Earlier quoted context omitted.
My assertion is most people arguing online about this do not live near the impacted areas. Happy to be proven wrong on this. I just have a lot of sour taste to the whole thing with how many people constantly harp on public transit, but then want me to see their brand new car.
Of course because more people live outside of CA then inside. And lots of people talk about transport policy. Lots of countries talk about high speed rail and California is known globally.
In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
471–480 of 524 posts
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#472Earlier quoted context omitted.
The love for diesel came from a catastrophic misunderstanding and the resulting belief that CO2 must be reduced at all costs . Diesel engines of the past produced slightly less CO2 per km than petrol engines in exchange for much worse overall emissions. The fact that they were slightly more efficient in terms of fuel consumption helped with the sales pitch, too.
Nobody was even thinking about CO2 when the policies that got Europe where they are were enacted. Europe began embracing diesels 40yr ago when they were noisy and stinky and they did it because they taxed the crap out of fuel so people rightfully prioritized buying vehicles that got better fuel economy. Giving a crap about CO2 is a recent thing.
In the US, Federal lawmakers would be voted out of office (even now after the science of climate change has settled) if they imposed taxes on fuels anywhere near as high as European lawmakers do.
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#473Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've lived in Atlanta and Seattle. Both have perfectly workable transit. Even if Atlanta does seem to have gotten a bit worse over the years.
Seattle LRT has about the same usage as some german systems trams that are like 20x smaller. For a whole lot of the population that life around Atlanta and Seattle the public transport isn't workable.
The underlying issue remains that it is seen as a poor person option. As soon as people can afford a car, they get one.
Back when I didn't have a car, my future wife and I saw a comedian that literally had a joke about being above the poverty line of "do you take the bus?"
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#474Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seattle LRT has about the same usage as some german systems trams that are like 20x smaller. For a whole lot of the population that life around Atlanta and Seattle the public transport isn't workable.
It is workable for far more people than will make it work. Particularly in tech jobs. The underlying issue remains that it is seen as a poor person option. As soon as people can afford a car, they get one. Back when I didn't have a car, my future wife and I saw a comedian that literally had a joke about being above the poverty line of "do you take the bus?"
And the reason it seen as 'for poor' people is because you only use it when you can't get a car.
So the underlying issue is the overall quality of the service (frequency, reliability, comfort and so on).
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#475Earlier quoted context omitted.
EV brake pads don't hardly wear down, so they obviously can't have nearly the same amount of brake dust, yet the "study" showed they did. I'm guessing there's brake dust on the ground being kicked up. > EVs unfortunately do increase tire particulate, Fairly significantly In the USA, mass of EV is not significantly different than the alternative choice. EVs do not have increased tire particulate. If in Europe extremel…
It's not just the fact that EVs are heavier than the non-EV version of the same car, it's also that the regenerative braking means that the tires are dissapating energy that otherwise would have gone to the brake pads or to air resistance. Tires wear way faster on an EV, their lifespan in miles is generally much shorter.
Tires apply the braking force to the ground in exactly the same manner on both EVs and ICE vehicles.
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#476Earlier quoted context omitted.
I say this as someone who owns an electric scooter and whose next car will be an EV—the sales pitch for EVs right now is basically pay more (especially now that the tax credit is gone) to have a worse time and maybe eventually claw some of it back over the lifetime of the car in fuel savings. The environmental impact is the pro in the pro con list. So if that doesn't pan out, or doesn't pan out enough it's going to b…
What do you mean by a worse time? The advantages are substantial- No oil changes ever again, performance that is on par with high end sports cars, less moving parts which should lead to higher reliability, in my state you don't even need to do an annual inspection. Those types of unexpected appointments are what really aggravate me when they are unexpectedly needed and eat up weekend time. Depending on your commute l…
Inconvenience when taking long trips.
When operating beyond your comfortable range you have to strategically plan charging the way shitbox owners have to stop and top up fluids. If it's your only car it's absolutely a degradation in the ~monthly ownership experience though you (in my opinion) make it back not doing oil changes and the like.
Even without the tax credit I still think that EVs are a great buy for most though. Charging shenanigans is simple and a "known known" whereas ICE maintenance is far more unclear at the time of purchase
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#477Earlier quoted context omitted.
Consumers like SUVs. They are convenient, easy to get in and out of, flexible for hauling large items, many can pull trailers, offer good visibility for the driver, and do well in the snow.
They are also heavily subsidized by the US government in the form of relaxed regulations. The profit margins are higher which is why car companies push them. In their current ICE form they also benefit from massive government subsidies of the Oil companies. If you took those away it is unlikely that the convenience would be worth the additional cost.
Look in the mirror, that's who's responsible for this.
You people levied regulations. You levied them in half baked ways that resulted in the demise of sedans and station wagons. And now you complain that SUVs are "subsidized". Get out of here with that nonsense and take your stupid regulations with you so the rest of us can have diversity of vehicle choice back.
None of this stuff is a subsidy, construing "exempt from the screwing some other product category gets" is just a lie.
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#478Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this comment is a great example of what the OP is talking about. Your comment is completely divorced from the context of congestion pricing in New York City . For example: > Taking a basic task like driving into the city, something many people are forced to do for work That is simply not the case in NYC. Very, very few people must drive into the center of Manhattan to work. It was already unaffordable to do s…
> Very, very few people must drive into the center of Manhattan to work. I assure you that Manhattan is filled with many employees and service workers. > It was already unaffordable to do so anyway Yes, it was a massive strain on the budgets of many people, and it's the people who managed to sacrifice enough to show up for work or get where they needed to go anyway even though it was difficult for them who were most…
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#479Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nobody was even thinking about CO2 when the policies that got Europe where they are were enacted. Europe began embracing diesels 40yr ago when they were noisy and stinky and they did it because they taxed the crap out of fuel so people rightfully prioritized buying vehicles that got better fuel economy. Giving a crap about CO2 is a recent thing.
Interesting. If not to reduce CO2 emissions, what was the rationale presented to the voters for having high taxes on fuel 40 yr ago? In the US, Federal lawmakers would be voted out of office (even now after the science of climate change has settled) if they imposed taxes on fuels anywhere near as high as European lawmakers do.
Energy security. They didn't have north sea oil back then. Buying from Russia or the ME was fraught with political peril. And of course the .gov is never gonna pass up a chance to increase revenue.
Re: In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution
#480Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They know that congestion pricing coming to their city would hurt them in very real ways. But why should they even care to begin with? Just because the news and media made them aware of congestion pricing? This is the whole problem, that local issues are made mainstream news media specifically to cultivate fear and anger in people that literally have no skin in the game and a completely different lifestyle.
> But why should they even care to begin with? Why should they care about something that they feel will hurt them financially when they're already struggling and restrict their freedom on top of that? Why wouldn't they care? > Just because the news and media made them aware of congestion pricing? Uber's "surge" pricing was what first introduced many of them to a world where the price of something they depend on chang…