Even in the age of the automobile, transportation remains popular, embedded in America’s DNA, and poised for a comeback.
Like beads in a kaleidoscope, the popular myths about American transportation have distorted reality into a colorful fantasy of logic for many intelligent people. Growing up in a car-centric suburban society allowed anecdotal concepts to masquerade as universal axioms. Cars have always been the best way to get anywhere, personal automobiles expand freedom even as transportation restricts it, and Americans love cars as much as apple pie. And baseball.
But citing these unsubstantiated assumptions only reveals an outdated mind palace of a bygone era. Japan, South Korea, Venezuela, and Mexico all have more baseball fans per capita than the United States, and Americans love public transportation.
Out-of-touch motorists brandish statistics without context about how many Americans are currently driving, whimsically declare that Americans are not in favor of expanding transportation networks, and Treat the situation as completely divorced from past efforts to force motorization on nations connected by rail. Being born into a trap doesn’t mean people want to stay indoors. Americans in Seattle have demonstrated this by repeatedly approving transportation policies, such as in 2020 when 81% of voters approved $39 million in annual transportation funding.
The Mineta Transportation Research Institute has looked beyond Seattle and the country, releasing a 2015 report that compiles and analyzes transportation polling data from across the United States. The results revealed massive public support for expanding public transport. More than half of Americans express support for increasing government spending on public transportation, and two-thirds (enough to warrant a constitutional amendment) say transit is of “moderate or higher importance.” Ta. A majority of Americans express a desire to improve and expand access to public transportation. Anyone who claims otherwise is talking about a fictional country.
Returning to the Pacific Coast, which is notoriously prone to car flooding and drought, California almond farmers yearn for Colorado, while Washingtonians who can afford to remain car-dependent still struggle with transportation. I’m craving it. 2017 Census data shows that transit is more popular among Seattle residents who earn more than $75,000 a year than those who make less than that, making it a classist tactic that ridicules transit users. This is a social change worth noting, considering the country’s history of perpetuating such discourses.
The desire to use Seattle transit is so strong that Link’s weekend ridership is above all-time highs, even after the pandemic completely reversed Seattle’s commuting patterns. Comparing this to the decline in Metrobus ridership, a KOMO News 2023 poll shows that 84% of Seattle voters support light rail expansion, indicating that 84% of Seattle voters support light rail expansion. The outlook for transportation demand has become more clear, with people wanting more frequent access to reliable rail transportation that can accommodate flexible schedules.
Survey data from Commute Seattle’s 2022 report makes this abundantly clear, as the three main drivers of mode selection are time, flexibility, and cost. When acquiring modeshare from drivers, offering schedule speed and flexibility helps address the main reason drivers get behind the wheel: convenience. Only people who have never lived with reliable transportation would believe the myth that only cars provide freedom of movement. After all, frequent, stable and reliable rail service frees people from the constraints of parking spaces.
Cross-referencing mode selection factors with data on home-to-work distance by mode reveals a picture with distances greater than 10 miles and gaps that longer, more reliable rail service could fill. . This gap has been filled previously. Commute Seattle’s 2019 report measured rail commute distances at 29.1 miles, and the 2021 report shows rail distances are lower than car commutes for the first time. Statistical decline in rail miles traveled can be attributed to rising Link ridership and sharp decline in Sounder ridership, with frequency and flexibility key to expanding rail ridership post-pandemic This makes the point even more complicated. An American living in Washington will take the train if his schedule allows for flexible commutes other than 9am to 5pm.
Even without improved Sounder schedules, Seattle commuters are choosing transit over driving alone. Remote working has stagnated at 46% after seeing an astronomical increase from 2019 to 2021, while transit has increased from 18% to 22% since then, while solo driving has increased from 25%. It decreased to 21%. If we recall the expansion of Link back then, it appears that Americans will choose rail service over cars when fast, frequent, reliable rail service is available.
Why do the myths about Americans’ love for cars persist when the data proves that Americans, given a rational choice, would choose trains over cars? There are many reasons, including 70 years of state emphasis on motorization, 70 years of foreign policy goals focused on lowering oil prices, and 70 years of automaker lobbying and advertising, but personal and cultural The most important bases are: Classism is a social evil that has distorted American policymaking since the nation’s founding. The automobile began life as a luxury vehicle for the elite and remains an important symbol of conspicuous consumption, which has historically reinforced class and nobility.
On the other hand, public transportation has historically served working-class people. Commute Seattle’s data shows this remains the case, despite the system’s newfound popularity among high-income earners. Policy makers generally come from upper-class backgrounds and, combined with Anglophone neoliberalism, tend to lean toward Margaret Thatcher-like sensibilities. “Anyone over the age of 30 you see on the bus is a failure in life.”
Allowed for democratic expression, the American people elect transportation “failures” like Claudia Balducci to public office to counter this false narrative attacking more efficient transportation options. Now that it is possible, the truth about the tastes of the common people is waging an uphill battle against the hierarchical classism that has defined the social thought of the English-speaking elites for more than a millennium. This is why hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted on parking spaces and billions of dollars are thoughtlessly sacrificed for highway expansion by states ostensibly committed to improving the fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability of their transportation systems. This is the reason why we continue to see this happening. By educating or replacing out-of-touch leadership with leaders who actually represent the people, we can climb the mountain of unjust history one step at a time.
Unlike narrow-minded and classist policy makers, historically conscious Americans will not find the popularity of railroads surprising: long before the federal government prioritized automobile infrastructure, intercity electric Railroads swept across the United States, and the intercontinental railroad essentially cemented the conquest of Manifest Destiny. A golden spike in the desert. We can and should question the morality of this colonial conquest, but the fact remains. For better or worse, the United States exists because of its railroads. The government strengthens its control over the current territory through railway expansion, and the people continue to maintain justice. A strong cultural fascination with locomotives that has driven locomotives across time zones, biomes, and nations.
The history of American railroads reflects the history of this country. From the genocide of indigenous peoples to the defeat of fascism, all of our proudest achievements and greatest shames have been made possible by and tied to railroads. Today, rail gives us an opportunity to add pride to our history of fighting climate change and advancing equity. We need to remember our honest and complex history and understand how it can influence our future by choosing leaders who represent the true spirit of the oppressed majority and our people. there is.
colin reed
Collin Reid is an ESL educator and writer for Seattle Transit Blog. He has degrees in political science and education, and seven years of living abroad gave him a passion for transportation infrastructure development and equity.