America Has Long Favored Cars Over
Trains and Buses. Can Biden Change That?
New York Times,
by
Brad Plumer
&
Nadja Popovich
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
4/3/2021 6:01:54 PM
WASHINGTON — If America is dominated by car culture and the call of the open road, there is a big reason for that: Over the past 65 years, the United States has spent nearly $10 trillion in public funds on highways and roads and just one-quarter of that on subways, buses and passenger rail. But President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan, unveiled this week, represents one of the most ambitious efforts yet to challenge the centrality of the automobile in American life, by proposing to tilt federal spending far more toward public transportation and coax more people out of
I noticed the source of this article and immediately stopped reading further.
25 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
LanceLink1 4/3/2021 6:19:51 PM (No. 743924)
There are no trains or buses here in the woods of New Hampshire. Next question you intellectually challenged "journalist".
30 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
snakeoil 4/3/2021 6:21:09 PM (No. 743926)
If you could sit next to Claudette Colbert like Clark Gable did in the movie "It Happened One Night" a bus trip might be neat. But that ain't going to be who is sitting next to you. I'll leave it to Quid Pro Joe to ride on trains. Maybe let him sit in the engine and go Whoo Whoo. But as long as I can afford a car I'm going by car.
21 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Vesicant 4/3/2021 6:30:01 PM (No. 743935)
First it was Buttgigger and his mileage tax, now this. How soon will it be car driver = domestic terrorist?
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Foont 4/3/2021 6:34:59 PM (No. 743937)
Just another idiot fantasy of the left. They apparently think they are going to build tens of thousands of miles of "high speed" rail lines and connect them to the thousands of newly dug subways that will pop up in cities and towns all over the continent. The environmental impact statements alone will take the better part of a century to get done and then another 25 years or so to review before hearings (that's at least another decade needed) can be held and approvals granted. Then construction can start and will move ahead at the usual pace of all government projects (so another 50 years at least and more likely much longer) not to mention the usual cost overruns that will quadruple or quintuple the original estimates (at least).
I have a better chance of digging a hole to China in my backyard than this stupidity ever even getting off the ground.
20 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Northcross 4/3/2021 6:44:48 PM (No. 743942)
It is not up to Biden or anyone else to tell me how, where, or when to travel.
29 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
HerbVA 4/3/2021 6:55:45 PM (No. 743950)
Ride a bus unarmed and some urban jungle savage starts beating on you or drive your own vehicle listening to your radio preferences instead of some screeching third worlders ? Tough choice I suspect.
24 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
bad-hair 4/3/2021 6:55:57 PM (No. 743951)
YOU CAN HAVE MY STEERING WHEEL WHEN YOU DRAG IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS.
20 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
TLCary 4/3/2021 7:03:47 PM (No. 743955)
OP. Don’t fall for it. If you except that if it’s “all you can afford”, they they will simply make certain that it is the case for everyone but the central committee.
12 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
marbles 4/3/2021 7:08:04 PM (No. 743960)
On those long ago days when I would go to Manhattan I would take the bus because it was cheap and hassle free. BUT I had to drive to the bus depot some 20 miles away.
10 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
snapper451 4/3/2021 7:09:43 PM (No. 743961)
It's like Moron / Dementia Joe eats only Fudge Ripple ice cream and as a result he thinks that is the only flavor that should exist. After all he commuted on Amtrack (at our expense) and thinks everyone can take the train to work. Moron is not enough to describe him.
13 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
nina584 4/3/2021 7:10:46 PM (No. 743962)
No
11 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 4/3/2021 7:11:29 PM (No. 743964)
No.
12 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Nashville 4/3/2021 7:13:35 PM (No. 743966)
Climate change...so tired of seeing this BS used to spend billions.
10 people like this.
Short answer: No.
7 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
edgar 4/3/2021 7:41:34 PM (No. 743987)
Joe can't change his clock. How can he do anything more challenging?
8 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Scout Finch 4/3/2021 7:47:05 PM (No. 743989)
You can dispense with your blatant bias towards Xiden and the lies. We know only 5% of this trillion-dollar pork is going toward infrastructure. The remaining 95% is going line the pockets of our already pork-laden senators and congress critters. Perhaps some sent to China the the Middle East too.
10 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
chumley 4/3/2021 7:50:57 PM (No. 743991)
Not just how or when, the kommissars will decide IF you can travel. "Your covid papers, please". Going anywhere would be as big a humiliation and headache as flying. No thanks. I'll drive. I can go when I want, stop when I want, eat where I want, take my guns, and when I get to my destination I can still get around.
4 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
TXknitter 4/3/2021 8:01:00 PM (No. 744000)
Another fantasy we are fed is that all Europeans ride buses and trains & would not have private cars if they could. Baloney. Our British relatives in four totally different areas of England all have personal cars as we do. One couple in their 50’s say it isn’t safe for whites to ride public transport anymore. Every other rider is “Asian” with eyes glaring at you from eye slits in a burkha.
7 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Lala 4/3/2021 8:02:21 PM (No. 744001)
I have a friend from England who flew into New York and said she was taking a bus to LA. I told her she was nuts. She had no clue about the vastness of this great country. She figured it out after 7 days. At least she saw the country, I guess. But the bottom line is, people who fly on private jets and sit in the back of limos should not be telling Americans how we can and cannot move around our country.
12 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Citoyen 4/3/2021 8:12:29 PM (No. 744006)
Having lived my entire adult life in San Francisco I always took a subway or bus to work. I did so because it was cheaper, faster and more convenient. Trains and buses work there because it is the second or third densest city in the country. Residents are never more than a few blocks from a bus stop. Same goes for destinations.
They work in Europe because it is densely populated. I wish trains were practical since I would much rather travel by train than by air.
If trains and buses work in big cities I’m all for it. Now that I’ve moved to Palm Springs (for the weather) I drive my car everywhere.
7 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
jsulman 4/3/2021 8:28:15 PM (No. 744021)
Biden can't change his own underwear.
6 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Mushroom 4/3/2021 8:35:25 PM (No. 744028)
#20, I envy your friend.
I used to really enjoy train travel. Just yesterday I was looking at how to visit a relative via rail instead of the 12hr drive. I spent about $80 in fuel on the trip.
Amtrak from Major city to Major city was 3 changes, including one requiring a walk between stations and another a bus was about 1 hr of the trip. A sleeper was available for only one of the legs (8rs).
Fare was $410 and 25hrs.
No thanks.
I have a basic complaint about the fuel taxes going toward the East coast's rail solution. If the rail people can't pay the way look at raising rates or cutting costs, NOT stealing from the Midwest to fund your commute.
6 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
bgarrett 4/3/2021 8:40:53 PM (No. 744033)
Tell me how busses and trains can get me to my grandfathers place 9 miles from a tiny town 45 miles south of Abilene Texas
5 people like this.
Biden and company probably think that if they can make people wear masks forever they can get them in a bus.
6 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
wweste 4/3/2021 8:50:21 PM (No. 744044)
Ya'll come to Wyoming. There is no public transportation in our ninth largest state that measures 400 miles east to west by 350 miles north to south. The nearest major city from Cheyenne (we are 40 miles from Nebraska) is Laramie, which is 46 miles to the west on I-80. The next major city is Rawlins which is another 100 miles to the west. The next town is Rock Springs, another 100 miles. The last town in the state is Evanston which is another 100 miles. Anyone able to afford a cab?
9 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
mc squared 4/3/2021 8:52:18 PM (No. 744046)
#23; its widely known the Amtrak has never made a Nickle. At over $500 for a 28 hour trip from NY to Miami, it takes longer than driving and costs about 4 times as much as flying.
10 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
rememberwhen 4/3/2021 9:11:24 PM (No. 744058)
Can Biden change his own socks without help?
4 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
MissileMan742 4/3/2021 9:20:04 PM (No. 744065)
As an Aussie friend of mine would say: "That'll be a sunny Friday!"
2 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
DVC 4/3/2021 9:26:26 PM (No. 744073)
Sorry, #12. Didn't read your post before I commented.
0 people like this.
Buses and trains, like BLM riots and infected illegal aliens, are exempt from Covid.
2 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
deerejon 4/3/2021 9:43:35 PM (No. 744088)
Lets just go back to the horse and buggy days.
3 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
Sardonic 4/3/2021 10:13:49 PM (No. 744102)
Biden can't even change his own Depends, how is he going to change America's love of cars?
3 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Trigger2 4/4/2021 3:13:30 AM (No. 744193)
Where's the trains or buses to carry me from my rural house the 10 miles to the closest town?
3 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
mifla 4/4/2021 3:51:55 AM (No. 744206)
Joe is napping. Ask Susan Rice.
4 people like this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
KatieJo 4/4/2021 6:19:14 AM (No. 744237)
Only with a pointed gun.
3 people like this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 4/4/2021 7:10:30 AM (No. 744255)
Sleepy needs to change his diaper.....I believe it’s full.
2 people like this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
Petronius 4/4/2021 7:14:52 AM (No. 744256)
When I spent some time working in the SF Bay Area I was taking the BART, but got tired of getting urine and feces on myself, not to mention the feral youths who seemed to come out at night. Never again.
3 people like this.
Reply 39 - Posted by:
Historybuff 4/4/2021 8:20:54 AM (No. 744301)
Get on the bus Comrade.
3 people like this.
Reply 40 - Posted by:
downnout 4/4/2021 8:40:01 AM (No. 744331)
When you write for the NYT you must believe that civilization begins on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean and ends at the east coast of the Hudson River.
4 people like this.
Reply 41 - Posted by:
Old Army Vet 4/4/2021 8:45:56 AM (No. 744347)
Sleepy joe can't change his own socks.
2 people like this.
Reply 42 - Posted by:
Strike3 4/4/2021 9:17:12 AM (No. 744383)
Between pushing public transportation and forced use of electric cars, Biden will succeed in killing our automotive industry, if Japan has not done it already. I tried to travel a significant distance by bus once and it was full of arrogant "teens" who thought they each deserved two seats. This is a third world form of transportation and has been for a long time. Even with huge subsidies, trains are nothing but a more expensive way to get there slower.
4 people like this.
Reply 43 - Posted by:
stablemoney 4/4/2021 1:21:25 PM (No. 744600)
Americans could ride the NY subways, get knifed, beat up, admire the filth, and graffiti, maybe get pushed in front of an approaching train. Then, Americans could take 2 hours to board a plane to a destination you could drive in 2 hours. I don't know a single conservative that would not advocate that the left do all these things.
0 people like this.
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If a bus or train is all you can afford, so be it. But traveling by bus or train is terribly inconvenient and nearly 100 years out of fashion.