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Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

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Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#41

Post by Larrikin »

sam2426679 wrote: post #17
Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no. The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor…

It's worth pointing out that Japan does have business/first class on some of its trains. Presumably more people are willing to take it, or they simply make more $ per head.

It's not worth pointing out because those only exist on the shinkansen and routes where you could theoretically be commuting for hours. Business class exist for people that travel for work already, you can use a plane or Amtrak.

I'm sure there are workers in Japan who are using it daily, but having to be on the train for six hours in a green card everyday is not a hell worth recreating anywhere else.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#42

Post by wiihack »

There are regional trains in Germany where this exists. Even if second class is completely full, first class remains mostly empty. It feels like a waste of space, as the downside for the general public is much greater than any potential gains for first-class travelers and train operators.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#43

Post by wizofaus »

barbariangrunge wrote: post #27

My wife would have used public transit more if the downtown train stations weren’t crawling with aggressive drugged out people harassing people at all hours; add that she used to get off work late at night, and it wasn’t safe for her So, there’s a starting point. Let’s stop letting thugs who reek of Lysol on the train wander up to a stranger to steal their hat off their head without consequence (actual incident I saw…

Why should having enough money to pay for a 1st class ticket be the only way to avoid being harrassed by "aggressive drugged-out people"?? Surely at a minimum PT should guarantee that for all passengers.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#44

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

barbariangrunge wrote: post #27

My wife would have used public transit more if the downtown train stations weren’t crawling with aggressive drugged out people harassing people at all hours; add that she used to get off work late at night, and it wasn’t safe for her So, there’s a starting point. Let’s stop letting thugs who reek of Lysol on the train wander up to a stranger to steal their hat off their head without consequence (actual incident I saw…

I'm hardly liberal myself, but what sort of policy is it that you imagine could change this at this late date?

Cops could be directed to arresting such people aggressively, as their primary duty. Prosecution could be greased such that they aren't getting back out pre-trial... at least temporarily. Laws might even be modified such that they are convicted.

But at the end of the day, you need to warehouse them somewhere if you're going to keep them off the train and from stealing hats off people's heads. And in the places where this is the biggest problem (California), they're constantly running into prison capacity issues that see people released early.

All this remains true even if your jackbooted enough to be willing to go through with this crap. There are some other fundamental issues that would need to be solved first, and I'm not even certain those have been identified.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#45

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

zo1 wrote: post #25
dieselgate wrote: post #21

Others have mentioned this but a lot of places already have similar “class” concepts. To broaden the scope of this a bit CDMX has women (and children?) only metro cars - which seems to be confidence inspiring for women who use them. I’ve also taken a sleeper bus from Scotland to England which had seats along with cots for the overnight ride. Additionally Amtrak in the US has a few different offerings. I know the scop…

Interesting, are these "women-only" cars usually at the front or back of the trains?

That seems like that would open up an entirely new can of worms, at least in the US.

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#46

Post by dieselgate »

zo1 wrote: post #25
dieselgate wrote: post #21

Others have mentioned this but a lot of places already have similar “class” concepts. To broaden the scope of this a bit CDMX has women (and children?) only metro cars - which seems to be confidence inspiring for women who use them. I’ve also taken a sleeper bus from Scotland to England which had seats along with cots for the overnight ride. Additionally Amtrak in the US has a few different offerings. I know the scop…

Interesting, are these "women-only" cars usually at the front or back of the trains?

This linked paper [1] is in Spanish but believe it says to be the first two cars of multiple lines, and to accommodate passengers under 12.

Edit: looked it up because don’t remember from personal experience

1. https://www.elsoldemexico.com.mx/metropoli/cdmx/vagones-para...

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#48

Post by dieselgate »

NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #45
zo1 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, are these "women-only" cars usually at the front or back of the trains?

That seems like that would open up an entirely new can of worms, at least in the US.

Maybe but most public transport systems are local and could see it being a success in certain locations

Re: Ask HN: Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

#50

Post by eesmith »

dagmx wrote: post #10
Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no. The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor…

To add to your list, I think cities need better options for last mile transport. A big issue with public transit is that it gets you to the ballpark of where you want to go but your commute from there might still be lengthy enough that you need to call an Uber anyway. A lot of cities tend to have really great main trunk transit, but things get really sparse coming off of the trunks. Having better options for spreadin…

> I think cities need better options for last mile transport.

I think the point is that developed cities don't need that, because there are very few places which require that much walking.

I used Google Maps to find routes around Copenhagen. Very few of them required more than 10 minutes total walking. Even fewer required that much walking once I switched to Monday commute time rather than Sunday evening.

For underdeveloped cities, which is nearly all of the US, Mordisquitos' "more capacity and better and more efficient networks" includes what you termed "last mile transport".

> lengthy enough that you need to call an Uber anyway.

That's also a cultural thing. I had a high school friend living in Amsterdam describing other Americans coming to visit. They decided a 6 block walk was too much, so they got a taxi/Uber.

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