Automobiles are a big chunk of the budget for typical middle-class individuals too.
A key reason is that United States mass transit pales in comparison to that of many other developed nations. It seems sad that many poor persons own cars. Often persons consider them a necessity to get to and from work, buy groceries, etc.
Low-Income Persons Buying and Driving Unsafe, Undependable Cars
Frequently persons with relatively limited income buy and drive vehicles with defective brakes and other problems that make them unsafe and undependable. These persons endanger the safety of themselves and others. Furthermore, they spend money they might better use for other things like food, rent, healthcare, etc., on cars. These folks need alternatives.
Cities and Towns
A much-improved mass transit system would enable the majority of car owners in cities and towns to either do away with their cars or to drive them much less.
Subways, buses, passenger trains, and even ships on waterways are alternatives or potential alternatives to driving automobiles that typically carry only one or a few people.
Walking and bicycling is good exercise and can work for many short trips.
Carpooling with relatives or friends is another alternative. Furthermore, occasionally taking a taxicab, Uber, or Lyft is cheaper than owning a car fulltime.
Also, some employers (especially temp agencies) even provide transportation for employees to and from work. But I think riding on mass transit with an experienced, professionally trained driver is better, other things being equal.
In addition to employers offering transportation for employees, some organizations often provide transportation to and from medical appointments, etc.
Improving mass transit such as subways and buses in large cities is important. In the United States, New York City is probably the only major city where mass transit dominates over cars convincingly.
Lexington, Kentucky where I live is a city of over 300,000 people. It is blessed with a reasonably good bus system by U.S. standards. The bus system is called Lextran, and pictures below show a few Lextran buses and the Lexington Transit Center hub.
But in order to get the vast number of persons in my city who drive cars to switch to buses, my city's bus service might need to run much more frequently and to many more areas.
Improving bus service in smaller cities and towns than Lexington is important too. These smaller areas currently often have limited or no mass transit.
The first two photos show one of Lextran's buses. The last photo shows a few of the city's buses at the Lextran hub which is located downtown.
Dependable, frequent bus service is a key to winning over car drivers to riding buses. Providing local buses that travel the streets of cities and smaller communities frequently, accompanied by intercity buses to get to large cities, can alleviate the need for personal cars for many.
Traveling may not be needed at all for many purchases. Ordering online from Amazon, Walmart, etc., is an alternative. Also, many businesses, including some groceries and restaurants, offer deliveries via third parties such as Instacart.®
Servicing Rural Areas
Mass transit may not be economical in rural areas. But rural residents can receive many deliveries via USPS, UPS, and other delivery services that pick up and deliver groceries, etc., to homes.
Furthermore, rural residents can use alternative methods of transportation to get to towns where mass transit exists. For example, expanded availability of taxicabs, Uber, and Lyft may make it possible for even persons in relatively isolated areas to ditch their cars.
Rural residents can also carpool or ride with a neighbor or relative to the nearest town for shopping. Furthermore, after they get a ride to a town, in that town they can make a connection for a local bus or an intercity bus to go elsewhere.
Persons far away from their nearest town, nearest relative, or nearest neighbor may face the toughest time. For these persons a personal vehicle may almost be a necessity. But these individuals constitute a relatively small portion of the population. Most United States residents live in or near a town or city.
Pollution
Using mass transit can greatly reduce pollution. Enormous pollution is caused by automobiles despite efforts to improve gas mileage efficiency and the elimination of leaded gas.
More pollution is caused by the production, transportation, and use of the materials in the building of automobiles.
Electric-powered cars with batteries that are charged from the electric grid may overwhelm an electric grid that is already strained in many areas. Additionally, the charging of these vehicles often consumes electricity that is generated from fossil fuels that pollute.
Personal vehicles may become more environmentally friendly over the long term. For example, solar-powered electric vehicles that need no charging from the electric grid may become economically feasible. But that time appears to be far off. In the short term, person autos are likely to be polluting the environment in one way or another.
The least polluting forms of travel may be walking and bicycling. They provide exercise and are a great alternative to motorized vehicles for short trips. But in inclement weather such travel is tough, and transporting a family or large purchases isn’t reasonable while bicycling or walking.
Time and Space
Using mass transit can save time and space in addition to saving money. The average commuter devotes much time to driving in traffic on congested streets and highways or on long drives in less congested areas.
Furthermore, a lot of space is used to park these automobiles in home driveways, garages, and parking lots for workplaces, shopping centers, airports, etc. Much money is expended on the purchases, construction, and maintenance of these parking areas too.
By contrast, while riding a bus, subway, Amtrak train, taxicab, Uber, Lyft, or riding with coworkers, friends, or neighbors, one can talk to fellow passengers, read, enjoy the scenery, write, or listen to or watch something on your cell phone using headphones. That seems more fun than driving and dealing with traffic, parking, etc.
Savings on Highway Construction
Enormous sums of money are spent on expanding highways to accommodate increasing numbers of vehicles. If more persons use mass transit, it will reduce the need for highway expansion. This savings can pay for part of the cost of expanding mass transit. The cost of highway construction and maintenance varies widely depending on numerous factors, but it may cost millions of dollars per mile to build a new highway or widen an existing one.
Paying for Expanded Mass Transit
As mentioned in the last paragraph, the reduced expenditures on highway construction and expansion can pay for a significant part of the cost of mass transit.
Raising taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel is another way to help pay for such mass transit. U.S. taxes on such fuels are much lower than in many other countries.
As the trend toward purchasing private electric vehicles accelerates, a tax on the purchase of the vehicles and perhaps a tax on electricity could help subsidize mass transit while discouraging the purchase and driving of private vehicles.
These taxes are a way to help compensate for the environmental damage caused by private vehicles in addition to paying for mass transit.
Me in My Early College Years and My Grandparents for a Lifetime Doing Without Driving a Car
Mass transit used to be much more widespread in the United States.
My grandparents lived in relatively small towns all their lives. But as far as I know neither my maternal nor paternal grandparents ever drove a car. They depended on buses, passenger trains, walking, riding with friends or relatives, deliveries of goods to their homes by businesses, etc.
Furthermore, I remember while in college some decades ago that I rode a Greyhound bus from Lexington to a small town in southeastern Kentucky, then my parents picked me up there and drove me the remaining 30-40 miles to the family home in Jenkins. Years before that Greyhound even served Jenkins.
It’s been years now since Greyhound cancelled all service to southeastern Kentucky. But I support reinstating it, as well as service to many other areas. Additionally, with expansions to Uber and Lyft, it could be feasible to get to and from most places in the country without owning a car.
Dealing With Some Other Disadvantages of Mass Transit
Some persons fear the transmission of COVID-19 or other diseases while riding mass transit. But Greyhound, Amtrak, and commercial jets all apparently have ventilation systems that replace the onboard air every five minutes or less. Persons can wear a facemask for extra protection, indeed facemasks are currently required for travel on such transit in the United States.
Another problem is emergency travel when mass transit is not operating. If a person needs to travel to a hospital or evacuate at say 3 a.m. when mass transit is likely not operating in most areas, that is a difficulty. However, very few such emergencies occur. Furthermore, in cases of mass evacuation traffic jams, gas stations without fuel, damaged roads, etc., likely make automobile use unsatisfactory unless you leave in advance. And if you leave in advance, mass transit may be available.
Closing Thoughts
I confess that I lack the expertise to discern how cost effective and feasible it is to design and implement a quality mass transit system in the United States.
But it seems a terrible waste the way persons in the United States devote so much time, money, and materials to a transportation system that pollutes the environment so much.
We might be happier, healthier, and enjoy more free time if we devoted less time and money to purchasing, driving, and maintaining personal automobiles that sit idle for perhaps 150 or 155 of the 168 hours in a week.
I support improving mass transit. How about you?
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