Why Mass Transit?

[Martin Hash]

Greens and Democrats take it for granted that the environment will somehow be improved if people travel in large groups, but I want to examine that premise...

In America, liberty guarantees individual freedom. By definition, a “liberal” believes in maximum individual freedom, and that certainly includes freedom of movement. In fact, the U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom of movement as a fundamental right. Anything that impinges on that freedom must face judicial examination to ensure that some other, more important, right indeed takes precedence, but it is a difficult test, and not lightly considered. A vague, unarticulated desire to “improve the environment” probably does not supersede a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right.

If we are to debate the value of mass transit then we must clearly state what the goal is. As an engineer, I am willing to debate various methods of conserving energy – none of which involve mass transit; or if the goal is a social desire to make people travel together, or remain ensconced in their homes, that argument seems weak in the extreme; and if the intent is to limit roadways because they negatively impact the environment - that is certainly a selfish interest by the environmentalists at the expense of everyone else.

So, I ask the question, “Why mass transit?” Unfortunately, no one else is asking, because if they were, engineers would have plenty of solutions.

[Tad Winiecki]

For short trips (<100 km) group transport is usually a waste of time. For the average trip in the Portland metro area I could get there quicker on my bicycle than by walking and taking buses and trains. People with families know how much longer a trip takes with a family who have to get ready to go and want to stop at different places on the way than a trip taken alone.
If one considers all the costs and you don't have to pay a driver, a small vehicle is more economical than a large vehicle for the average trip in a metro area. People really do value their time and that is why public transit has only about 3% market share.
The most economical metro transport now is a small motorcycle that can keep up with traffic on the freeways. For shorter trips a battery and pedal powered moped is the most economical.
The future most economical transport is personal automated transport and Evacuated Tube Transport™. See http://higherway.us (my website) and http://www.et3.com
Trains haven't been economically competitive against buses since the 1930s and light rail is being built now only because of political pressure and a skewed funding formula from the federal government. See http://ti.org/antiplanner/ by Randal O'Toole and his book, Gridlock.