Re: when 70% of drivers are banned from the road

In article <4aCdnYkldZzUZljanZ2dnUVZ_jCdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, "Jack May"
<jack.may@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> <gl4316@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> news:gl4316-2602081939530001@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > In article <H6WdnUYpstYkpCPanZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, "Jack May"
> > <jack.may@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >
> > Your comments only apply to North America, where transit systems are
> > designed to be failures by consultants who drive everywhere.
> >
> > In the rest of the world, transit systems have been developed that are
> > competitive with driving, and therefore render these expensive highway
> > systems unnecessary in the first place.
> 
> What the hell are you talking about.   In Europe cars are almost 90%  of
the 
> travel and transit is only a little over 10%.  What you are saying is 
> totally nuts.


You have made this comment many times before and have been proven wrong. 
For the most part, this is because the numbers you choose to look at
include eastern Europe, which is still in transition to a more wealthy
society.

Also, you are looking at statistics for entire countries, whereas when I
say "successful transit systems" it means systems that operate in specific
areas.

Let's take the Stassbourg, France streetcar line: average speed 14 mph
when operating in downtown streets.  This is over twice as fast as the
similar lines that have opened here in the northwest (****tland, Tacoma and
Seattle all operate about 6 mph), mostly due to better route planning.

For downtown street traffic, that 14 mph average speed is reasonably
competitive with driving.  Strassbourg's streetcar line gets about 10
times the rider****p that our line here in ****tland does.


> As you look at poorer countries, the amount of transit or motorcycles
goes 
> up, but car usage goes up as individual income goes up.   In the very 
> poorest countries they can't even afford transit and people walk for
most 
> things which of course keeps them poor.


I'll bet I've spent far more time in such places than you ever will.


> Even in extremely dense Asian countries, the percent of travel using
transit 
> continues to drop.  As I have said before, transit market share all over
the 
> world is dropping 10% to 15% per decade.   No where , except in isolated

> cases, is transit seen as superior to roads and a replacement for roads.


Naturally, in places where people are starting to own cars for the first
time, their use is increasing.  Looking at the entire continent of Asia
(much of which is still developing) obscures the statistics of what has
been done in places that actually have money (Japan, for example), and
have developed good alternatives to driving.

-- 
-Glennl
e-mail hint: add 1 to quantity after gl to get 4317.