why america is addicted to cars

I hope you liked that video! Ignore the snow in the background! This video totally didn't take 3 months to make!

As someone from Ottawa, when you said Ottawa was your test city my heart sank on your behalf. No one deserves Ottawa public transit.

Finally more pro walkability content. This is the most important crisis in American society. Obesity? Cars. Climate change? Cars. Social isolation and corporate consolidation? Cars.

It just occurred to me: when the city's trains or buses break down, the city has to pay for those repairs. When a private citizen's car breaks down, that citizen has to pay for it. The costs being pushed onto consumers instead of cities may be why so few cities stick with public transportation. (or at least another contributing factor)

One thing I value about being able to take the train to work rather than driving, is that driving can be stressful, and requires focus. Whereas on the train I can read or play on my phone until my stop.

Some more things to consider: 1. Another option: bikes with safe infrastructure! Just look towards the Netherlands for inspiration. 2. When you're driving in a car, you can only drive (and maybe listen to music). On a train, you can write on a computer, read a book, read textbooks, watch videos, etc. Imagine if you could be on trains for 2 hours rather than in your car driving!

I can always get behind more public transit content! 🎉

I remember planning to go to the beach with my friends and thinking "I wonder if we could take a train near there". I looked it up and it woulda taken 7 hours compared to an hour drive.

In North America, a lot of people think that using cars is the only option Outside of North America, using car is like the last option

One thing not mentioned in this video is the "last mile" problem with public transit. Even if you have a reliable, fast train, if you live more than a mile from the station, it can be a pain to get to the station. A 20 minute walk at either end of a transit commute adds a lot of time onto a journey. That's why density around transit stations is super important

The great thing about public transit is you can condition the new generation, at an early age, to have a taste of freedom without having to rely of their parents to go around the city. As you start in early age, you will tend to be more supportive of projects to improve infrastructure and innovation.

As someone from Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities and home to one of the greatest public transit systems in the world, this video taught me A LOT. So thank you for enlightening me! It’s very true that trust in the system is important for the success of public transit. If a system is not reliable, nobody will take it to get to where they want to go. It’s importance and impacts are clearly reflected in Hong Kong, because the trains here (the most popular mode of public transit available) arrive at stations punctually 99.99% of the time, and if it isn’t, the corporation pays a huge fine. That’s how you ensure accountability and reliability. Everyone knows the metro is reliable, and thus they like taking it.

The problem with this is that they were all pretty popular locations to travel to but didn't account for where people actually live. I live on the edge of Ottawa and what is a 20-30 minute commute by car to downtown becomes an hour as soon as you introduce a connection into the transit trip.

The thing about public transit is that the more of it you have, the better it is. If the network is denser, you can go alternate routes. If the network is used, frequency of vehicles increases... You should be at the point where getting to the stop means at most five minutes of a pleasant walk (because more trams, less cars), then a short wait for a tram and then a short walk to the destination... In other words, it's effective at scale, whereas cars are the exact opposite.

"Just because there's a place I CAN walk, doesn't mean it's walkable" THIS SO MUCH!!! Also the fear of getting hit by a car, I've literally walked somewhere, waited like 5 minutes for a car to actually pull out of a driveway, and the moment they finally decide to move? I WAS LITERALLY RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR BUMPER!

While I was in Japan, korea, Curitiba and Mozambique, public transit was great; in SF, NY and other high-crime areas, you're routinely met with unruly behavior, unsanitary conditions, drug use, robberies and fights. The social element has always been the strongest detractor for public transportation for me and others who have to worry about their immediate safety.

I think one piece that would enhance the race between the 3 of you and the comparison between modes of transport is biking as the "active" transport. I bike for commuting and groceries, and I also drive. On occasion biking is way faster than driving because traffic isn't a problem, and I retain a lot of the freedom of walking (can stop at a cafe out of the blue) and parking is barely a problem. It's my favorite mode of transport.

Something that so many people forget when it comes to transport is that no single form of transport is one-size-fits all because they all serve different types of journeys. An infrastructure system isn't just trains or buses or planes or cars or public footpaths but the collection of all methods of transport. When people find it easy to get around, it's not because the trains or buses are good but because all the different forms of infrastructure work to complement each other. That's what's missing in most American cities.

So many American cities would just fail the walking test because highways literally block off paths. It’s also notable that places that have reliable public transport are also the most walkable, so it’s always a choice between one mode (driving) and multiple modes (walking, biking, trains, buses, subways)

I cannot believe how incredibly well-produced and well-paced this video is - Sabrina is so clever and funny! The method used to demonstrate the various pros and cons with each transport mode was genuinely enlightening and fun to watch. It also had the perfect amount of history and background context. Thank you for putting the time and effort to make such an outstanding piece of work, from a public transport fanatic in Aotearoa New Zealand :)