Eivind (like the Terrible) ✨Nov 25
Four bendy buses managed to enter a roundabout at the exact same time from four different directions in Oslo yesterday afternoon and get properly stuck, each bus blocking the exit for the one behind it. #BigBusStuck
Show threadJeremy KahnNov 25
@eivind the true first-world problem
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@trochee @eivind why would it be a first-world problem? 🤔
Show threadMax von WebelNov 25
@titia @trochee @eivind Only in very rich countries enough public transport exists that four buses can be at the same time in the same place like this.
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@343max @trochee @eivind Forgive me for finding that a very funny idea. Have you ever visited Mumbai, for instance?
Show threadAljoscha Rittner (beandev)
@titia
Or Philippines, or...
@343max @trochee @eivind
Nov 25 at 9:23amWeb
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@beandev @343max @trochee @eivind as a general rule, the richer a country becomes, the more private cars you start to find, actually. (Which is a shame, of course.)
Show threadMax von WebelNov 25
@titia @beandev @trochee @eivind It’s actually the opposite: in less developed countries you see cars everywhere and only when societies become richer they are willing to invest in more sustainable and more comfortable modes of transportation. If you go to poorer countries in Eastern Europe or Northern America you will see cars everywhere because public transport is so under financed that most people won’t use it.
Show threadAljoscha Rittner (beandev)Nov 25

@343max

Eastern Europe is the center of a huge market for used cars. I don't know what the situation is like in North America, but in Eastern Europe there is a large influx of used cars from Western Europe. In addition, rural areas have always been sparsely populated (probably similar to North America) and private mobility is easier for people to use than relying on public transportation.

@titia @trochee @eivind

Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@beandev @343max @trochee @eivind of course, rural areas are another matter altogether.
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@beandev @343max @trochee @eivind in the Indian cities I've visited (not very many, admittedly), the traffic is a mixture of buses, cars, autorickshaws, motorcycles, bikes, the odd elephant. Buses are very much an integral part of the whole.
Show threadMax von WebelNov 25
@titia Yes, exactly. As I said: no good public transport, only busses. In a few years they will have trams and commuter trains and subways as well. But right now they don't have it so people have to use private modes of transportation which usually means cars or motorcycles.
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@343max Mumbai has also had commuter trains since time immemorial. Kolkata's tram network is the second oldest in the world. Delhi's subway is fairly new, granted, but my point here was that these cities have extensive public transport serving the very large part of the population that cannot afford a car.
Show threadTitia SchuurmanNov 25
@343max @beandev @trochee @eivind The streets of Beijing used to be full of bicycles, now they're full of cars.
Show threadJaneraTicianoNov 25
@titia @beandev @[email protected] @trochee @eivind posing this as the real first world problem is partially subverting the idea of private owned luxury as a denominator of an 'evolved society/economy'. The actual luxury is not that more people can afford cars, it's that they don't need a car becaus public transportation is so good they have no reason to use anything else. So a bunch of public transport busses blocking each other is a true luxury problem, because it shows a high level of this luxury.