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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • It was a dumb mistake, but it was a dumb mistake that had broader political support than the narrative that “car companies destroyed mass transit” suggests. It is important to recognize how a broad base of support was created in order to fight it in its current interations.

    And I completely agree that Musk tunnels are a shit technology and that actual trains need to be built. I just think it requires understanding how politics functions rather than just accepting a corporate bogeyman.


  • It is a lot more complicated than that.

    Most early 20th century mass transit networks were private businesses subject to government regulation. Most of the government regulation focused on controlling fares, so there was a lot of deferred maintenance. This was made worse as some mass transit systems were built to be a loss leader to support selling real estate.

    Several mass transit networks went bankrupt due to the combination of fares not covering expenses and reduced demand due to completion with cars. Most American cities weren’t equipped to take on subsiding or taking over mass transit, so they let the existing networks die.