With climate change becoming a more serious issue every year, the world must look for alternative ways to get people where they need to go. Many countries have created mass public transport systems with varying success, and it’s time for America to follow suit.

Our Current View

America has some public transportation available, depending on where you live. As you certainly know, most towns with a moderate population have a bus system allowing transportation within said town (and sometimes to neighboring ones). Busses act as a giant carpool, allowing large groups of people to get somewhere on a singular tank of gas.

There are also rapid transit systems, present in major cities. Examples include:

• The DC Metro
• The NYC Subway
• The MBTA (Boston)
• The BART (San Francisco)

These systems house electrically powered trains/carts with predetermined stops around each individual metropolitan area. Their larger capacity coupled with the fact that they run on electricity makes them a more sustainable option than busses.

So, What’s the Problem?

Although there are many examples throughout the United States of sustainable public transportation, it’s important to note that these systems are not nearly as efficient as they could be. Here’s how:

• Most public transportation systems have garnered much less usage than what was anticipated during their construction.
  • Long waits in between busses/trains and unappealing routes are a large part of this problem.
  • Unclean or unwelcoming terminals, train cars, bus stations, etc. cause many to steer clear of public transport altogether. This is due to low funding and poor management.
  • Crimes ranging from pickpocketing to violence happen frequently on some public transport, again due to bad management and surveillance.
  • The pride and independence behind owning your own vehicle is deep-rooted in American culture. We are a country that does not put emphasis on working together towards goals bigger than ourselves. We’d rather be self-made and self-sustained.

• Public transport is functioning on too small of a scale for the rapid growth of our country.
  • Smaller places, like Japan for example, have country-wide public transportation which in some places includes private booths within the trains (for sleeping or work).
  • Transportation between cities and states is ideal in today’s society. As big of a project as it would be, our government absolutely has the money. They are spending it on ‘national defense’ and similar empire-building ventures.

Next Steps

Upon diving into this situation, you may be wondering what our next steps are as a country on this front, or what you can do to push innovations in transportation forward.

• Use public transportation!
  • Just one person leaving the car home for the day is a win for our o-zone layer. It also financially supports our local bus/train services and encourages improvement on their end. Without customers, they will shut down!
• Hold your elected officials accountable.
  • Everyone in charge who you’ve voted for or against has an office and a phone number. Remember, your elected officials work for you (not the other way around). A surge of advocacy for public transport will turn heads.

It’s easy to feel powerless in a corporate-dominated world, especially when it comes to sticking up for the environment. Remember: each environmentally conscious decision you make is a win in itself!

Reference

Rapid Transit Database. (2020, October 11). Institute for Transportation and Development Policy – Promoting Sustainable and Equitable Transportation Worldwide. https://itdp.org/rapid-transit-database/