywhere which is reassuring, and the bike was untouched when I returned for it. On a separate occasion I left some of my clothing on the locked up ebike to dry, and they were exactly how I left them when I came back to ride home.

          Nowadays I just try my best not to use general public access bike parking lol

          Edit: should also mention that I keep all my bikes indoors now when at home. Last time I kept my old one out, cats kept pissing on & scratching the wheels, and it rusted so badly

      • jollyrogue@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        They’re definitely something I’m looking at. 🙂

        I’ve gotten to use a class 3 direct drive before, and it was nice. Ideally, a gravel e-bike is what I’d target.

        I’d kind of like to get something I can use all around since I would only have one, and my area has some nice bike trails.

  • Designate@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Not possible where I live, not enough public transport, not enough bike lanes and too far to travel Daily

    • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yeah I have zero public transit, no bike lanes, no sidewalks, no shoulders on the road - just two fast curvy lanes and a ditch. The last time I walked to the corner store I had three people stop and offer me a ride because it is too dangerous to even walk. Forget biking, no one is that stupid here. Well maybe a couple, I’ve seen bikes painted in memory of dead riders on the side of the road.

    • MisterFrog@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, never begrudge people for driving since they often do because there is no reasonable alternatives. Begrudge people for not voting for more public transport, better (denser) zoning, and removal of mandatory ridiculous parking requirements.

    • Holzkohlen@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s what they all say. I usually assume people are just to lazy to ride their bike or feel like public transport is too much of an inconvenience. Nobody ever wants to “downgrade” and thus this planet is utterly fucked.