On of the things which most certainly hasn't been a priority over the last couple of centuries in America is the development of a mass public transport system.
Only 4% of all trips in US cities are via public transport, compared with 24% in Western Europe and 38% in Asia.
You might simply think this to be a crude reflection of American culture: the love of individuality, freedom and space suggests the car is king and the whole idea of the inflexibility and. god forbid, having to share with others, of public transport to be seen as very much a second choice!
Or maybe it's just the fact that Americans don't feel safe using public transport?
The risks of American public transport...
American transport policy for the last several decades has favoured roads, with trains and busses remaining relatively underfunded so that services are so patchy they are unappealing to most people, not rational at all compared to just hoping in the car for local day to day journeys.
However, it is not possible to attribute everything to the decisions on infrastructure. Many US cities have a large network of subway or light rail systems in place, but passenger usage remains minimal.
And one of the main causes of this is rising levels of crime in the subway systems of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, which give the impression that to use the subway is to subject oneself to a significant crime risk!
The resulting cycle of abandonment...
When people feel public transport is unsafe, they stop using public transport, this means funding drops, which means quality of service drops, which means more people stop using them!
Possible solutions...?
This is not an unsolvable problem.
A vigourous clampdown on crime and minor Disorder in the late 1980s in New York reversed the fortunes of the subway. As soon as it became safe, people went back in droves. They did not go back because they disliked their cars, but because riding the trains was no longer a hazard.
Final thoughts...
It might be as simple as making public transport safer in the US leads to a reversal of its fortunes!
I've used subways and trains in the US with no serious issues, but I think they can be dodgy anywhere if not many people are around. The New York one seems antiquated compared to others in Europe. I've heard that many Americans have never been on a train, but then the network is limited. Flying can be mute convenient.
Cities can't cope with endless car growth, so we need alternatives. I'm happy I can get to work with a short train journey rather than driving as I've done enough of that.
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