Except taking the bus sucks. It takes forever and I have to get harassed by crazies when I'm just trying to get home.
I could count with my fingers the amount of crazy people I saw in my life while in public transport or on the streets in general. The same while traveling around Europe.
But in the USA, it was incredible to see the amount of crazy people going around, talking alone, yelling out of nowhere, or "having episodes" (e.g. one guy rubbing a plastic fork intensely on the top of his head for like 15 mins while staring into space).
I wonder what would be the reason for that? (Maybe the lack of a public/universal health service?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Health_Systems_Act_of_1...
Would I like to ride a tram with only smart and beautiful people? Sure I would, but I could not enjoy it knowing about the implications.
Being exposed to a sample of society is actually one of the things I like most about public transport. But it's only a positive if the sample is at least somewhat representative and not a self-selected showcase of the down and out. Classic chicken/egg. Where I live, subway and tram are fine whereas urban buses sharing the same general are and ticket are borderline depressing (suburban buses are somewhat ok, rural buses are completely devoid of driving age population).
There isn’t a good reason why it should be this way in a wealthy country. It amounts to saying ‘Let the people that need the most help wither and die.’
Which means if you want to be comfortable, you’re going to have to minimize time spent in the commons.
And neither are they symptoms of a specific biological malfunction. We just happen to be highly social animals and if we are continually denied social interaction we'll start to do increasingly stupid things to provoke a reaction. Programs that give those people an outlet for their interaction needs will work wonders for almost all of them. Zero care freedom versus lockup/forced medication is a false dichotomy.
If only accessible mental health services were easy to reach for those whose lives are so crippled by mental health that they have little other options (even if some would still "opt out") ...
> and their medical decision-making as you do
For many, there is zero medical decision-making involved because there is zero or near zero access to mental health care.
As an EMS provider, I truly believe (and I'm certainly not alone) that the two major health crises facing the US are mental health and opioid use, misuse and abuse.
But you could certainly make rules about doing the first two on a bus.
After all, do you deny boarding to people who look like they might break the rules? Ask them nicely to disembark if they start? Have the driver manhandle them off? Stop the bus and call the cops? Rely on scowls and tutting from other passengers?
With that said, I spent a few years riding busses in university, and didn't encounter problems from other passengers. Punctuality, service frequency, crowding and journey times were much bigger problems for me.
And this is how progress has always looked. Life will be better for this.
The market is a close analog for lightning. It's finding the fastest path.
And let me tell you, the Bay Area is flush with money. Funding is not the problem.
Yes. Buses are cheap, but slow and uncomfortable.
Buses are big and unmaneuverable. That makes them slow over long distances. In low densities, the size means lots of inefficient stops. In high density, the manoeuvrability means subpar navigation and traffic avoidance.
Buses are also uncomfortable. If you raise ticket prices to buy a better ride, the quantity demanded drops and one ends up with vans.
Vans are expensive because they need drivers. Driverless vans are superior to private cars and buses for their market. (Nobody is close to providing this.)
We know how to make that go away: create separated bus only right of way with traffic light synchronization.