The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
thenewurbanorder.substack.com
The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
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Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#2> Much like how people now prefer streaming services over cable, these subscriptions may cost nearly the same as leasing or owning a car some months, but they’ll provide a better experience than owning a car, especially if cities prioritize mobility options over private cars.
Except now that they've won the war, the streaming services are merrily raising prices, adding advertisements, and enshittifying in various other ways.
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#3I think public traffic is much more similar to cable TV with its fixed schedule than a car that mirrors on-demand streaming. This is why in truth few people like to use public traffic if there is another feasible choice.
I am not interested in car models at all but I like owning a car, even in a city. It solves a lot of problems and I believe a development to less individual traffic is an illusion. Mabybe it happens due to economic reasons, but otherwise it will stay as it is. Even with combustion cars should EV prove to expensive. Any market regulation would quickly evaporate as well and maybe just kill the local industry.
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#4I don't think the comparison of streaming and cable is actually helping her case here.
Just look at most streaming services right now: They keep on increasing prices, they restrict account sharing and thus forcing every individual to either purchase their own subscription or risk losing access while the content is being spread over a growing amount of streaming services and almost all are ramping up on the amount of advertising they serve unless you opt-out by switching to a higher tiered subscription.
If streaming is any indicator, you'll soon have to rent a car from a specific "car as a service" provider to access or park in certain districts of the city you live in while you have to endure advertising before you can start the engine or while you wait in traffic.
You don't want to rely on a car subscription service if you want to remain mobile and you don't have that much money to spend.
Not to forget that this pays heavily into the "you'll own nothing and be happy" WEF agenda.
(And I don't even own a car or license and just do everything by bicycle so I'm not even directly affected by this.)
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#5I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where I can do all my day-to-day things (e.g., work, gym, groceries) without a car. Bike, bus, and walking can get me almost everywhere I want to go within 5 miles of my home, which would otherwise account for the majority of my car trips [1]. I still own a (small) car, but it's relegated to weekend pleasure driving and occassional big-things-transport. It's amazing not having to stress about parking, gas prices, or being stuck in traffic alongside everyone else commuting via single-occupant cars.
[1] https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1230-marc...
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#6I hope she is right, and in a way she may be. The main reason is how expensive it is to buy a car, insure and maintain a car in the US.
Insurance rates in many places are raising a lot, people blame the expense of repairing EVs and some blame tracking of people's driving habits via many internet connected autos.
With new proposed mandatory "dodads" like automatic breaking, rear cameras I can see Auto prices will continue to increase.
And in cities you can have parking fees, the slow elimination of parking on the street, never mind rent and housing costs. Something will need to give.
So the end result for people in cities, stop using a car and rely on Public Transportation, Bicycling, Walking and things like uber and taxis.
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#7These kind of articles always come off as short sighted to me in terms of ownership. Sure, short term transportation rentals (bikes scooters) are nice now and then, but they have external costs. They have to be moved/charged, people throw them in the river, they are mostly operated by independent contractors getting exploited etc. Having said that, I fully support sidelining cars in urban areas, but a bunch of rental services and Uber are not great replacements.
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#8[flagged]
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#9I don't think the comparison of streaming and cable is actually helping her case here. Just look at most streaming services right now: They keep on increasing prices, they restrict account sharing and thus forcing every individual to either purchase their own subscription or risk losing access while the content is being spread over a growing amount of streaming services and almost all are ramping up on the amount of…
I don't buy her position at all. But...
If she's right that she could save $7500 a year by renting a car when she needs one, she could in fact own nothing (or at least, not a car) and be happy - or at least $7500/yr happier.
I wrestle with buying a boat or an RV. Buying feels like buying an "asset", whereas renting feels like throwing money away. But the actual fact is that, for as often as I would use either one, renting is by far the better move. It just doesn't feel like it to me.
The WEF is not an organization that I trust, but in this particular kind of case, the numbers may work out in favor of their position.
Re: The Beginning of the End of Private Cars in American Cities
#10I think public traffic is much more similar to cable TV with its fixed schedule than a car that mirrors on-demand streaming. This is why in truth few people like to use public traffic if there is another feasible choice. I am not interested in car models at all but I like owning a car, even in a city. It solves a lot of problems and I believe a development to less individual traffic is an illusion. Mabybe it happens…
> I think public traffic is much more similar to cable TV with its fixed schedule than a car that mirrors on-demand streaming. This is why in truth few people like to use public traffic if there is another feasible choice.
Public transport doesn't work if it's not somewhat punctual and high traffic, meaning it needs to be reliable and run often, not like those "commuter" trains around North America running only mornings/afternoons schedules, or having a train departing every 1-2 hours.
I'm originally from a country where you are almost 100% dependent on a car, moved to a place where I simply do not need a car unless I need to move houses and for that I can just rent a van for 4h-24h on the cheap. I wouldn't choose being dependent on a car to do my daily chores ever again, I much prefer taking the metro, train, bus, or my bike rather than dealing with all the headaches car ownership brings.