While a nice idea, adding "buses" to this sentence negates any benefit from removing "cars" from the landscape because they are fundamental the same sort of vehicle, are they not?
The main issue is not the aesthetic of having a bicycle and "expertly pedaling" it or not, but the time it takes in transit. I wish to magically teleport from one venue to the next, and the in-between I call transit. We can rethink transit as a necessary and primary principle, or we can keep kicking it downfield and placating our people with the strategy that "you can bike everywhere, even in America!"
Trains are economical, well-established in huge cities elsewhere, have decades if not centuries of engineering knowhow stacked up, and move many people extremely efficiently when they are all going to the same place or the same direction.
Is there some way to hybridize the train and the car, or can we electrify the whole grid to make modularized trains a possibility and eventually a reality? I agree it's nice to bike, but grandpa can't bike everywhere and he still wants to enjoy the city.
SBB (Swiss federal railways) have an amazing plan. For around 1000.- a month, you have unlimited train travel within the country and access to a fleet of Teslas parked at major train station to complete your journey. It’s a bit too expensive for me but I love the idea. I wish they had cheaper cars for more people to afford it.
I see they offer more options now and it goes from 600.- per month with a 1/2 fare card and a Nissan Leaf to 1800.- with a GA and a Tesla.
You're missing a point: A city "made for bikes" or pedestrians has shorter distances.
You need a car to get to the far-away mall. And it's cumbersome to go there by any other transportation. But what if the shops were close-by? You walk to work, and get breakfast on your way. That's reality in places that existed before the car.
For cities build after cars being popular, it will be a transition.
Zoning laws and property values are two reasons why people don't live close to shops or work.
Also, with the pandemic and the high number of deaths in major cities with high population densities, people who are spread out due to property values and zoning aren't going to really want to move into an urban environment for some time to come.
The main issue is not the aesthetic of having a bicycle and "expertly pedaling" it or not, but the time it takes in transit. I wish to magically teleport from one venue to the next, and the in-between I call transit. We can rethink transit as a necessary and primary principle, or we can keep kicking it downfield and placating our people with the strategy that "you can bike everywhere, even in America!"
Trains are economical, well-established in huge cities elsewhere, have decades if not centuries of engineering knowhow stacked up, and move many people extremely efficiently when they are all going to the same place or the same direction.
Is there some way to hybridize the train and the car, or can we electrify the whole grid to make modularized trains a possibility and eventually a reality? I agree it's nice to bike, but grandpa can't bike everywhere and he still wants to enjoy the city.