Why does America resist public transportation? Can you live without a vehicle?
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appalachianman420 asked:
I am a senior English + Communications student at a small college in Southern WV. I’m preparing to graduate this May with two degrees and years of experience geared towards a life in journalism. My resume is pretty impressive and I have plenty to offer to any newspaper that will gve me a chance. However, there is one major obstacle for me.
I’ve had Epilepsy all my life, and even had brainsurgery for it at one point. Right now it is relatively controlled, with me having about 5 seizures a year.Seizures themselves don’t present too much of a problem for my professional life, but one side effect does: I am unable to drive.
I’m worried about developing my career with the inability to drive and find people to interview. Most journalists start in small markets, but I can’t because those places don’t have public transport. But I can’t afford to live in a huge, competitive market like NY or LA yet.
Where is a good place to start? What happened to the idea of public transport in the US?
Ethan
I am a senior English + Communications student at a small college in Southern WV. I’m preparing to graduate this May with two degrees and years of experience geared towards a life in journalism. My resume is pretty impressive and I have plenty to offer to any newspaper that will gve me a chance. However, there is one major obstacle for me.
I’ve had Epilepsy all my life, and even had brainsurgery for it at one point. Right now it is relatively controlled, with me having about 5 seizures a year.Seizures themselves don’t present too much of a problem for my professional life, but one side effect does: I am unable to drive.
I’m worried about developing my career with the inability to drive and find people to interview. Most journalists start in small markets, but I can’t because those places don’t have public transport. But I can’t afford to live in a huge, competitive market like NY or LA yet.
Where is a good place to start? What happened to the idea of public transport in the US?
Ethan
September 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
People in the USA want lifestyles that give them space. With too much space and a lack of density, public transport does not become practical.
People in the USA also have the wealth and land ownership to make suburban and rural lifestyles financially possible, and public policy and convention refuse to change that.
Furthermore it isn’t even a close issue. Big city transport systems are heavily subsidized and still have difficulty making their budgets. Suburban densities would need to be 10 times what they are to even make public transportation practical. (I know suburban bus lines exist but they have extremely marginal impact if any.)
We may cry about $3.00 gasoline, but even at that gas is less than 20% of the cost of operation of a vehicle. It is far far away from making us drastically change our lifestyles. $6-$7 like Europe won’t do it. It would take $10, $15, even $20 a gallon gas to put the kind of pressure on people to reverse urban sprawl, and even that would more likely spur widespread adoption of newer technologies like hydrogen, electric, and E85 than cause people to move.
It would take Draconian action on Global Climate Change that literally would ban suburban growth to make that possible.
As far as career advice:
One piece of advice would be to consider a possible foreign posting. It might be a great and interesting experience. It would be cheaper to live. And in many countries like Brazil for example, they build smaller towns in a vertical fashion allowing the density necessary for public transportation. Part has to do with concentration of wealth, but also it has to do with how the culture is organized, and what they like and are used to.
Another would be to write to and contact media members with disabilities, they may give you good advice from experience, and you might even make a connection or two. ABC local news in Chicago for example has a deaf reporter that regularly does stories on air with subtitles on issues “loosely” dealing with disabilities, often involving education and the arts. Maybe someone like that needs an apprentice? Maybe she can point you in a positive direction?
This also seems to be the kind of “problem” that might pique Oprah’s interest. Send her / her staff a letter / email … what can it hurt?
September 26th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
We do have public transportation. At least in cities. Not so much in towns. I spend over two hours on a bus to and from my school, which is in a different city. I am trying to get through life without a car, but I don’t think I can realistically do that for long.
I think most cities have public transport, and even though it’s expensive, I guess you could take a cab places if there weren’t buses. I don’t know much about journalism, so I can’t say for sure if that would work out well or not.
As for why we don’t have public transportation all over, I guess it’s mostly the cost. There’s not going to be buses if the bus company can’t make money, so if there’s not a demand for it, then it doesn’t exist.
September 27th, 2009 at 11:59 am
We do not have mass transit in America because we are a nation of independent beings - that can not stand the idea of totally depending on anything or anyone. That is simply what we are and we are not going to change — so we must work around the idea.
I happen to be blind in one eye and live in the San Fernando Valley (a suburb of Los Angles, CA) it is impossible for me to get around without help. So being in this big city doesn’t help - New York’s subway system is far superior.
We do have an Access Van Service here that is a God send - (1-800-827-0829) A van will pick me up at my home and take me any where in L.A. (it costs me 85 cents for most local trips). The problem is it is not dependable so I can not use it for “getting to” appointments, fine for getting home where time is not an issue.
The only suggestion I can give you is: “hire a girl/guy Friday “— like people had in the 1930’s, 1940’s. A driver/secretary/cook/live-in housekeeper et al. anything short of that and you are in for a lifetime of unbelievable frustration!!!