How Come It's More Socially-Acceptable to take Public Transit in Seattle/ Minneapolis/ Portland than Sunbelt? (crime rates, construction)

[f1000]

I've taken public transit in Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland and I know it's more socially-acceptable in these places to utilize the buses/ transit systems than in Houston or Dallas or Atlanta or Phoenix.

I ask this because Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis are not as dense as the cities that are traditionally known for public transit (NYC, Chicago, Boston, SF)...and don't have the same social acceptance or history re: public transit use. Yet you still wont necessarily get looked down on as you would in the Sunbelt taking public transit. And the sprawl factor is still alive and well in these cities. Weather is bad in both areas (summer in the Sunbelt and 3/4rds of the year up north)

So...I guess there is an implication regarding safety in this context? (The Sunbelt cities have higher crime rates than Pacific NW, Upper Midwest that are considered when people take public transit?)

[annie_himself]

Summer makes you sweat, really bad for white collar jobs. Also, politics in many of these cities do not favor public transit.

[Mutiny77]

I'm not sure if this is universally true within the Sunbelt, but in general, rail tends to be viewed more favorably than buses.

[amaiunmei]

A couple of thoughts here:

a) Public transportation requires a degree of collectivism as a core belief that Sunbelt states, as a general rule, have tended to lack. It is no mistake that states with strongly individualist, agrarian histories - where landowners fought for the right to run their own fiefdoms apart from outside (read: federal) influence - lack the will to create a solid public transit system. Public transit REQUIRES taxes, construction, planning ... things that tend to chafe more libertarian-minded folks.

b) There is a racialized argument against public transit, as evidenced here: This Ohio Town Will Discriminate Against Minority Commuters Even If It Costs Them Millions

[Drewcifer]

I think part of it is cultural differences. I am not all that familiar with Seattle or Portland but in Minneapolis snobby people are looked down upon and there is at least an effort to at least pay lip service to social equality between the economic classes, it is a cultural echo from the early 20th century when socialists were a big part of the state's scene.

[Oleg Bach]

It.s a hippy hangover from the 70s - the west coast - Public Transport is "green"

[f1000]

Even the smaller cities outside the metros such as Bellingham and Olympia in WA for instance have sufficient public transit systems with some overall acceptance of the system.

Houston on the other hand- for instance, has only 1 public bus route to and from the Bush airport coming every 45 min or so- alarming!

LA and San Diego are not as bad as the other aforementioned Sunbelt cities. Still lower acceptance level than Northern CA or further north. Have never taken transit in places like Albuquerque...Las Vegas was workable...So it may be more the Southern thing happening.

[steel03]

Well the sunbelt is also generally way more conservative than those areas.
Conservatives --> value individual liberty more highly than almost anything else --> favor the freedom and flexibility of a private car

[f1000]

I've never been to Milwaukee or Ohio...I see that there is subway up there? So it's more acceptable in Cleveland and Cincinnati even than in the Sunbelt?

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by f1000

I've never been to Milwaukee or Ohio...I see that there is subway up there? So it's more acceptable in Cleveland and Cincinnati even than in the Sunbelt?

Cincinnati never completed it's subway.