making a rare quote post. if you scan the replies to this its a lot of disingenuous arguments about the nature and role of cars in american culture. Iowa, for example, had nearly 500 miles of light rail/tram/interurban transit at one point. it got dismantled just like transit in big cities
Taking away our cars can, should, and will be treated as a declaration of war upon rural America.
there's even the smattering of "bumblefuck" "no ones talking about your area" talk when it comes to public transit and that's fucking ignorant as hell. we should talk about it. public transit is not just a city thing because the popular distinction of urban and rural is absurd as hell.
a lot of what people are calling rural are fucking suburbs and exurbs and they deserve public transit as much as cities do and true rural communities also deserve easy access to transportation beyond cars as well.
but this doesnt exclude jenni the op because she states: "you are talking about 'reducing car dependency', which will inevitably infringe on the right to travel". car ownership and being able to drive is a privilege.
if you can't afford a car or can't physically drive that is infringing on a right to travel and those are already existing realities. reducing car dependency does not infringe on that as long as there are travel options. bike lanes, public transit, high speed rail expands "right to travel"
we need to not just talk about expanding transit in cities or building rail networks. public transit should exist every and anywhere. it supports and builds and retains community from nyc to iowa plus its extremely cool.
Jan 1, 2026 03:16what if tons of towns weren't hollowed out for car infrastructure? what if you could have the community people move to cities for everywhere? we could have so much more. it doesn't have to be like this and it starts with expanding your mindset outside your personal needs including a car.
