How Bad Transit Encourages Car Ownership

Before buying a car, writes Dharna Noor in Gizmodo, "I had to plan my life around my carlessness." The improvement in her life after becoming a vehicle owner, Noor writes, made her realize that it shouldn't be that way.

"Cars are dangerous. They constitute one of the largest shares of greenhouse gas emissions of any sector in the U.S., and they also produce toxic pollution like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter," not to mention the 6,000 pedestrians killed by cars every year. Fighting guilt, Noor took the plunge into car ownership. "Immediately, it was like I lived in a different city." 

The car opened up new possibilities, and the same holds true in cities across the country. "A 2017 analysis of Census data by Governing found that in nearly every U.S. city, driving to work is much quicker than using a bus or train," encouraging people to drive. Yet "[t]here’s nothing inherently slow about public transit—in fact, when it’s properly designed, it can actually save users hours of their lives." Noor argues that improving public transit would not only reduce carbon emissions but also "ensure everyone has access to opportunity" and increase ridership. "Imagine if access to parks and lakes weren’t limited to those who can afford to buy, maintain, and park their cars. That could go far in improving access for exploited, poor communities who are disproportionately harmed by highway pollution."