Jean-Francois MarchalandJul 27, 2023
πšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡
"A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation."
Jul 27, 2023 at 12:59pmWeb
Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡Jul 27, 2023
(A quote variously attributed to Meik Wiking, Enrique PeΓ±alosa...and Gustavo Petro. Whoever said it first, the insight continues to ring true.)
Photo: OrlΓ©ans, #France.
Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡Jul 27, 2023
Another case in point: #Switzerland. The trams of #ZΓΌrich
Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡Jul 28, 2023

I dive deeper into transit, active transport, and alternatives to car-centered urbanism in my weekly Substack dispatches.

Next one is an exclusive tour of Canada's (and probably North America's) biggest new transit project.

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https://straphanger.substack.com/

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Bulletins from a Future Beyond the Automobile (And How to Get There). Click to read Straphanger, from Taras Grescoe, a Substack publication with hundreds of readers.

Show threadPierre BourdonJul 27, 2023

@straphanger those trams are two models behind at this point, can't wait for them to be replaced finally...

Not having low-floor on all the trams in 2023 is really a shame.

Show threadDavid HoJul 27, 2023
@straphanger You basically have to be rich to afford the trams in Zurich,
Show threadMJ RayJul 29, 2023
@davidho @straphanger You basically have to be rich to afford Zurich, no?
Show threadJay πŸ†˜Jul 27, 2023
@straphanger @jkottke tried to get to the bottom of this a couple years ago: https://kottke.org/21/11/where-the-rich-use-public-transportation
Where the Rich Use Public Transportation…

I ran across this quote while reading about what makes Tokyo work as a city: A developed country is not a place where the poor ha

kottke.org
Show threadGJ Groothedde πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊJul 27, 2023
@straphanger Ah, OrlΓ©ans !
Show threadRamesh #NotGoingBackJul 27, 2023

@straphanger

I'm trying to turn America into a developed country. I'm trying to be rich

#publicTransportation

Show threadTyler CollierJul 27, 2023

@straphanger LOVE LOVE LOVE the transit system in Switzerland. My company is based in Eastern Switzerland and I travel there for business at least once a year and being able to hop on a train on a functional and EFFICIENT mass transit system is truly my favorite part of the trip.

From airport to hotel. From hotel to take a side trip to a stunning hike to anywhere you want to go. AMAZING. What I’d give for something 25% as good in ATL would be life changing for all classes.

Show threadaxolotl solidarioJul 27, 2023
@straphanger a truly developed country wouldn't have economic and political stratification.
Show threadyeet_da_richJul 28, 2023
@axolotl @straphanger would we still have countries then?
Show threadBranwen OShea (she/her)Jul 28, 2023
@axolotl @straphanger Truth!
Show threadwoolieJul 27, 2023
@straphanger I have terrible news about the transportation habits of rich people in France.
Show thread... and beholdJul 28, 2023
@wooliex @straphanger
Also, public transport outside of major cities seems nearly unfeasible.
Most French people I know in Alsace, each need a car just to go shopping, let alone get to work.
Show threadMJ RayJul 29, 2023
@andbhold @wooliex @straphanger Alsace seemed pretty bikeable when I visited recently. Need, or want and use? Do French supermarkets not do good delivery yet?
Show thread... and beholdJul 29, 2023
@mjr @wooliex @straphanger
Many Alsatians commute quite long distances, also across the border into Germany and Switzerland.
Rural Alsace is beautiful to bike through on a Sunday afternoon, but not likely for the school run and drive to work.
Show threadMJ RayJul 29, 2023
@andbhold @wooliex @straphanger rural has challenges most places but Alsace cycleways seemed to go further out than Norfolk's, and people I passed looked happy cycling to work in Strasbourg, Colmar and Guebwiller (I was too late leaving Mulhouse to see many workers). I appreciate many things encourage car use, but it looked like it remains a choice not a strict need in urban fringe villages.
Show threadMJ RayJul 29, 2023
@andbhold @wooliex @straphanger forgot to say: yeah, long distance commuters can't easily walk and cycle, so if no train or bus, they lose and have to use cars or relocate. And the poor state of #CrossBorderRail means that's more likely in Alsace, borders on three sides.
Show threadClio ☘Jul 27, 2023
@straphanger
I think most people have no idea how true this is.
Show threadHelJul 27, 2023
@straphanger gold words
Show threadSidoine B.Jul 27, 2023
@straphanger Orleans, France ?
Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysJul 27, 2023
@straphanger it is where everyone is chauffeured.
Show threadMary Ann HornJul 27, 2023
@straphanger yes!
Show threadrcrJul 27, 2023

@straphanger Strictly speaking he is probably not the richest here, but a year ago or so I took a train home and when I got off, our finance minister got off as well to walk home. A common sight for those regularly traveling this stretch by train.

Having said that, he was traveling first class, but for me this is ok.

Show threadJulian Andres Klode πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆJul 28, 2023

@rcr @straphanger Not sharing space with commoners really makes train travel much nicer.

Whereas 2nd class is a horrible affair with loud groups of people talking to each other, kids being kids, first class is just a quiet safe space to relax from the stress of life.

Show threadMonika BargetJul 27, 2023

@straphanger

Hercule Poirot couldn't agree more!

Show threadRed Shirt DudeJul 27, 2023
@straphanger The same is true for public education.
Show threadNicolasJul 27, 2023
@straphanger oh! I use to go at school in that street of OrlΓ©ans, France.
Show threadPeter_RevillJul 27, 2023
@straphanger
Show threadA Tattered ScrapbookJul 27, 2023
@straphanger IMO, a developed country has neither rich nor poor; but the point on public transportation remains valid.
Show threadAviva GaryJul 27, 2023
@straphanger word and pretty
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderJul 27, 2023

@straphanger

I live in central California. I cherish my Leap card, which stays in my wallet, for paying for the buses in Dublin, Ireland. And I keep the top up, and the real time apps on my phone. Its freedom to be able to just jump on the bus and go!

Show threadDec [{()}]Aug 1, 2023
@Edelruth @straphanger
Good news if/when you come back; LEAP cards are now accepted on a lot of public transport outside Dublin too. Check before travel.
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderAug 1, 2023

@dec23k @straphanger

Great to know! Thank you.

Show threadxs4me2Jul 27, 2023

@straphanger

This indeed…

Show threadSummitJul 27, 2023
@straphanger Also, can I just say third rail has never looked so good.
Show threadJason Petersen (he)Jul 28, 2023

@straphanger @simonbp ok but have you heard the latest discourse in the United States?

β€œWhat if we made car ownership a fundamental right?”

I’m not kidding

Show threadKatLSJul 28, 2023
@straphanger yes!!
Show threadπŸŽ“ Doc Freemo  πŸ‡³πŸ‡±Jul 28, 2023
@straphanger Nah, its where we use teleporters!
Show threadLoukas (They/Them) πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈJul 28, 2023
@straphanger see also - where the rich use public schools.
Show threadMJ RayJul 29, 2023
@Loukas @straphanger "public schools" in England means private subscription ones. I forget why. We broke our language. The free ones funded by taxes are " state schools ".
Show threadLoukas (They/Them) πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈJul 29, 2023
@mjr @straphanger it's because when schools like Eton college were founded in the early modern period they were more 'public' than the existing system of education in church or aristocratic institutions. But I prefer the American usage.
Show threadStatusSquatter  πŸ«Jul 28, 2023
@straphanger where the rich are only a bad remember
Show threadJulien / SphinxJul 28, 2023
@straphanger @Goneri u there? ;) (as in OrlΓ©ans looks fancy in this photo, though still mostly car-focused, even if efforts were made in the last decades)
Show threadGonΓ©riJul 28, 2023
@Sphinx_Pouet @straphanger this photo is beautiful but it hides several inconvenient realities:
- pedestrians have not enough space in this street
- no bike infrastructure
- was it necessary to have 2 lines for cars, plus some parking on the pedestrians pavements? (Spoiler: no)
@jeanneavelo @faidit could tell more on this.
Show threadGonΓ©riJul 28, 2023
@Sphinx_Pouet @straphanger @jeanneavelo @faidit I forgot to mention illegal parking on the left side of course
Show threadDeusJul 30, 2023
Bumped into a couple of millionaires during my daily (to and fro) train commute from Reading to Theale (England). That counts?
Show threadLot⁴⁹Aug 20, 2023
@straphanger This cannot be repeated often enough.