Kim W5TIT wrote:
"JJ" wrote in message
...

Larry Roll K3LT wrote:



Jim:

Most EU countries are much better suited for mass transit (meaning light

rail

systems) than is the U.S. as a whole. Sure, they're good in big cities,

but

the
USA has too many wide open spaces and too much suburban sprawl -- making
long commutes necessary for the majority of the workforce. This means

we're

going to be dependent on personal, self-driven vehicles for a long time

to

come. Moreover, I don't think that adapting our public transit systems

to be

as accessible and accommodating to the majority of commuters as those in

the EU

would cost far more than they are spending. Remember, they had a

headstart on

their transit systems, dating back to the pre-war era. They also have a

higher

level of cultural acceptence of mass transit -- many EU families have

never

owned an automobile, simply because there was no need (not to mention

the

prohibitive cost).

The long distances which must be travelled by most Americans to get to

work and

go about their daily duties would make EU-style gasoline prices

impossible for

the average person to afford. Our economy depends on cheap, abundant

energy,

available at present-day market rates (or lower) basically in

perpetuity. The

liberal, socialist Democrats think we need to change that and have

EU-type

energy prices, but they hate this country anyway, and want us to be

subjugated

to the EU. These treasonous wackos won't be happy until we revert to a

totally

agrarian society. They are the enemies of the freedom that America

stands for,

and must be treated as such.

Europe will always be different from the U.S., and considering their
geopolitical realities, it is just the way it should be. However, since

most

of the EU nations would fit inside a couple of our states, America must

be

different. We must consume a larger share of the world's energy simply

because

we have a lot further to go in order to make our own individual social

and

economic contributions. I agree that mass transit should be exploited

to the

greatest extent possible, but it will never replace the need for

individual,

personal mobility -- meaning the private automobile, in all of it's

forms.

73 de Larry, K3LT

The U.S. does need to develope better mass transit in large
metropolitian areas. When I lived in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area,
the two cities were always complaining about the heavy commute traffic
and how they were not using the available mass transit system. The would
encourage people to car pool or use what mass transit was available, all
the while they were expanding the freeway system to accomodate more
vehicles. If you want people to use mass transit you have to 1) build a
good mass transit system, and 2) don't build massive freeway systems
that make it easier for people to drive their vehicles to work than ride
mass transit.



I tired mass transit when I first started working downtown. Nothing
convenient, friendly, safe, or good about it at all. It was scarey because
of the drivers, inconvenient because I had to work my schedule around
theirs, unfriendly people getting on and off knocking others with their
asses or briefcases, and I'll never do it again.

Along similar lines, I tried the local version of mass transit. I had to
wait 30 minutes for the bus, then undergo a very circuitous route, and
still had to walk a quarter mile. Leaving work at 5:00, I got home a
couple minutes after 7:00 p.m. 2 hours to go the 2.5 miles from work to
home!!!!!

- Mike KB3EIA -