Last time I worked for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (1989) there were ideas of connecting San Jose and SF by rail - the option considered was via wes side of the Bay (Hayward etc.). The east route was of the table, I was told, because San Mateo would never consent to a rail system running through it - which is why BART does not go even to the SF airport.
I encounter similar attitudes in Baltimore - the light rail goes through Ruxton (a wealthy suburb) because it uses the pre-existing right of way held by the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad - but suburban rats prevented building any stops - to "prevent crime" I was told. That was one of the biggest idiocies I heard in my life time.
>the "driving
> hell" you talk about is even worse when you're on a bus, where, in
> addition to the traffic, you have to stop every other block. There's
a
The problem is not that much with the mode of transportation, but with the exclusive right of way - which public transit in this country generally does not have (except subway and bus lanes in NYC). I think it is a political decision to discriminate against transit.
>
> I think you're projecting here :-)
>
Au contraire, it is the thorough familiarity that breeds my contempt of the US, especially its suburban life style and transportation system. When I got off the boat some 23 years ago, I was a big fan of everything US.
>
> Blame the individuals in this system? Not me, pal.
I am not blaming individuals, but individualism. This is not an individual decision but ideology to which US-ers are indoctrinated since they are born.
PS. I used the car as the only means of transportation for most of the time since I got off the boat. Initially, I liked the idea of driving, succumbing to the idea of the "freedom of the road." Indeed I drove from coast to coast several times (not to mention driving Hwy 1 from SF to LA) and it was mostly an interesting experience, despite the back pain toward the end of each trip. Later, I did not think much about it - I just did it because it was cheap, comparing to Amtrak or even Greyhound.
But then, I started hating it. Driving is extremely boring, expensive when you consider ALL your cost (i.e. price of the car, insurance, parking, maintenance, etc.) and making me feel like a hunted game - cops can pull you over at any time and search your vehicle without a warrant, each time you park you wonder if your car will be there, not towed, ticketed, booted, damaged, or broken into, and on the top of it when I drive I dread that I may hit an animal.
Over a year ago I gave up on the car altogether - I take the bus to work, and around the city. Every weekend I take the Greyhound bus to PA where my wife lives, I take the train to Phily or NYC, and when I really need a car I take a cab. Last year I spent about $800 on my Greyhound commute, and maybe 3-4 hundred $$ on other ground transportation (not counting air travel). That is about $1,200. If I used the car instead, that cost would have been about $4-5 thousand (including car payments, insurance and maintenance/repairs).
Wojtek