This is a direct response to Devilstower's Belated Earth Day: The Big Gulp article, which for some reason was rejecting my post.
I take reducing how far I drive more seriously than anyone I know, and I can tell you right now Devilstower's advice for reducing our reliance on oil is basically impossible. The fact is, there is relatively little that people can do to conserve oil in the present socioeconomic environment in America. The short answer is that non-car transportation options are far too limited, even the biggest cities aren't well designed for people to do without a car, and there is too much economic insecurity to effectively make the lifestyle changes that allow you to do without. As oil goes up individual citizens are going to get caught in the middle. The only effective solution is to address these underlying issues directly, even if it means re-engineering our cities and abandoning many modern presumptions about efficient businesses.
Deconstruction below the fold...
Here's a point-by-point rebuttal of Devilstower's arguments:
- Drive less.
Exactly where are you supposed to drive less? Most people drive only between work, school, the store, and home. Only kids cruise for the fun of it, and that's mostly because they have nowhere to go.
- Take public transit.
Public transit is ALWAYS slower than a car even in a city like New York, the best place in the country for public transportation, and are generally more than twice as long due to waiting. The routes are so severely limited that walking to one is often infeasible. If you live in a rural area, forget it. Commuter trains routinely cost more than driving, and often make you pay for parking on top of it. Public transit is also useless when it comes to transporting anything larger than a shopping bag.
- Walk.
- If it's too far to walk, use a bike.
Both biking and walking commuting options are only really reasonable for up to three miles. Again, you can't carry much in the way of cargo, and additionally no passengers (i.e. kids). They take longer and if you push yourself you have the pleasure of showing up to work sweaty and out of breath. Both are not good options in weather that is too hot, cold or wet. News flash - it's like that most of the year in parts of the country that aren't the California coast.
- If it's too far to bike, and there no public transportation, car pool.
It only works if your schedule is very regular, if you live near someone going the same direction, if you know them, and trust them. Which is often a tall order. A good car-pooling matchmaker website does not exist AFAIK.
- If you can't car pool, use a smaller, more efficient vehicle.
The most efficient cars are only about twice as efficient as the least efficient cars. The really efficient foreign models are usually not available here. Motorcycles are more efficient, but have much the same problems as bikes and are 26 times more dangerous than cars.
- If you have a long commute, move closer to work.
This is rarely a feasible option. If you are a double-income family, as so many must be in the modern economy, you are also trying to move closer to two different places. Home ownership is something that normally lasts for decades, and is not something that is easily - or wisely - walked away from, despite job insecurity. Even if you can move closer to work, that's likely in the city, and anything inside a loop these days is bound to be phenomenally expensive even to professionals. Not to mention all the downsides of living in a city, particularly when raising a family.
- If you can't move closer, take a closer job.
The high degree of education and specialization in today's jobs limits people's options. Again, double-income professionals are in an especially tight spot. Additionally, job security is much lower than it is in the past. There is a big trend in hiring contractors for budget flexibility, and these people necessarily end up commuting very large distances on a regular basis to wildly different locations.
- If you can't get a different job, see if you can telecommute.
Telecommuting should have caught on with businesses due to the need for less office space. The fact that it hasn't speak volumes of the disadvantages, namely that people working at home are more distracted, more inclined to goof off, less able to work effectively, and completely cut off from the face-to-face dynamic that lies at the heart of so many effective business relationships.
So there you have it. Cutting transportation costs can only really be effectively addressed by three things, and only on a long-term scale:
- Vastly more efficient, pervasive, and effective public transportation - especially some sort of ad-hoc car sharing or share taxis enabled by emerging technologies. Car sharing options should be suited for ferrying cargo and people at the users convenience. Commuter rail should be expanded to the point that in the greater metropolitan areas people should not have to walk more than .5 miles on average to reach a train, and park-and-ride lots should be free and readily available farther from town. Costs should be less than driving. Service should be at least every 15 minutes at peak times, each train should only stop at as many stops as will fill it up, and should be offered 24 hours a day. Rail service should also allow transport between areas that are NOT the city center, e.g. in loops. Free shuttles should serve major retail and employers.
- Denser, more effective cities. Cities are naturally more effective with regards public transportation. Cities often suffer from poor zoning - for instance, downtown Manhattan is bustling in the day but a virtual ghost town at night due to the lack of residences. Mixed-use zoning or more stretched out zones are musts. Tokyo is a better example. Inner suburbs must be redeveloped into more urban environments to support the increased demand and the costs of living a reasonable distance from the city center must be driven down by several orders of magnitudes. Pedestrian safety (both criminal and traffic) and convenience should be heavily favored, including foot-path only routes. Elementary schools should be within walking distance of all residential areas; Middle and above should be within biking or standard public transportation distance.
- Stable employment with an income high enough to support a family without employing both parents. This allows people to make good home buying choices and not force them to split the difference between two work sites. Economic stability must be favored over growth and flexibility, and business travel will have to be cut back. Many functions should be in-sourced. City buildings should be favored over corporate campuses. Companies in specialized industries should move nearer each other.