BigBlueWonder
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Just when I entered the bus, I remembered all the negative comments I read online about the US public transit. Also here on Imgur there is a very negative attitude towards it. But I was shocked how “normal” it was, at least for my European standards. For context; the first 40 years of my life I didn’t own a car and did everything with buses and trains. There are of course many, many places in the US where there is no public transit whatsoever. But this example shows that it is at least possible.
#public_transportation #travel #new_york_city #new_jersey
JoeMangoJello
Let me know what you think of public transport once you get to the rural south, or the middle of one of the great plain states.
triassictango
Welcome to the tristate area. Be warned: the pizza and bagels get a lot worse as you go west and south.
thisisnotaseasyasitlooks
I would love to take public transportation for my daily commute. The closest train station is 45 minutes to my house and then my work is 35 minutes away from that nearest station. That's driving minutes. Buses do not stop anywhere near either one. And I'm in a heavily populated area. America just doesn't value public transportation. Everyone wants their own cars. It sucks.
MyInboxIsSadAndEmpty
The problem isn't that we're incapable of it, the problem is that the big money is pretty much exclusively behind *not* doing it, *not* changing the laws which would make it legally feasible, and *not* allowing the public to even consider for a second that everyone over the age of 15 needing their own personal car to get anywhere is insane.
bippityboppitybuttsex
Grew up in NYC and for the price of a token (I had a train pass), I could get anywhere in the city... and the Staten Island Ferry is a pretty harbor trip (make sure you don't get off in Staten Island, ew).
OldBikerDude
We have some reasonable public transit in Denver
basufari
Busses I believe are free in fort collins area as well.
metroid2
It's nice. I ride the greyhound from Wyomong to Denver. I can get off that bus and take the lite rail all the way to the airport. Saves me money vs flying out of where I live.
HeraldOfTheBadger
Hi I'm from nj. The public transport options are exclusively commuter related. They bring you from your town to Manhattan and then you just have to figure it out from there. Usually the subway is good after that.
If you're looking for stuff to do in New Jersey though I can recommend some stuff. We have one of the few nude beaches on the East Coast. Lots of local gaming stores. Tons of food. Traffic you can sit in. Shopping with no tax on clothing or food. Bagels and pizza just as good as nyc.
HeraldOfTheBadger
But the reason we think the public transportation system is bad, if I want to go from my place by Wayne to my friend's in Maplewood, they need to go to Manhattan and then turn around on a different bus and it takes 2 hours instead of 30 minutes to drive
BillHubbard
As a European I am always stumped about how inefficient traffic lights are in the US. We'll just have everybody wait the whole time, rather than set it up smart. Not to mention the almost complete absence of public transport.
LincLoud
We know we CAN. The issue is that private corporations constantly prevent us from doing so. If it were up to us, we'd have trains and buses all over. I have a car and hate it. I hate driving.
CapwnAl
OP, if you are ever in southern California.. try doing that from Long Beach to Hollywood. It'll be about 30 miles (48 km) and a much better and more realistic test/look at what public transit is like state side.
unluckyandbored
It's ridiculous that this country has so much beautiful scenery, and so many never get to experience it because they're stuck in a damn car on the damn interstate.
PoisonInJest
Yeah most of the people that work in NYC don't live in NYC so nearby places have decent transit to it
ItisBecauseIDoNotLikeYou
In 2010 in Wisconsin Obama was pushing initiatives for high speed rail that run from Milwaukee to Madison. Everyone went into an uproar and that’s when I truly knew, Americans hate good public transit and love road construction for their unnecessary trucks of statures
talldean
You... were in our very densest area outta a million miles to choose? This is like saying that yes, just outside of London or Barcelona have transit...
IncrediRis
try it again in seattle
TheUglyGuy
NJ to NY is a bit like going from your kitchen to the bedroom. It's a well-worn path, often traveled and made easy by that reason.
DongleDingler
As a New Jersean by NYC, yes and no. The big problem here is suburban sprawl. Lots of quiet neighborhoods that stretch away from the main roads means car dependency. In current traffic it would take me under an hour to drive into Manhattan, or a 45 minute walk to the closest bus stop, then another hour and some to get in. That said, I never drive into NYC unless I'm picking someone up, parking is easily $50
folded13
If you get a chance, come to Portland, OR. We have public transit that actually works well. It's far from perfect, but I lived there for 10 years without a car and no complaints.
thereitis101
NYC and NJ to NYC has great public transportation. I have flown into Jersey and taken the train into NY. Unfortunately, most of the country is car first.
contextisimportant
You took the officially listed bus or a “replacement” driving like 2 min before the listed one?
BigBlueWonder
I have no idea. It was bus line 158 and it only costed $5. So I was very pleased with it.
contextisimportant
With a number decorated - very likely. They sell tickets also in advance. And can be found in the app.
tombeithemist
Pssh. You're impressed now? Just wait till Elon launches the Hyperloop!
EinsteinHair
We had it in every major city we had good public transportation and then during the depression GM standard oil and Firestone bought up the public transport and dismantled it. This became the background conspiracy in who framed Roger Rabbit? But it did happen
Ashtonbear13
Exactly!! I just hope the public transit is kind of safer and faster for someone to have the mental health on checked.
Unholytrashpanda
I just had this conversation with a European colleague. The issue isn't whether or not it's possible, the issue is convincing people it's worth the money that would need to be spent on it
DarkZalgo
Exactly. The low end estimates I've found on replacing my local freeway with rail would pay for over a century of freeway maintenance. And that didn't even take into account demolish costs, or the economic costs of not having functional transit for anyone for however many years it would take to build.
pr3viso
The town where I live has free public bus service. We're only 9k people. There's also a route to the nearby college, 11 miles away.
happyrabbitzz
SnakesInBowties
Happy you enjoyed your trip! Our public transportation would be greatly improved if we could get rid of the republican naysayers on both a national and local level. They don't exist nor vote for the public good. Our state legislature has made it difficult to almost impossible to make improvements or expand our public transit options. R is for reverse.\
FireSolvesProblems
Yea, but it wouldn't be easy. I'm talking a decade later & it still wouldn't be done.
NebulaPlague
NJ transit clean? I can't fathom that. With the trains, you can hardly see out the windows.
RevolutionOnHerLips
>lands in one of the most populous areas in the US
>has no idea the scale of most states compared to their country
>announces "it can be done!"
congratulations, you're just as obnoxious as any American tourist lol
Redyls
we are quite good at public transit. it just mainly the citys it works best. it does get dirty from time to time especially when budgets run tight. but americans just like to compare and complain a lot and hold high expectations for services
youngfarty
I'm glad that good public transit has been your experience, it just hasn't been mine, and that inconsistency is kinda the problem. If, when you say "we" here, you mean America as a whole, I think that our goodness-at-public-transit is too varied from place to place to make that kind of blanket statement.
Redyls
ive mostly lived in phoenix and denver which both are large cities. and i have visited a few dozen other major cities. those are the best experiences ive had. never had trouble getting around or to a airport or train station. my worst experiences are the urban or rural ones or ultra crowded cities like LA or NY where vehicle traffic is a problem. but yeah i also mostly travel on non peak times. so yeah it can be a problem for some people, especially those who have schedules.
ME2BNS12
You experienced about .01% of the US. It is much, much larger than you think it is!
mikeatike
And yet public mass transit could be a thing if we had thr political will for it.
unluckyandbored
Yeah? We can still have a mass transit network. A combination of buses and both high and low-speed rail. Shinkansen for inter-city travel, buses and conventional rail lines for local trips. All of which running 24/7 (because people need to go places at night and on Sundays too) It will just take longer and cost more, and we could do it if we decided to tax the rich and stop killing brown people.
NinjaCongo
*Ahem* India
Psionickitten
This. Unless the rich profit off of it, it doesn't happen in the US. The US government is so corrupt there's a possibility that a dictator who has declared his intent to be a dictator could be VOTED into power this fall. Due to the electoral college, gerrymandering voting districts, and disenfranchising legal voters without their knowledge, if it happens it will be due to a corrupt ineffective system, not a popular vote. You think they care about affordable, economical public transportation?
mike13815
False argument. Population dense multi-city areas of the usa could and should have what European cities/nations have. You can ignore idaho.
lujotu
Don't worry, we do
leroy666
pretty much all of the big empty.
NeverEnoughFoxes
We have the rail network so passenger trains are an option
Isgrimnur
All trains go to Chicago
NeverEnoughFoxes
I should make note that I meant that rail would be an option for us to invest in for long range public transit to make it affordable.
youngfarty
This is the train option for me from New York to my closest rail station. And then another 60 miles by car for me to get home. In order for everyone to be able to have the NJ - NY experience, we need a huge investment in infrastructure.
youngfarty
By contrast, the flight would get me close to home on the same day and cost me half as much.
NeverEnoughFoxes
I agree. Sorry, I wasn't clear in that investing in passenger rail would solve for long range public transit.
BigBlueWonder
Oh yes, I fully understand that. But I was pleasantly surprised that the buses in this area are pretty good and that they go regularly. Every 10~12 minutes.
BeaverOnFire
Sadly that describes.1%.
IgnisInvictus
Yeah, try using the bus in Flint, Michigan. There's always someone smoking crack.
Or the bus in Elkhorn, Wisconsin... there isn't one.
Very few places in the US do public transport well. Congrats on a positive experience!
Mr21782Man
Try doing this in anywhere but DC to NYC corridor, it ain't happening. Because its the center of political and financial power this corridor is the most well connected corridor in the country. It is not representative. If you travel outside this area I would encourage you to try mass transit again.
ME2BNS12
Because you're in one of the most populated areas of the US. The bad stories you might have heard are because of literally everywhere else
LuminoZero
My ex-girlfriend was from Oklahoma and she'd never been on a train, or seen one besides a freight train, until she came to New York to visit.
Which was WILD to me.
Foxsayy
You're in one of a handful of areas with good public transit. I think most people probably would like to have a more European style transit.
I personally believe all new construction should be required to build with a potential future Railway in mind. The old stuff is hard to build around, but it's often surprising what small town or area pops up into something bigger.
oldradios19772000
But it's true. For example I lived in Boston for a few years. Boston has some of the oldest subways on the planet. And there are Subway and bus stops everywhere in that City and you do not need a car. I didn't own one the entire time I lived there and it was totally fine. I live in California now. Completely different story
lujotu
Now if only Boston Transit didn't close before the bars let out...
wizard07ksu9000
Come to the midwest where trains only hit .1% of cities, there are no buses between cities, bus stops inside cities are a sign post on the side of the road with no bench, walkway, or other accessibility option, and city buses run every 45 minutes on a good day! You can spend 6 hours driving at 140 Km/h for 6 hours and not see a city! (I'm thinking of I-70 between Denver and Salina)
I recently visited France, and took a train to Chicago. I wish we had more public transportation.
lujotu
2 things. I've done that drive through Kansas, it was one of the most mind numbing experiences of my life. Also, how was the train ride from France to Chicago?
wizard07ksu9000
You should try that Kansas drive again when there are tornadoes surrounding you lol
lujotu
That sounds like it would spice things up a bit
wizard07ksu9000
Clarification: i flew to France. These were 2 separate trips.
France was awesome. I stayed in a local inn and ate at local restaurants. I was carpooling with a few coworkers so I didnt use any public transportation. Ive heard from coworkers that work in France that the bus system is much more developed than anywhere I've lived.
lujotu
Hehe I figured, was just being silly. I've only been to Paris, I remember the public transportation being pretty solid.
wizard07ksu9000
So the train is Amtrak and runs between LA and Chicago daily. There's only a train per day going in each direction, no idea what schedules like that in Europe look like. The rrain itself was nice. I got a sleeper car since my pickup time was around 2 AM and twas 12 hours to Chicago. 2 meals included. A few hours waiting in the station in chicago to get a connecting commuter train and I was set. Will absolutely be using that again for long distanve travel.
lujotu
I've gotta do that one of these days. I imagine the ride through the Rockies is awesome.