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Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

economist.com

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Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#81

Post by ryukafalz »

runako wrote: post #62
david-gpu wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bike sharing services are great in those situations. You don't even need to carry your bike in the train. There is also public transit like trams and buses.

Gentle reminder that a significant portion of society is not able to carry out trips on bikes due to infirmity, disability, or needing to convey someone who cannot bike (e.g. small children).

A significant portion of society is also not able to drive for similar reasons, but they mostly go ignored in our car-centric society. Nobody's saying that we should completely eliminate the ability to drive, certainly some people will need to, but we need to also provide viable options for those who can't.

Additionally, bike infrastructure works great for mobility scooters too: https://youtu.be/xSGx3HSjKDo

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#82

Post by nobodyandproud »

scatters wrote: post #54
kensai wrote: post #27

I really wished this demonisation of the car stopped. Modern cars are way more climate friendly than merely 10-20 years ago and many climate-conscious persons do pool to commute. But we need to understand. There are cases where the car is a must. Unavoidable. Imagine having toddlers, having to do heavy groceries, and living in a place with difficult landscape or challenging weather. Imagine having a neurological dise…

Imagine having a neurological disease or some other disability that means that you can't drive .

Bicycling would be out of the question. Family, neighbors, taxi service, or mass transit seems to be the only available options.

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#83

Post by mantas »

runako wrote: post #74
nostromo123 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but in a short time someone will reply here to tell you how they brought their kids to kindergarten in subzero temperatures with a bike, or how they bike half an hour in rain to buy groceries... For my family it's not even about the physical aspect, but about time. I don't want to waste my free time going to and from places in 2x/3x the time it takes by car.

> in a short time someone will reply here to tell you how they brought their kids to kindergarten in subzero temperatures with a bike, or how they bike half an hour in rain to buy groceries... Fully expecting that comment, and I look forward to that person describing how they take an elderly parent to the doctor on a bike…

CARGO BIKE /s

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#84

Post by david-gpu »

Some of us don't want to impose the externalities of car ownership on others. The suburbanite who drives a car barely feels these inconveniences, but everybody else does.

Cars are dangerous to both pedestrians and cyclists. They make our streets noisy, our air polluted -- even electric cars shed particulates from their tires and their brakes. Cars require extensive amounts of parking, which is ugly dead space which contributes to sprawl.

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#85

Post by BizarreByte »

narrowtux wrote: post #63
mft_ wrote: post #61

Eh, this is a very city-centric view. As discussed many times past, including on HN, if you live in or near a major city, and in a country or area which prioritises goood public transport, you can get by admirably --even better-- without a car. As soon as you move even a little away from the metropolis, and/or to somewhere that doesn't prioritise good public transport, access (at least) to a car becomes close to a ne…

Nobody is talking about taking away cars from people who live outside of cities. Yet this argument always comes up when problems with cars in densely populated areas are discussed.

This probably occurs because people and governments love one size fits all solutions. There’s a good chance any rules about cars made in the city will spill over and cause issues for people in the country, it happens all the time in regards to other things so why not this?

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#86

Post by mcv »

yourusername wrote: post #68
wffurr wrote: post #10

There's 138 trains per day between Amsterdam and The Hague. It's faster to take the train than to drive on that trip. Driving in either city in an exercise in frustration. Why would anyone in a rich country with a high functioning rail system like The Netherlands want to drive? I don't know how many rich countries that describes, but I lived happily for years in Boston in the USA without a car. I have one now but onl…

>There's 138 trains per day between Amsterdam and The Hague. It's faster to take the train than to drive on that trip If you're going from the Hague central station to Amsterdam central station, sure. Now plan a more typical commute from say the Hague Wateringen to the over Amstel industrial estate (It takes two times as as driving) Play around with real life scenarios. Say you're going from Amsterdam Osdorp to your…

> It takes two times as as driving

That really depends on the amount of traffic jam you end up in.

It's true that not every route has a direct train connection, and there are definitely trips where cars are faster, but during rush hour around big cities, cars become a lot less reliable. On top of that, cars are only fast if you have access to parking on each end of the trip. Otherwise you still need to park somewhere else and take local transit for the final leg (which is definitely the preferred way to visit Amsterdam by car).

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#87

Post by fundad »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #56
revscat wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average American spends $3000 a year on gas. Imagine if you didn’t have to do that.

I do ~23000mi/yr (way above average) commuting at 23mpg (somewhat below average) and gas here is about $3/gal (average) so I pay about $3k/yr. I am nowhere near typical. There is no way the average American pays that much for just gas unless the source is doing some slight of hand. Obviously I pay more than $3k/yr after you include other expenses but still, few are buying that much fuel. I used to take the train when…

$3/gal is practically free

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#88

Post by mcv »

fruit2020 wrote: post #29
wffurr wrote: post #10

There's 138 trains per day between Amsterdam and The Hague. It's faster to take the train than to drive on that trip. Driving in either city in an exercise in frustration. Why would anyone in a rich country with a high functioning rail system like The Netherlands want to drive? I don't know how many rich countries that describes, but I lived happily for years in Boston in the USA without a car. I have one now but onl…

It’s faster if you live next to the train station and your work is next to the destination station. Anyway, for some people is better one way than the other

A lot of business parks are close to a station for that very reason.

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#89

Post by GiorgioG »

I grew up in a small/medium sized city with a bus system. I couldn't wait to get a car and stop having to live my life around the bus schedule (especially on the weekends.)

I don't buy this article's argument. Outside of cities there will always be a demand for cars. My daughter just turned 16 and she's working/saving for a car and won't shut up about it - which IMO is great...motivation to work hard, keep her grades up (one of our stipulations), etc. Same with all of her friends.

In cities with a functioning mass transit system, there's very little need for the young or old to be interested or in love with cars. It's the same as it ever was. This is literally a non-story.

Re: Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

#90

Post by lnsru »

runako wrote: post #74
nostromo123 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but in a short time someone will reply here to tell you how they brought their kids to kindergarten in subzero temperatures with a bike, or how they bike half an hour in rain to buy groceries... For my family it's not even about the physical aspect, but about time. I don't want to waste my free time going to and from places in 2x/3x the time it takes by car.

> in a short time someone will reply here to tell you how they brought their kids to kindergarten in subzero temperatures with a bike, or how they bike half an hour in rain to buy groceries... Fully expecting that comment, and I look forward to that person describing how they take an elderly parent to the doctor on a bike…

That’s perfect case for a taxi. However I love cars and just playing devil’s advocate here.
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