this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2024
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Electric vehicles are here to save the auto industry. We need to replace personal automobiles with strong public transportation for the climate.
And until that long-lead-time investment in public transport pays off, we'll still need cars, and the choice is gas, hybrid or electric.
I say we build new, people centric cities, move to them, and tear the old ones down. Or find ways to uproot the roads and replace them with useful infrastructure. I agree with you, the thing that sucks (in the US) is our cities have all become car centric tombs that stretch for miles on end.
This would be effective. Altering the way we designed cities would allow new developments to abandon roads. Create walkable areas connected to an overarching network of high speed rail. As more sections go up, population will fill it, and priority can be given to residents that need to move to make way for the next redevelopment section.
I agree we need strong public transportation but there is still going to be a need for cars. I travel across state borders for my commute from a small town. Sure I could move, but then I'd have to likely pay way more for a house, taxes, groceries, etc, so unless the unlikely event they add a train that crosses state borders and connects small towns, some people will always have a need for a car unfortunately.
Also the public transport would likely take decades we don't have to be everywhere meanwhile you can buy an electric car right now.
That being said I wish I had public transportation everywhere. I'd totally use it. I hate driving.
With high speed rail, your commute could be at the top speed of a sport bike, and without the slowdowns of traffic. The travel time would be more predictable, and you have your attention available for other things during the ride.
Sure I'd love that. The chance of that happening for a rural area to cross states when my city got it's first bus a couple years ago is unlikely to happen for at least a decade probably 3 with the crappy politics and the amount of trump supporters around here indicates they are very against it. People around here think their pickup trucks are better for the environment than an EV.
Meanwhile my state had somewhere around 30% spike in EVs last year and now is doing a yearly road EV tax since it has grown so much. We need more public teansit,but EV cars is not just a solution for car makers, it's literally the only option especially for consumers in the near future, which we need to do change now and in the future not just hoping for public infrastructure to come that will let everyone travel anywhere.
It's a lot easier to build when you can tear down people's houses anytime you like to make way for the train tracks.