What's arguable about Germany being the birthplace of the car?
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2024
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I think for Germany it's simply the fact that our infrastructure grew in large parts before the invention of the car, plus it's, compared to the US, very densely populated. So it's easier to create a useful rail system, there isn't enough space in the cities for to many cars, even though there are way to many for my taste.
Infrastructure funding for other transportation modes combined with less subsidizing of gasoline.
Large export markets.
Honestly germans seem to love to dunk on their own infrastructure. Pedestrian, bicycle and public transport infrastructure truly is on another level compared to the US. Why this is the case? I believe its because cities where already in place when the car was invented. In the US they were built for the car as a mode of transport when European cities where built in a way that was a lot more pedestrian friendly.
While the punctuality of DB (German railway operator is a mess) local regional trains can be pretty consistent and overall cities have a well built out priority, since we had to accommodate for so many peoples transport withoutbeingg able to built them as car friendly since the urban centers where already built. while the funding somewhat lacks today, this made public transport also an important thing people look out for.
Bicycle infrastructure can also be hit or miss depending in the region, but generally it is also on the radar of planners and there's plenty of routes, although they're nothing like the Netherlands.
Germans also really like shitting on their own country and being really critical which comes with its own upsides and downsides. For rural areas the car is definitely really important for getting around tho
In the US they were built for the car as a mode of transport when European cities where built in a way that was a lot more pedestrian friendly.
Indeed!
I believe its because cities where already in place when the car was invented.
Nope!
Haha yes, the car is the German's favorite child, and complaining their favorite pastime.
That being said, I think there's more factors to it. Keep in mind that most German cities were in ruins after WWII, and plenty of buildings have been demolished to make room for cars.
The difference in electoral systems might play a role, where a green party could slowly, but steadily gain influence.
Railway infrastructure was already quite dense before mass motorization.
A lot of money has been spend to get through traffic out of town centers.
There's probably more to it ...
Railway infrastructure was already quite dense before mass motorization.
the US used to be quite well connected via rail
Dunno... Maybe because the companies are not in charge of running the country?
But they are. Lobbyism is literally the problem why nothing is happening to further prevent climate change.
And on top of that, i believe most of those cars are sold in the US....
For most german automakers the biggest market has actually been China for a while.
Ahh right on. Either case they are an export item that's not staying in country.
They're not violent empires who can massively exploit people and the planet in order to afford a grossly wasteful and inefficient lifestyle.
anymore *
So having been to Japan and ridden the trains there I genuinely can’t imagine Tokyo where everyone drives. And once you have that and the Shinkansen you may as well build out a strong train network. But also, in bumfuck Japan everyone drives. Just because you can take a train to the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean you don’t need to drive when you get there
Both germany and japan have really strong car culture and fucked up rural infrastructure . The cities having nice public transit ≠ the country.
You can take a train to nearly every corner of japan. Japanese cities make sure you have a parking spot before you can buy a car. There is very little on street parking so many streets are open. The streets are narrow and often able to be shared between pedestrians and slow traffic. Roads specifically meant for cars are often seperated from pedestrians.
Japan has done a lot more than most other countries. Rural areas will always be more difficult to service due to their density but i still think japan has done better there than most.
Thier housing culture also makes it easier to move where you want to, which should make moving from rural to the city more feasable for those whom can't handle the rural lifestyles.
Anime Manga <> Reality
In the popular perception sure. Having lived in Japan, reality is far different. Anywhere outside of cities has no sidewalk, in places where there would be some in europe. Train stations that are rural have no bus connections at all (having grown up in switzerland, this was hard to get used to). Cars are seen very highly, to the point where they have priority over everything else in planning.
And for tourists, sure the shinkanzen is cheap, because the tourism tickets are affordable, but the average person can barley afford it. And most use planes to get around where could be covered by shinkanzen.
Japan is similar to France, excellent tranit in between cities (fast trains; but expensive), cities have a robust network. But the rest of the country is unlivable without a car.
Switzerland is very car centric too, and we’re less good at high speed trains and comprehensive urban transit. But man, the rural trains + buses means you can get literally anywhere without a car. Japan doesn’t have that at all, despite being extremely dense like switzerland.
One factor that may 'help' japan in getting less car-centric over time is that the japanese rural areas and the smallest rank of cities are basically depopulating (dying out), with young people (and not so young too) moving to large cities and metropolises (like Tokyo). So, more % of japanese people will live in the not car-centric areas. Tourism will of course exist for some rural and small urban areas, but that occasional use can be served by short term car rentals.
I've also lived in Japan and my experience is that people rarely fly domestically and almost always take the train. But since domestic travel is so expensive, their vacations are often international instead of within Japan.
Definitely not the case where I lived (rural Niigata prefecture), but I was friends with people who were definitely poor.
Switzerland is very car centric too, and we’re less good at high speed trains and comprehensive urban transit.
Maybe, but Switzerland has the most rail usage per capita making it arguably the most rail centric country in the world.
we do. But still everything is built for cars and train is a second thought. We have great infrastructure, because in the past this was different. But currently, we’re barely investing in the train system, the infrastructure is starting to bottleneck (the Geneva - Lausanne axis is a disaster already), whilst we are adding more and more highway lanes. The far right party has had control over the transport ministry for a while now, and it is showing.
Well, cars are certainly important everywhere in the world and still too important in Switzerland. But relatively speaking compared to other countries they're really not that important.
Right now there's a vote coming up to build more highways, it'll be interesting to see how that turns out.
To put some numbers on things, we spend 4-5 billion per year on rail, we spend 8.8billion over the next 3 years on road maintenance plus total another 11 billion until 2030 for new road infrastructure. I wouldn't call that 'barely investing', it seems roughly equal to me.
Im plagued by a north american perspective where anything more than hourly bus service is considered excellent transit service. I'm steps from downtown in my city and even downtown there are streets with sidewalks only along one side, causing extra time and crossings for pedestrians.
Japan absolutely hasn't commited to car priority, if they did they would have abolished proof of parking spots for ownership and would jave opened nearly every square inch of their cities as free on street parking. They may be giving cars more space and priority than in the past but they havent bulldozed half their city for surface level parking and 6+ lane roads (or at least they haven't done so as extremely as north america). Japan can still shift away from car ownership being madatory for life, much of north america is already trapped in that mindset.
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