General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So we do the right thing by getting hybrids, then... [View all]Martin Eden
(12,882 posts)Those are the three words that come to mind when I contemplate the automobile.
Cars and trucks on roads are incredibly inefficient means to move people & goods from point A to point B -- not just in terms of energy consumed, but in multiple resources including land usage. How much of our landscape in urban/suburban areas are taken up by roads and parking?
The monetary costs go far beyond the taxes we pay for building & maintaining roads and paying for traffic police & courts. How much of the family budget goes towards car ownership, insurance, fuel, and maintenance?
How many people are killed and maimed on our roads every year? We love our cars, but it's a deadly relationship.
No, I don't have a plan to transform the vast infrastructure we've built over the last 100 years into a more efficient, cost-effective, and safe public transportation system.
But I think any high level discussion on transportation needs to consider it.