Location Transport

Why is it that people who have cars and never use public transport are always against?

expanding it? Why don't they ever think of those of us who need it and would benefit from it? They don't want to be inconvienced by having to drive around the rails, etc as they are being constructed but they don't seem to complain about all the mess on the highways as more streets are made and in addition the expansion in the freeways makes it hard to be a pedestrian because no one bothers to preserve the sidewalks. Why don't people who are lucky enough to not have to depend on public transportation just shut and stop complaining about how increased public transport will interfer with their lives? in answer the person who said why pay for something you don't use, well I pay taxes so that welfare b***** can get free healthcare and handouts which I don't use, I also don't use the freeways either, but we are still taxed.

Public Comments

1. Why pay for something you don't use?
2. ppl these days r just lazy and ppl just dont like change there for ppl are selfish
3. My tax money, I will complain!
4. Public transport is unrelaible and expensive. People do not want to pay large sums of money for an unreliable service and stand around for hours on end in the cold and rain. It's a pretty compelling case for not using public transport. Perhaps if it improves then people may consider using it.
5. Yuo can add bus lanes, tram lines, and hoover board lanes, but you wont get me out of my car. Buses stink of PlSS and are full of skint people who cant drive.
6. you have a very good point. In fact I believe public transportation will become more popular as oil gets higher priced and the population grows.
7. I have no idea but it usually is in human nature to complain about everything. Also, public transportation is usually available only in major or crowded cities so it is kind of dumb to use personal transportation in a major city. But anyways, people always complain and you just have to deal with it.
8. I have a car and use public transit. I live in Portland, which is in many ways a flagship city for good public transit, yet even here people complain about efforts to expand it. There is a general perception that people who ride public transit are poor and trashy, and some people would rather see them run out of town rather than build an infrastructure "just for them." They also complain that it's a pipeline to bring those nasty poor people and minorities out of the inner city and into their precious suburbs. In fact, good public transit is basically essential for sustainable growth. All types of people ride it--especially when it's a good system that works--and everyone benefits, even non-riders. Less congestion on roads, less pollution, less dependence on declining fossil fuel supplies (and less wars to keep up with our demand for them...) and so on and so on. I will take the train into town versus my car any day of the week! A ticket is less than the cost of the gas, let alone taking parking into consideration. And I'm not scared for my life with psycho drivers, or stuck in traffic sucking down fumes while my blood pressure skyrockets.
9. I pay alot of taxes to pay for things I never use such as welfare and medicare. Why add public transportation to it. Buy a car
10. although I don't use public transportation anymore I do feel your pain. I think its the "its not helping me in my life so why should I pay for it" concept, people don't want to be bothered with things that won't help their lives change for the better. New wider roads decrease their time to go to work and yet more trains or crosswalks get in their way and slow down the trip. it stinks but we can't please everyone
11. shut the .... up and deal k
12. They wouldn't care about expanding it--if it didn't cost them anything to do the expansion. If the general public is going to fund the expansion, that uses tax dollars that were contributed by everyone (even the people who have no interest in public transportation). So that money could be used for things that DO interest them. Funded by non-tax money, they wouldn't care.
13. Your question is just as narrow minded as you accuse the answers of being. If you don't have a car, you don't understand what a pox buses are in city traffic. In my opinion their claims about pollution reduction are way overstated, because they spew exhaust, mostly diesel exhaust, and since the engines aren't all new or probably all that well maintained, they probably pollute MORE than the vehicles they claim to be replacing. Combine that with the fact that most buses are filled nowhere near capacity, yet somehow there is always a clamor for more buses. Also, buses create an absolute mess in rush hour traffic. I mean, it's like there's one less lane because the buses are all stopping and starting in the right lane. It creates more hazards for drivers dodging other cars trying to zip out of the bus lane, not to mention avoiding the buses themselves, which seem to have little regard for commuters. I have nothing against good subway systems and more subway trains and lines. But give me a chance to vote against more buses and I'll vote no every time, sorry. So, you'll have to excuse me and the rest of us when we point out that public transportation isn't the win-win proposition you make it out to be. People with cars absorb high costs of ownership, and endure long commutes, so having a car isn't all it's cracked up to be either. It has advantages and disadvantages, just like public transportation. I certainly don't mind my tax money funding public transporation, including the buses. The fact that is actually gets spent in worthwhile ways at all is actually a relief. But in general roadway systems are much more overtaxed than public transportation systems. We're driving on the same roads that were designed for less than half of the volume of cars on the road today.
14. The only reason public transportation is unreliable in many parts of the country is because no one has the guts to do anything about it. I was in Toronto, Ontario and that system runs like clock-work. And the trains are fairly quiet--I was shocked when I went to the subway in New York, it's loud as hell. IMO public transportation would be great if we built our cities around it or modified our cities for it. Not only is that less air pollution, it's cheaper in many cases. Plus you get to actually read once in a while...