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Comment by bkeroack | Hacker News Reader

OP means "better" in the subjective sense. They're more comfortable, more convenient and faster. It takes a very large degree of external difficulty (traffic, parking) to tip the scales enough in favor of mass transit to make the latter desirable for most people who can afford a private vehicle.

The reason the majority of people in cities favor investing in mass transit is in the hope that other people use it so they can continue to drive and enjoy less traffic and more parking.

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When I'm in Berlin or London, I much prefer the mass transit to dealing with a car. It's faster, more convenient, and I don't have to deal with parking or the stress of traffic.

I used to live in NYC, and I miss enormously (among other things) the connivence of the NYC subway. I've taken many times more Lyfts in the past few months than I did in years in NYC (including taxis).

Now imagine when autonomous cars take away the parking and traffic stress.

In ten years I don't expect there to be many place I'm going to bother taking a train in. Tokyo's are good enough, but that's a high bar.

Uber already spoils me too much to want to take the subway on Manhattan (crossing the river is a different story).

I don't think we should assume autonomous cars will reduce traffic stress. http://www.businessinsider.com/self-driving-cars-traffic-con...

What difference does it make that traffic and parking are “external?” They are still always factors in many places.

A data point countering your assumptions - I sold my car because I don’t like driving. I want transit to be good so I can use it.

Some people don't like hamburgers. That isn't a data point against McDonald's being successful.

Sure, but McDonalds being successful doesn’t mean most people like McDonalds. Lots of people, sure, but lots don’t.

> The reason the majority of people in cities favor investing in mass transit is in the hope that other people use it so they can continue to drive and enjoy less traffic and more parking.

This might describe you, but I would be extremely surprised if it actually described a majority of people... Especially in cities with high ridership (NYC, for example)...

In NYC (Manhattan, specifically), the external costs associated with driving (bridge/tunnel fees, parking) are so expensive that it prices out a large fraction of the population. That doesn't mean that driving a car wouldn't be subjectively more pleasant for them than the subway.

You're missing the point of what I said.

I only said that you were wrong in your assumption about people's motivations in supporting mass transit. If you're in a city (especially in one with high ridership, like I said) mass transit expansion can be hugely impactful and not because you'll ever be able to drive a car...

Obviously there are many additional costs associated with driving in NYC...

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