re: #219 sattv4u2

Mass transit is subsidized, but so is the road infrastructure for all cars and trucks. That doesn’t mean that mass transit can’t or shouldn’t be utilized in high density areas, but that’s a big problem.

There aren’t as many high density regions in the country that can truly support mass transit - particularly subways or light rail, primarily because they don’t have population densities to support it or that locations aren’t amenable to siting mass transit (the station stops aren’t where people want them or need them to go from their homes to their destinations). The convenience factor also plays a huge role.

Another thing to consider is that when NYC mass transit runs in the red, consider that it handles more people annually and daily than all of the roads in the City could possibly handle - there’s no way that the City could be the City without mass transit. However, there are ways to make mass transit still more efficient and cost effective.

But trying to instill mass transit in areas that aren’t sufficiently dense enough makes little sense and wastes resources. That too goes to land use planning where people think that they need McMansions and that it is seen as more affordable to live further away from urban centers (where the work is) and commute by car, rather than living in a more dense fashion where the work is down the block or a subway stop away.