Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Another thing I wonder is how much American obsession with race and segregation shaped attitudes on public transit (since buses are associated with poor neighborhoods that happen to have racial or ethnic minorities).
Do other immigrant countries like Canada and Australia associate riding the bus with poor minorities or immigrants? Do any other countries for that matter?
It seemed like besides the densest US cities, the cities with the least transit/bus stigma in the US are the two Pacific Northwest ones, where they don't really have the large minority underclass that most American cities do.
Public transit isn't associated with poverty here. One just has to see the swarms of white-collar workers getting out of RER/metro stations during rush hour in office districts. Though suburbs-to-suburb bus lines seem to attract poor, young and elderly people that can't drive, since they're much less practical than driving. My former commute was about 3 times longer by bus compared to car. My current one is 4 to 5 times faster by car. In that case, people who rely on bus are those who don't have an alternative.
It seemed like besides the densest US cities, the cities with the least transit/bus stigma in the US are the two Pacific Northwest ones, where they don't really have the large minority underclass that most American cities do.
It's surprising somewhat to me to notice some of the stigma with buses, minorities and poverty exists so strongly in LA and Orange County too, that despite California being a "new" western state that shouldn't have the baggage of black/white segregation like the east coast, and it figures prominently in movies such as Crash, made in 2004.
It's surprising somewhat to me to notice some of the stigma with buses, minorities and poverty exists so strongly in LA and Orange County too, that despite California being a "new" western state that shouldn't have the baggage of black/white segregation like the east coast, and it figures prominently in movies such as Crash, made in 2004.
southern California has a large, rather poor Hispanic population (as well as many non-poor hispanics). The most transit-friendly areas there also tend to be poor and minority, unlike the Pacific Northwest where there's not much a trend either way.
That map is not to scale. Large sections of Queens are not covered and often going from outer neighborhood to another outer neighborhood is clumsy. That's a common issue with transit systems, but some, including Tokyo are better than NYC in that way.
I know Tokyo's subway system is very extensive. That's why I ranked Tokyo and London right up there with NYC but said NYC edges out for operating 24 hours, 365 days a week.
No need to be drawn to scale. You can count the number of lines and stops from the maps.
southern California has a large, rather poor Hispanic population (as well as many non-poor hispanics). The most transit-friendly areas there also tend to be poor and minority, unlike the Pacific Northwest where there's not much a trend either way.
The San Francisco Bay area, as mentioned earlier in the thread, seems like another transit-friendly area too where there isn't a stigma (was there ever a negative image regarding taking transit in that area or association with an "underclass"?), though I'm not too familiar with it since I've only visited really briefly.
Well Asians probably use public transport on a higher per capita basis, but it's because many are students/tourists without access to a car not because they're too poor to afford a car.
So, in Australia, is there not really an image attached to public transit being used more by poorer minority groups or immigrants, the way there is in the United States is there? It's just people that happen to not use a car, whether that is due to convenience, cost etc.?
I was thinking that maybe Australians and Canadians might not have as strong of a stigma, compared to the US, of poverty relating to transit use, because there are stronger downtowns (from not having experienced the inner city declines American cities went through, especially in the rust belt) too.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
