In reality, they compromise. I live in a not-very large city. I used to rent an apartment in a suburb to the southeast just a few miles out, and the bus only made one trip in the morning to the city and one trip in the afternoon back, and if you didn't work the exact hours that you could catch the bus, like my job was 9-6 or 2-11, etc., you were out of luck.
Now, I live within city limits, in the southwest, but there is no bus route going north-south to where I work (or did before covid), because most of the traffic goes east to downtown and back, so that's how all the routes go. There aren't many routes or stops to the north and west.
When I was living in an apartment in a slightly different suburb, there were more frequent buses, but they were almost empty when I rode them. You can't assume that they're saving resources in any circumstance.
I'm saying that there's a tradeoff between investment and cost effectiveness relative to individual transportation.
A bus gets like 6 mpg. You have to have a certain average number of people on it per time or distance for it to be more efficient than a person in a car.
A network is more valuable the larger it is. But the more routes you have, the less traffic each one will have.
Being willing to invest is irrelevant, unless you think investing in something that makes people worse off is a no-brainer.
American governments tend to prioritize investment and spending for individual transportation over public transportation. The numbers get really crazy when you actually factor in the costs associated with 'free parking' - including requirements that new developments include a minimum amount of parking spots for each housing unit - and all the other subsidies car transportation enjoys.
[edit] > Being willing to invest is irrelevant, unless you think investing in something that makes people worse off is a no-brainer.
The thing is, public transportation isn't meant to be necessarily cost effective or even in all cases fuel efficient at the point of service, it levels the playing field. Poor folks currently have to buy a car to get to work. That's a huge investment in a depreciating asset at usurious interest rates. Public transportation reduces inequality and bolsters the economy indirectly, too.
[1] https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2014/09/ff-transpor...
It's offensive and insulting to go off on an anti-American tangent that signals a complete lack of engagement with the comment supposedly being replied to.
You're compounding it. Whether what you write is true or not, has nothing to do with it being an obnoxious political digression.
I made a comment on tradeoffs. Whether anybody is willing to spend money on things that have a positive return for society is changing the subject. The assumption was that we all are.
Am I wrong? Do Americans actually love public transit, and is the government in fact willing to invest as much as it takes to make the system work right? All the data I've dug up suggests otherwise but if you have some I'm happy to read it.
> Whether anybody is willing to spend money on things that have a positive return for society is changing the subject. The assumption was that we all are.
Well, not really, narratives and entrenched interests do a good job of convincing people to vote against their own interests.
[1] https://www.wired.com/story/transit-center-census-americans-...
The average number of people you need for simply the fuel is like, 5. But as far as all other factors, a lot are fixed costs, so number of trips is more important that average people.
Not to forget, again, electric buses exist and work well.
I was not promoting specific numbers; the point is there's a tradeoff and a tipping point where more trips make things worse, whatever the numbers are.
Averages have a way of being a lot lower than peak numbers, too.
I guess if you purchased say, 40 honda civics?
There’s a lot of other considerations to consider here as well.
Cars and vans would both take up more space for the same amount of people which means more traffic which leads to slower speeds and more noise and air pollution.
Cleaning all these cars and vans would require more workers than cleaning the equivalent number of busses either by capitol or by riders.
Cars and vans require more space to park.
There’d be far more maintenance for cars and vans than busses.
Busses are equipped with handicap ramps, bike racks, and seats to accomodate the differently abled, as well as payment processors. These features all drive up costs. Tech only solutions can prevent access to transportation for indigent and differently abled populations.
More cars and vans means more road wear.
And of course the lifetimes of the vehicles may differ adding in other costs.