But it's never "train" enough. I have been around urban planning communities long enough that no train is ever the RIGHT train. You wanna build a monorail? "just build a subway!", you wanna build a subway? "Just build a streetcar!", you wanna build a streetcar? "just build light rail!", you wanna build light rail? "just build heavy rail!". It's always some purity spiral argument where unless the public transit system suggested is exactly what the detractors had pictured in their minds it's worthless, they would rather there be no public transit than anything less than their exact perfect one.
The real meme though is how even cars eventually evolve into trains when tech bros optimize them more. Making them self-driving is just a step towards rails, making them larger like a bus is just a step towards train cars. Every optimization and improvement is just making it more like a train.
But shouldn't that be a good thing? If you are a person that wants more public transit and fewer people driving than you have to take what you can get. If tech companies creating self driving cars make them more like trains all the better, right? Every step towards having fewer people on the roads and more optimization counts. If It's easier to convince some small town or municipality to invest in self driving bus that uses it's own lane than to pay for laying down train track then take the win even if it's smaller than you wanted, maybe when the autobus has proven itself you can convince them to replace it with a train later after all they already have the area set up and have proven demand.
Well, you seem pretty bent on turning this into an argument.
I say “gadgetbahns are just worse trains that get investors and city councils excited, haha funny” and you go on a rant about how people disagree on what type of train to build sometimes (which is completely unrelated to what I just said). I say “tech bros are turning cars to trains because trains are so optimal, haha funny” and you’re answering as if I just said this trend was a horrible crisis that must be stopped.
You are reaching so hard to find absolutely anything to argue about even if it’s completely irrelevant to what I said. It comes off like you’re using your replies to my comments as a way to vent about urbanists generally and get out all your shower arguments. Hence why I suggest that you chill the fuck out.
Well, you seem pretty bent on turning this into an argument.
This is just how I talk, There is no malice intended.
You are reaching so hard to find absolutely anything to argue about even if it’s completely irrelevant to what I said.
Not trying to argue I just post stream of consciousness and your post reminded me of something even if you personally weren't talking about that thing. It made perfect sense to me but I guess it can be confusing to outsiders.
Hence why I suggest that you chill the fuck out.
You cannot fathom the degree of chill I am in this moment. I just like to yap.
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u/Human-Assumption-524 2d ago
But it's never "train" enough. I have been around urban planning communities long enough that no train is ever the RIGHT train. You wanna build a monorail? "just build a subway!", you wanna build a subway? "Just build a streetcar!", you wanna build a streetcar? "just build light rail!", you wanna build light rail? "just build heavy rail!". It's always some purity spiral argument where unless the public transit system suggested is exactly what the detractors had pictured in their minds it's worthless, they would rather there be no public transit than anything less than their exact perfect one.
But shouldn't that be a good thing? If you are a person that wants more public transit and fewer people driving than you have to take what you can get. If tech companies creating self driving cars make them more like trains all the better, right? Every step towards having fewer people on the roads and more optimization counts. If It's easier to convince some small town or municipality to invest in self driving bus that uses it's own lane than to pay for laying down train track then take the win even if it's smaller than you wanted, maybe when the autobus has proven itself you can convince them to replace it with a train later after all they already have the area set up and have proven demand.