The “cars aren’t freedom” line does not land with most Americans because in vast swaths of the country cars actually are the best mode of transportation currently available. If you need to get somewhere quickly, carry things or people, and look put together when you arrive, there just isn’t a substitute unless you live in one of a few major cities, or have a very convenient commute.
A 15-minute car ride in a rural area (where there is no public transit) would be at least a 1.5 hour ride on an e-bike, which you’d have to own because there are no bike rentals around. And weather can fuck you, and you’re riding on a two-lane rural road, and you can’t carry a passenger, and what you can bring with you is limited to about a backpack. You get a similar situation in a bunch of smaller suburban areas that lack significant public transit.
Obviously cars are harmful for a million reasons, but this is ineffective messaging.
The “cars aren’t freedom” line does not land with most Americans because in vast swaths of the country cars actually are the best mode of transportation currently available. If you need to get somewhere quickly, carry things or people, and look put together when you arrive, there just isn’t a substitute unless you live in one of a few major cities, or have a very convenient commute.
A 15-minute car ride in a rural area (where there is no public transit) would be at least a 1.5 hour ride on an e-bike, which you’d have to own because there are no bike rentals around. And weather can fuck you, and you’re riding on a two-lane rural road, and you can’t carry a passenger, and what you can bring with you is limited to about a backpack. You get a similar situation in a bunch of smaller suburban areas that lack significant public transit.
Obviously cars are harmful for a million reasons, but this is ineffective messaging.