XAVIER BOATNER
campus editor
xavier.boatner@my.tccd.edu
America is an automobile utopia, chock full of highways and parking lots that run on into the horizon – and it’s irritating.
It’s great for the vast majority of Americans and even better for young adults who’re fresh out of high school with the disposable income to afford their own automobile. It seems freeing for sure, but as someone who doesn’t have the luxury, it’s a major inconvenience, like, one-hundred and seven percent of the time.
It wouldn’t be a problem at all if America had more widely accepted means of public transportation methods, but that’s not the case.
A considerable chunk of the country has been built and rebuilt on the back of the automotive industry. What’s the reason for the lack of public transportation like buses and railways? What’s up with the lack of bike lanes? Why is it required to be in your automobile to (efficiently) get anywhere?
It may sound nitpicky, I understand that, but really, what excuse does the country have? Our communities are built to facilitate cars before human beings and that’s a problem.
To be blunt, I think America is far too dependent on cars (in case it wasn’t obvious). This isn’t me saying to erase cars from our daily lives or anything outlandish like that, since there are amazing benefits to having them, but something needs to be done regarding the lack of multiple methods of public transportation.
If you don’t have a vehicle in modern-day America, you’re more or less under house arrest. A person can only walk in sweltering Texas heat for so long before throwing their hands in the air and collapsing on the ground after suffering a heatstroke.
There are so many great things that could come from increasing the amount of public transportation systems in America, it’s not even funny. We live in a time that’s all about being inclusive and all-encompassing, yet there’s a portion of Americans who have few viable transportation options outside of automobiles.
Just stop and think of the potential benefits. People can get around easier, do things, buy things, stimulate the economy or whatever. How is that not a good thing? Not only that, but the health of individual communities will only improve since people from smaller neighborhoods could travel easier without breaking the bank for an automobile.
Think of all the road congestion. Think of the traffic, followed by long waits and anxious drivers. Now think of what could happen if more people were able to travel without the need for an automobile? An increase in public transportation could improve road congestion and help clear up traffic on clogged roadways.
The overall mobility of Americans would increase exponentially if there were buses and cabs in rural communities, or trains, trams and streetcars in urban areas. Letting people have a choice is all I’m getting at here. America is supposed to be “the land of the free” and all that, but our freedom of choice is severely limiting.
Roll out the trains, buses and cabs, for goodness’s sake.
