Current Events > Japan had bullet trains since 1964, America has none

(+) Yeah! (+)

What a joke.

I'm not defending anyone or anything but me personally I don't need it and wouldn't even ride one, so it doesn't matter to me as to who has one.

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There should have been one between Albany and NYC a long time ago.
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Murica likes to drive noisy gas guzzling cars instead of have efficient and fast transportation

We actually really need them....especially in california where its a 1 hour commute during rush hour to work in any big city.

A bullet train going to SF or LA would be magical.

American rail lines are mostly used for freight. The country is too big for rail travel to really be practical when we could just fly instead.
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cmiller4642 posted...

Murica likes to drive noisy gas guzzling cars instead of have efficient and fast transportation

Cars>>>>>trains

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America decided to go all in on cars. Almost all other countries decided not to. In these other countries, almost all highways are tolled, and are quite expensive to actually drive anywhere far, or the roads are narrow/non existent.

This is from personal experience. I rented and drove cars all over Japan, Greece, Italy, and South Korea, and rented cars to drive around London and Berlin.

Italy, Greece, and Berlin had some of the worst roads... Italy was the only country I damaged the car, because some of these roads were way too narrow and I lost a side mirror...

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Prismsblade posted...

Cars>>>>>trains

in terms of what? cars create congestion and way more pollution

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The only one that would make sense is one on the northeast seaboard

The public transportation in many US cities is so bad that once you get there by train, what are you going to do?
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IdiotMachine posted...

America decided to go all in on cars. Almost all other countries decided not to. In these other countries, almost all highways are tolled, and are quite expensive to actually drive anywhere far, or the roads are narrow/non existent.

This is from personal experience. I rented and drove cars all over Japan, Greece, Italy, and South Korea, and rented cars to drive around London and Berlin.

Italy, Greece, and Berlin had some of the worst roads... Italy was the only country I damaged the car, because some of these roads were way too narrow and I lost a side mirror...

How was driving in Japan? Just curious

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less trains means less of a groping problem and better social distancing.

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averagejoel posted...

in terms of what? cars create congestion and way more pollution

Versatility and convenience. Congestion isnt a issue in most areas of the US, and car manufacturers are ever improving their technology in regards to reducing pollution.

Are you and TC foreigners? This all should be pretty obvious to locals, no offense.

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US felt cars were more important. Robert Moses fucked up the poor in NYC by building highways through their neighborhoods instead of expanding public transit.

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High speed rail is kind of a boondoggle and countries shouldn't spend money on it just because it was successful in Japan.

Prismsblade posted...

Versatility and convenience. Congestion isnt a issue in most areas of the US, and car manufacturers are ever improving their technology in regards to reducing pollution.

Are you and TC foreigners? This all should be pretty obvious to locals, no offense.

^Obviously haven't been stuck in traffic

I feel like we were working on it, then just settled for the bullet part.

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ToadallyAwesome posted...

How was driving in Japan? Just curious

You get used to driving on the left pretty quickly, surprisingly. The pedals are still the same (right pedal = gas, left = brake). They give you a magnet /sticker for you to put on the back of your rental car that tells everyone that you're a foreigner; the purpose is to let people know you don't drive on the left side, and hopefully people will be nicer to you.

I've noticed that people are generally more cautious around you (or maybe Japanese drivers are just like that), and they actually look in and wave at you.

You pass on the right, and speed limits are pretty low... I think 60mph IIRC. Speed cameras are everywhere.

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But main street is still all cracked and broken, sorry mom the mob has spoken, monorail!

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One reason is because state governments kept giving out the contracts to their friends instead of those who could actually do the job.

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Kind of useless without a gun train, no?

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we rely too much on roads and highways

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R1masher posted...

Kind of useless without a gun train, no?

Lol
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it should also be noted that public transportation even at the local level isn't really feasible in the US without massive zoning reform

So hows the driving in Canada and Mexico?

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Bullet trains are perfect for Japan, but in the US would really only be useful for cities in the Northeast and California.

Waste of money for most of our cities.

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doomcrusader posted...

Bullet trains are perfect for Japan, but in the US would really only be useful for cities in the Northeast and California.

Waste of money for most of our cities.

Don't knock it until you've tried it. Germany is covered with rail/trains. Such a breeze to commute.

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We'd be better off going all in on autonomous travel.

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wow all the guns we have yet no bullet trains :(

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I fucking wish there were bullet trains in nyc. omg, now I'm sad that I'll never see this in nyc in my life time

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CloneTheHero posted...

we had these things called airlines. ever hear of them? the 50s and 60s were the golden age of flying you dopes.

now idk about you but i much prefer being masters of the sky than masters of the railway lol

Have you ever heard of airport security? Doesn't sound so smart now right?

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El Mexicano Texano posted...

I'm not defending anyone or anything but me personally I don't need it and wouldn't even ride one, so it doesn't matter to me as to who has one.

I have a car, I probably would have used public trans instead of investing in one if we had them though.

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CloneTheHero posted...

lol what did i just read. you realize japan had the most reasonably priced cars in the 60s.

Clarify: car culture and road development by government, not the country's production.

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@CrazyandLazy You watch the Abroad In Japan channel on YouTube, too?

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EverDownward posted...

@CrazyandLazy You watch the Abroad In Japan channel on YouTube, too?

yes

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CloneTheHero posted...

lol tsa didnt exist back then. and general security was bare bones. stop embarrassing yourself

tsa was non-existent in Japan and Germany as well. What's your point?

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Whats the difference in landmass size of Japan vs. America? Theres a few US cities that have a good rail system.

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Prismsblade posted...

Versatility and convenience.

neither of those things are inherent to cars in the comparison, and they are much less important than the other issues I raised.

Congestion isnt a issue in most areas of the US,

but it is a major issue for the most populated areas, and it is a direct function of two traits that are specific to cars:
-they take up way too much space per person
-they all move independently of each other

and car manufacturers are ever improving their technology in regards to reducing pollution.

that technology is applicable to buses and trains as well.

Are you and TC foreigners? This all should be pretty obvious to locals, no offense.

none taken, but this is also irrelevant.

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averagejoel posted...

in terms of what? cars create congestion and way more pollution

You get to go wherever you please at anytime you want.

Trains run on a schedule and have a set destination.

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They're not particularly useful when the country is designed around car travel. Public transportation of any kind is mostly only useful in large cities. In any other place, you need a car to even get to public transport in the first place.

ViewtifulGrave posted...

You get to go wherever you please at anytime you want.

Trains run on a schedule and have a set destination.

while these things are technically true, the resulting convenience associated with cars and inconvenience associated with transit are not inherent traits of the mode of transportation, but functions of the US being extremely car-centric

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IdiotMachine posted...

America decided to go all in on cars.

America didn't do shit, politicians and greedy corporate assholes decided oil and gas using cars were the way to go. Electric cars and high speed rail were pushed aside early and any kind of innovation was dinged, dented and suppressed in the name of profit for those with the right investments.

Nunyobidness posted...

America didn't do shit, politicians and greedy corporate assholes decided oil and gas using cars were the way to go. Electric cars and high speed rail were pushed aside early and any kind of innovation was dinged, dented and suppressed in the name of profit for those with the right investments.

They even bought up all the trains and had them destroyed
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CableZL posted...

I feel like we were working on it, then just settled for the bullet part.

Ouch
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