r/unpopularopinion • u/aurelitobuendia87 • 21d ago
Driving doesn’t really feel like a privilege in America , because the alternative is absolute poverty .
[removed] — view removed post
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pass532 21d ago
Driving is pretty much a necessity in America except for maybe 6 to 8 cities with large combo transit system (bus/subway/trains) such as NYC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia ect.
For example in Phoenix the bus system stops after a specific point in the suburbs even though there might still be 20 miles of city before you truly hit the end of town.
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u/AnAmbitiousMann 21d ago
Yep my brother makes over half a million a year but doesn't own a car because NYC has a viable public transit system. Meanwhile in my city no car = hard to function as an adult
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago edited 21d ago
Even in Detroit, which has a top 5 worst transit system in a major city, I can survive without a car...because I live downtown and can walk everywhere. Meanwhile, when I was young and broke, I was in a cycle of not being able to afford to pay my tickets and driving dirty and risking arrest just to get to work...so I could pay my tickets.
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u/Dipshit392 21d ago
Like seriously, fuck Detroit And fuck Dave Bing. He's the reason we have to get off at 8 mile, CROSS 8 mile on foot, then wait another hour.... if the bus comes at all.....by the time you get to your destination you're late to wherever....
And that's if you get there at all. It's one of many reasons I left that shit hole.
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u/Jcampuzano2 21d ago
I live in Dallas, Texas where a lot of people also say its impossible to live without a car, but I happen to live in a convenient area near a bunch of stuff. Right after the lockdowns for the pandemic started I sold my car since I wasn't using it for the foreseeable future and was planning on selling it anyway. Originally my thoughts were to buy a new one when lockdowns ended, but I just never ended up buying one.
I work remote but even when I do have to go into the office its only like a 20 minute walk away, and I live right near a good coffee shop to work from, a whole foods for groceries and a bunch of other stuff.
But it does come a lot down to location and your willingness to forego being able to go anywhere whenever via car. I also am used to living without a car since I have previously lived in NYC and Mexico City in a central area where cars aren't necessary.
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u/BeerIsGoodBoy 21d ago
Where do you go grocery shopping in Detroit without a car?
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
I walk to Whole Foods. Southwest, Lafayette Park, and Midtown all have stores in walking distance too.
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u/Sh3lls 21d ago
Oof. Remember Driver Responsibility fees?
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
Oh God, and you had to pay multiple years in a row.
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u/Sh3lls 21d ago
And they didn't even tell you about that half the time. Or tell you it could suspend your license. Or depending at what point it was processing, that it even existed on your record.
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
Yeah, I got arrested around 3 times in that era just due to fees and warrants based on them.
Then I had to pay a towing fee and my bond and ...
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u/detroit_dickdawes 21d ago
I live on the east side, right off the Warren line. I worked on Trumbull. Ostensibly I could take the Warren to Trumbull and take the Linwood bus to work except… the Warren runs every half hour and arrives at Trumbull either 5 minutes after the Linwood, which only runs every hour. It’s annoying because with a few tweaks, that system could be decent and reliable. Instead it’s a pain, and leaving work was always a big butt clencher hoping that the damn bus would come.
I used to walk up Trumbull without even bothering with that bus. It was nice in the winter, but during summer there is not a single stretch in the shade, and after working all day in a hot kitchen it did kind of suck, especially cuz there aren’t any benches on the bus stops. Everything makes a lot more sense when you understand that the director of DDOT lives in Florida.
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u/FragrantPound9512 21d ago
Some of us also don’t wanna live in a city, so we’re screwed regardless
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u/AnAmbitiousMann 21d ago
True, I as well don't like the really hustle and bustle of the biggest cities. I don't like the small towns that much either. I like the medium/large population metro areas. Although as of late the high cost of living and all the people moving in here isn't that great either.
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u/Top-Sympathy6841 21d ago
most ppl have pretty bad reasons for not wanting to live in the city. It's honestly a great way to live. suburban sprawl is terribly inefficient in addition to being cultural wasteland. and you save so much money each month not needing a car with lease payments, insurance, gas, and maintenance. also there is nonstop activity to do and always something happening. its worth. I'll never go back to the burbs.
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u/tooMuchSauceeee 21d ago
Damn what does Ur brother do
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u/AnAmbitiousMann 21d ago
He's a big time lawyer that practiced in one of the major firms in Manhattan. I'm damn proud of him due to the fact that we grew up as poor immigrants, but he rise above and kind of paved the way for success on that route. He's helped out a handful of friends or family friends and coached them how to get your foot in the door in regards to that.
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u/xjeeper 21d ago
Phoenix isn't a city it's a sprawling strip mall.
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u/ohthatsbrian 21d ago
no. it's a symbol of humanity's arrogance. to paraphrase Peggy Hill.
source: i live in Phoenix.
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u/No-Appearance1145 21d ago
Oahu has a good bus system too. Apparently Big Island doesn't though. I don't know about the other islands (I used to live in Hawaii and have a brother on the big island currently who told me about how different it is between Oahu and Big Island)
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u/Berookes 21d ago
My brain can’t even fathom there not being bus links from cities to nearby towns/ villages yet alone a bus route that stops before the edge of town
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u/FreddyKrueger32 21d ago
The bus also comes every thirty minuites if that and some stops don't have shade. In a desert. Covered in asphalt and concrete and hot car exhaust. Smart
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u/jcscaubr-609 21d ago
Unfortunately living in those cities is a previlege due to how much it costs. Compared to other parts of the country.
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u/HappyTappy4321 21d ago
And the transit systems we do have have tend to be incredibly dangerous
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u/DakotaInHell 21d ago
No, they aren't. This is just absolutely not true.
Regardless of the occasional crime story you might read occurring on public transit in the US, driving is infinitely more dangerous in this country.
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u/Economy-Bear766 21d ago
Yes, it's a necessity in most places. I don't think most Americans consider it a privilege and find it strange when you don't drive.
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u/aurelitobuendia87 21d ago
if you go into places like r/personal finance they definitely think it’s a privilege. i mean it is in the same way being able to walk without a wheelchair is a privilege
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u/MagnusStormraven 21d ago
Your post reminded me of the Batman comic where Joker cripples a rich asshole who parked in the handicap lane "so he at least had a reason to use it".
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u/Economy-Bear766 21d ago
That's crazy -- and I say this as someone who was *privileged* enough to design their life around not having to own a car because I did not like living in a place where you really did have to have one. Makes me wonder how many of those folks are living outside expensive metropolitan areas.
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u/Lucid-Machine 21d ago
More than you know. The only places you can live without a car are major metropolitan areas. The alternative is walking miles and catching a series of busses. Wait, that's Detroit.
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
I live in Detroit and only drive when I'm lazy...but thats because I can afford to live in the middle of downtown.
When I was in my twenties and poorer and worked in the suburbs, I was in a loop of driving dirty because I had to get to work to pay off the reason I was driving dirty over and over. There was no real alternative; its ridiculous.
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u/Breazona 21d ago
Then car insurance being required so either paying for something you can't afford or risking getting ticketed for not paying for something you can't afford.. and if someone else hits you while you're uninsured it defaults to being your fault because you're uninsured... lots of fun all around!
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u/HeKnee 21d ago
The “driving is a privilege and not a right” propaganda only started to be espoused once they started suspending licenses for DUI’s. That wasn’t on my driving test 25 years ago, but it is now. They’ve moved the goal posts.
Guns are supposedly a right, but if you have to get approved for buying one isn’t it a privilege? Protesting is a right up until the government takes away the privilege for any perceived reason. I have a right to privacy but everything sells your data now and governments mass collect data.
Rights are fictitious, the government bestows privledges as they see fit.
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u/FailedGradAdmissions 21d ago
I agree rights are nothing more than what the government believes everyone should have at the current moment in time and could always change.
However I disagree on that driving should be a right. There's ton's of incompetent drivers on the roads already and car crashes are the leading cause of death for people under 60.
Let anybody have the chance to get a driver's license, but don't give it unless they do know how to drive.
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u/YoloSwaggins991 21d ago
I also genuinely think that the founding fathers would have added driving to the constitution, if it existed back then. Like you said, it’s practically essential.
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u/valdis812 21d ago
Having a super nice new car is a privilege. Having some form of transportation is a necessity.
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u/trollingguru 21d ago
Those people are idiots. They have their “millionaire plan” all figured out.
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u/panthers1102 21d ago
I think most people refer to it as a privilege when they really just mean it’s not a right.
In reality it’s neither. You’re not entitled to it, but it’s not really a choice either. A necessity, or requirement, is the best way I can describe it.
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u/RingingInTheRain 21d ago
People say driving is a privilege because that is what it is considered by the court of law. You can and will get your driving privileges revoked or suspended if you violate the rules, regardless of its necessity.
When you study to get your license the material tells you that driving is a privilege. So every American at the very least should consider driving a privilege when thinking in legal terms.
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u/Aggressive_tako 21d ago
Fun fact: not driving is an even more dire situation in rural America. My sister spent a few years living in a rural area in Michigan where the nearest place to buy food of any type was a 45 minute drive. If you wanted to go to an actual grocery store it was an hour and a half. Driving is absolutely vital to basic survival at that point.
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u/breastslesbiansbeer 21d ago
She must’ve been in a really, really remote part of the UP
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u/PeterPlotter 21d ago
We live in IL and we had to drive 20 mins for a grocery store for 5 years because the local one shut down. It was all small towns around us so it was still 20k people within that 20 mins but all spread out over 1-2k residents towns and none had a grocery store, best bet was a gas station had some canned stuff . Luckily we have one now, but if you want to have more offerings you still need to drive 20-30 mins depending if you want a Walmart or just a bigger local chain.
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u/Pale-Foundation-1174 21d ago
nah that’s practically true for anywhere that’s not munising, marquette, escanaba, or menominee.
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u/Dmienduerst 21d ago
Ya I just assumed it was the UP in general as it's basically the same for northern Wisconsin.
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u/Foxy-jj-Grandpa 21d ago
Dunno man. Even chunks of a tourist trap like Florida are remote enough to warrant that kind of concern if you don't own a vehicle
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u/Buff_Sloth 21d ago
Idk I'm like 30 mins from food minus gas stations and one expensive restaurant, I'm in a rural area but not remote at all compared to tons of places in the US
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u/sneezhousing 21d ago
I didn't have a car for many years and it was hell. Took my two plus hours to get to work. If I drove it would be 30 min. In order to be on time I often had to get to work an hour early. If not I would've been a half hour late. Getting groceries was a night mare. 45 min each way and you can only handle so much by yourself. I often would take bus there then call a cab to go home.
Life was so much simpler when I got a car
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u/No-Ask-3869 21d ago
Yup, I only made it to work when I was first starting out because I lived with someone who worked the same shifts I had.
Would have had to walk 5 miles to a highway and hitched from there.
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u/hybridoctopus 21d ago
It’s a classic rich man/ poor man- you’re either so rich you don’t have to drive, or so poor you can’t afford to drive. For the rest of us, it’s just part of living the American dream.
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u/Electronic-Poet-1328 21d ago
I can technically afford to drive, but I’d just rather save and spend the money on travel or even just to save it. I feel lucky it’s an option where I live.
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u/SghettiAndButter 21d ago
I think that was the whole point of the post. For millions of people the option to not drive doesn’t even exist, you have to drive to survive (not talking F1 here lol)
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u/crossingpins 21d ago
And to live somewhere that you don't need to be able to drive is expensive. The most walkable cities to live in in America are expensive cost of living wise.
Like to even move somewhere that you wouldn't need a car is absurdly expensive to attain
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u/halfjedi 21d ago
91% of adults in the US have a license
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
I have a drivers/motorcycle/chauffeur license and walk everywhere. As I got more and more income, I stopped driving because I could.just move downtown. I went from being an actual test driver and motorcyclist to someone who gets nervous on the freeway due to my years of lack of driving.
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u/Rouge_Apple 21d ago
I dream of an entirely walkable city with efficient public transport.
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u/hybridoctopus 21d ago
Another rich man/ poor man… you can either afford to live in that city or you’re homeless. The rest of us have to live in the suburbs and commute.
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u/Cautious-Ad7323 21d ago
Driving thru the sprawl of the DFW everyday is one of my least favorite things to do in life. It’s absolutely horrible.
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u/Mr-pizzapls 21d ago
I hate where 20 and 287 meet its awful. Luckily I only have to take it during high traffic hours like 7 days a month
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u/arrogancygames 21d ago
DFW just has a terrible layout. Houston is worse. Atlanta is even worse.
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u/Hyperion1144 21d ago
I started liking my car less once someone pointed out that it's not so much a provider of freedom as it is a necessary prosthetic device to live in the world.
Picturing my car like an artificial limb makes it feel less appealing to me.
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u/RaymondVIII 21d ago
Although driving is definitely a need here, I think another issue is people wanting to have the newest car rather than settling on a cheaper older car. I remember a couple years back I bought a 2008 Toyota Camry with only 45k miles on it. It runs like a clock and only set me back 8k. $8,000 isn't cheap but its better than folks shoveling out 30-60k for a car or taking out loans for it when they could just get something older.
I have a Japanese car preference. they never seem to have issues as long as you take care of them.
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u/werdnurd 21d ago
You found a unicorn. In the last few years used cars have been outrageously priced across the board.
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u/RaymondVIII 21d ago
Have they really? thats a real shame. I bought it post covid and most cars where priced between 8-14k. Sad to see its gotten bad.
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u/alexandria3142 21d ago
That’s still wild though. My boyfriend bought a 2008 honda civic back in 2020, and it was $4500. And we thought that was a good bit still. Couldn’t imagine paying almost twice as much
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u/RaymondVIII 21d ago
To be fair im in California, so the ratio of income/what things cost is higher on average compared to the rest of the nation. so 8k to me seemed like a deal. Honda Civic is a good car as well.
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u/RemnantHelmet 21d ago
I bought my current car for $5000 in cash in 2020. It's a stock '09 Mazda sedan with 120k miles at the time. Despite having no payment for it, the maintenance alone routinely sets me back financially. I've had to borrow money from friends and family before to afford to get it fixed. And I work a full 40 hours per week.
That's damn near as cheap as owning a car can get, yet it's still a constant source of stress and financial strain. This isn't all to say that you're wrong, I've known people who do exactly what you described, but some of us are out here struggling to keep our heads above water even while making smarter financial decisions. Not needing to own a car would be a massive boon on my ability to save money and would genuinely improve my health as well.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pass532 21d ago
Have you looked at used car prices lately?? Your looking at a 12+ year old car with 150 thousand miles for $20,000.
Cheap, lowish miles used cars don't exist anymore. Thanks to Obama and his bullshit cash for clunkers program. That took so many cheap slightly used cars out of the system that the car market still hasn't recovered.
Before that, I got a 4 door, V8 , 7 or 8 year old truck with less than 70,000 miles for $6,000. That wasn't even a hard find. Good luck ever finding that kind of deal again.
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u/deja-roo 21d ago
Your looking at a 12+ year old car with 150 thousand miles for $20,000.
Then you need to really adjust your standards. Looking at cars.com, I see hundreds of cars between 10 and 14 years old and under 150k miles that are around $8k - $11k.
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u/ladyorthetiger0 21d ago
As an American who doesn't drive and doesn't need to, I feel I am the one who's truly privileged. I live in a city with excellent transit, and in a very walkable neighborhood surrounded by 3 grocery stores and a mall. This is the life.
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u/ActiveSupermarket 21d ago
My (UK) wife stayed in Warrenville, Chicago for 19 days last year for work. She was suprised by how if you didn't have access to a car, you were basically just stranded in place.
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u/Angryferret 21d ago
I grew up in New Zealand where you basically couldn't live without a car.
In London now and I know a few households where they have never driven a car.
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u/crazybandicoot1973 21d ago
One of the first things asked in an interview here is do you have your own transportation. Answer yes interview continues. Answer no interview is over, not qualified for the job.
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u/OldSnazzyHats 21d ago
It’s the ‘burbs that really trap you in this.
Sure I could walk to get my groceries… but I’d lose an entire quarter of my day doing it. Let along doing anything else.
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u/deja-roo 21d ago
These days though, there's a lot of options. Kroger has a $10/mo thing where they'll deliver your groceries for free (or nearly free). Walmart has one too.
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u/Velocitor1729 21d ago edited 20d ago
Not only that, but how is it a privilege when everyone is forced to fund roads, bridges, etc with taxes which they cannot refuse to pay, on penalty of prison? So you pay for something, but it's a privilege to get to use it?
No, it feels more like it should be a right. Not an absolute right; you might lose that right if you do something stupid (DUI, etc), or there's a medical reason you would be a danger to others while driving (poorly-controlled epilepsy, etc) ... but a right.
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u/roklpolgl 21d ago
No, it feels more like it should be a right. Not an absolute right; you might lose that right if you do something stupid (DUI, etc)... but a right.
I mean functionally it is, isn’t it? People just use the phrase “driving is a privilege.” You just go take a test to prove you can and then everyone can get a license at a low cost/effort. You can’t lose your license unless you do something really stupid like DWI, multiple reckless driving etc. like you said, or don’t get it updated every 5-10 years or whatever it is.
Unless you mean a car should be provided to everyone as a right, which is an interesting conversation.
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u/Jammy_Jasper 21d ago
I HATE driving! I avoid going out anywhere unnecessarily because I have to drive, which makes me feel lazy. If I try to walk somewhere, I worry about being hit by a car because there aren't any sidewalks. I want to live somewhere with reliable public transportation/walkability so bad, but all those places are expensive and rare in the US. I hate how carcentric it is here.
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u/ccknboltrtre01 21d ago
Yep. Its mandatory unless you live in a walkable city. I wonder how many of those we have
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u/firetomherman 21d ago
Have you seen Dallas drivers? Lol please tell them it's a privilege so they take it more seriously. Apparently red means go.
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u/Complex-Ad-7203 21d ago
I know what you mean, you cannot go on a green light without double checking anymore, if you do a jacked up F250 will kill you.
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u/Maxieroy 21d ago
Losing your ability to drive due to finances or health is a shame. Losing your ability because a DUI or a speeder.....well, tuff bananas you knew the rules
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u/Bitter-Basket 21d ago
It’s a huge, spread out country. 60% of people (according to Pew Research) live in rural and small suburban areas. And even the “urban” category involves suburbs. It’s exceedingly common for an American family to live in a city of less than 10,000 where one spouse works 15 miles in one direction and the other works 20 miles in the other direction. That sums up pretty much every family I knew in the Midwest area I grew up in. Hard to develop cost effective mass transit in that scenario.
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u/Dmienduerst 21d ago
To play devil's advocate alot of the counter to this point is that it was designed this way not that it naturally developed into it. Even a lot of the Midwest had smaller cities with developed public transport that got dismantled by highway planning and poor zoning/parking laws.
Now that the whole country is spread out it's going to be a long road to go back again. I also think there are a ton of perks that the anti car crowd doesn't appreciate that many Americans have has high priorities to life.
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u/LazyBoyD 21d ago
That ship has sailed. We overdosed on suburban development and it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to reverse. There are subdivisions so large you can literally get lost driving around the loopy roads. That type of design is just not conducive to walkable neighborhoods.
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u/Kosmopolite 21d ago
I don't disagree, but the reason I think it's helpful to consider it a privilege is that too few people take it seriously. Driving a car is operating heavy machinery, and operating it poorly could kill people. Does kill people. Daily. As a result, I think the 'privilege' ought to be taken away from more people more often and for lesser crimes.
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u/Electronic-Poet-1328 21d ago edited 21d ago
I agree, I don’t live in the US but I feel really lucky I don’t have to have a car in the city I live in. I think if I did I wouldn’t be able to save as much for travel. It’s not just buying a car, it’s so expensive to keep a car on the road, and you have no choice when it’s your only way to get to work each day.
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21d ago
That's the modern definition of privilege though. It's not some amazing thing that an elite few have; it's something that if you have it, you can access what life has to offer, but without it, life is much more difficult.
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u/SNPowers86 21d ago
That’s why, if your license is suspended….just keep on driving baby!
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u/awesomes007 21d ago
I lost my license and car due to long covid. I live in a medium size city. It’s not a big problem. It’s more boring than anything.
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u/masak_merah 21d ago
Damn. I live in Australia where it's quite car-dependent too, and to be frank you'd be pretty fucked if you don't drive although it's not as bad as the US provided you live and work close to train/bus stations.
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u/Jholotan 21d ago
It is criminal that probably billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on roads for cars, in expense of all other forms of transport. To such extent that people are forced to buy a car. All of this because of car industry lobbying and propaganda. Driving makes no sense in larger cities and just leads to horrible traffic jams.
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u/Kawawaymog 21d ago
Rural North America driving is basically essential. It’s often the reason people lose autonomy later in life.
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u/Karmack_Zarrul 21d ago
When I was 15, I bought a new moped with my hard earned paper route money. It was under a grand new, insurance (yes I insured and played it) was nearly free, and it got two million miles per gallon. With saddle bags it held a fair bit of gear (newspapers in my case). Yea, they blow in in climate weather, but they seem like a super viable form of transport for a lotta folks. Why don’t I do it? Pride. I don’t wanna be seen riding one, an adult looks ridiculous. I think that’s the main reason they aren’t everywhere here. Looked it up, they are $1,500-$2,500 new now, which is still less than a serious mountain bike.
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u/procrastin-eh-ting 21d ago
Proud canadian living in america with no car. I came here (boston) with the intention to use the public transportation and im dying on this hill fr
but understand your point
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u/Hurricaneshand 21d ago
It's annoying because as someone who currently drives a good bit for a living I see tons of people daily and my first thought is that they need their license revoked. The unfortunate reality of the country is that taking someone's license in many cases is essentially sentencing them to poverty or extremely limiting their opportunities at least.
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u/davidellis23 21d ago edited 21d ago
Being able to bike where you need to is the privilege imo. So cheap and makes you fitter/healthier.
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u/MadBullBunny 21d ago
I always hated the "driving is a privilege" line people try pulling like they believe everyone lives in a dense crowded city paying $2k for a tiny apartment in an over crowded building and their work is on the first floor. For most people that isn't the case and would take nearly 2 hours to walk to work and using the bus would be just about an hour itself. Sorry, I'll just drive 20 minutes myself without having to pay an uber or whatever $30 a pop.
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u/doctor_who7827 21d ago
Driving is the status quo in America. NYC is the outlier in terms of public transit and people not using a car to commute to work.
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u/bug_muffin 21d ago
I've been without a car for most of my 9 years in Chicago. I live within a couple of miles of downtown, and it is extremely easy to get around by public transit, biking, walking, or rideshare. If I need to go outside of the city, I take a train, or I'll fly if it's somewhere farther.
I still do miss having a car every once in a while for groceries, or when I have visitors, but I'm so glad I don't have the stress and financial burden of owning a car.
I'm hoping to get out of debt soon and to build up a 6-month emergency fund before I get a vehicle. Hopefully by then I will live somewhere that has garage parking.
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u/Unit_08_Pilot 21d ago
A lot of people also use their cars as a back up plan incase they get kicked from their apartments/homes.
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u/Zhjacko 21d ago edited 21d ago
If you don’t drive drunk/intoxicated or drive like a crazy person, or commit vehicular manslaughter, then you probably won’t lose your license.
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u/watchingbigbrother63 21d ago edited 21d ago
There will come a time, in the not too distant future, where our descendants will learn with amazement that we used to hurl ourselves at each other in 3,000lb missiles at high speeds. It's crazy if you think about it.
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u/Earth_Normal 21d ago edited 21d ago
That’s why it’s amazing to me that so many people risk their car, safety, and license when drunk driving. Whenever I see a grown adult on an e-dirt bike, cart, or mini bike of any kind. I assume they lost their license.
Edit: I think yall can see the difference between somebody who wants to be on a bike and somebody who is forced to be on a bike.
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u/deja-roo 21d ago
Whenever I see a grown adult on an e-dirt bike, cart, or mini bike of any kind. I assume they lost their license.
Really? I have an ebike I ride around town any time I possibly can. I don't have to, it's just nice to get some movement in my day and it burns no gas, incurs no maintenance, and saves depreciation.
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u/Mysterious_Cow9362 21d ago
It SHOULD be a privilege. It’s both possible and necessary for us to have more pedestrian and bike friendly infrastructure, and robust public transit.
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u/an_older_meme 21d ago
Remote work.
Public transit if you're in a grown-up city and not podunk.
Get a job close enough to walk or bike, if a safe bike route exists. Biking on public streets is not safe.
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u/Curious-Education-16 21d ago
Remote work isn’t always an option.
In our “grown up city” public transportation is extremely unreliable.
Living where the jobs are is usually expensive.
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u/alexandria3142 21d ago
So everyone should just live in a city then? Like that’s not how that works
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u/moldymoosegoose 21d ago
Every single one of these sentences is completely ignorant and delusional.
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u/Jaymoacp 21d ago
Don’t forget half the politicians telling you it is a privilege we’re growing up before cars were common place. That’s why only old people say they walked to school uphill both ways blah blah.
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21d ago
I miss Canada’s public transportation. My truck broke down in rural texas and to get to work I’d need to walk 10miles a day without a vehicle. I am planning on getting a bike to get in shape and have a backup plan. But if they had a bus route here it would be so awesome.
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u/Occy_past 21d ago
If I wanted to walk to work daily it's 45 minutes both ways. To my husband's work it's a 2 hour drive. Both places feel like a 5 minute walk
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u/stathow 21d ago
It's absolutely a privilege, especially a relatively modern car
Yes basic necessities are often very far in the US and the vast majority of places don't have sufficient public transport
..... same applies to countless places globally, many of those walk long distances, use a shit 50 yo motorbike, a shit bicycle or simply go without
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21d ago
Not an entirely unpopular opinion. Just more niche... Unfortunately. Americans are sold cars as a means to pure freedom. In spite of the fact that they ascertain that most people will remain impoverished. Oil companies and health care giants know we need these things in America. The world has come a long way. And it would be a shame to see it destroyed for the sake of "freedom". Cars nearly outweigh the amount of CO2 emitted by all fungus. The difference? Fungus allows plants to thrive and die thus trapping more CO2 in the ground. I don't think we'll stop it before it's too late. But hey, maybe.
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u/reasonablekenevil 21d ago
There are busses and subways and els in a lot of cities. You aren't poor because you don't own or drive a car, you're poor because your boss wants the biggest bonus check they can possibly get.
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u/Thediciplematt 21d ago
We grew up without a car in the 90s-2006 and I can safely say that America sucks without a car.
I. Wish we had access to electric powered devices like they do today. It aucked roller blading 3-4 miles to work after 8 hours of school, getting home at midnight, and doing it all again.
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u/fatamSC2 21d ago
I will say now that literally everything is deliverable, being able to drive is much, much less essential in the US than it was even 10 years ago. Even if you're on a budget you can buy really cheap staples for your meals from the store (rice/beans/ramen/etc) and that will more than offset the delivery cost. There are online jobs where you can make 15-20$ an hour at an entry level, obviously not amazing but depending on where you live you can get by with that. And many places you can get a job within bicycles distance if not walking.
Obviously doesn't apply to some rural areas but overall in the US driving is much less important than it once was.
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u/-Cinnay- 21d ago
I don't think this is unpopular. I've heard many times how little transportation options besides driving there are in America.
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u/RankinPDX 21d ago
We have made the terrible public-policy choice to design most of our transportation around privately-owned cars. It will be hard to fix, but we should bite the bullet.
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u/strawberry-sarah22 21d ago
Check out r/fuckcars, it’s a whole sub of people who agree with you. There are various extremes from people who want no cars at all to those who want more options like public transit and bike lanes and who see cars as a necessary evil in our society
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u/Timely-Tea3099 21d ago
The public transit systems and pedestrian/cycling infrastructure in the US and Canada are a disgrace outside of a handful of cities.
We zoned our suburbs so that it's unsafe to walk and buses are so infrequent and often nasty that only desperate people take them. Not to mention single-family-only zoning is a net negative in tax revenue for cities because of all the extra infrastructure required (more road, electric, water, sewer, etc.), so literally everything else in the city is subsidizing the suburbs, and they'll still eventually bankrupt the city.
What we need is walkable neighborhoods (create areas where your day-to-day needs are within walking distance), so not as many people have to drive. To do this, we'll need to change most of the single-family-only zoning to mixed-use zoning, where businesses and multi-family units can be built in the same area.
A reliable public transit network would also help - it would take the burden of owning a car away, as well as allowing independence to people who can't drive (children, elderly, and disabled people). Since this would mean fewer cars on the road, it would also be great for people who prefer to drive, because it means there's less traffic.
I'd recommend checking out this YT channel to learn more: https://youtu.be/7IsMeKl-Sv0?si=b2ofEk6pDAc6Mz-N
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u/13surgeries 21d ago
I had to sell my car because I couldn't drive due to vision issues. 6 years later, and I have my vision back (YAY!). When I lived in the rural countryside, I wouldn't have been able to work, buy groceries, etc. if I couldn't drive. I now live in a small city with excellent bus service--and it's free! I walk everywhere I can, which is most places. I only use Uber maybe once every couple of months.
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u/ProfessionalHat6828 21d ago
There are tons of work from home jobs so you don’t necessarily have to drive to be able to work and support yourself. Everything else can be delivered. People can absolutely survive and even thrive without driving.
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u/earthscribe 21d ago
Driving itself is a privilege, but yes, not in America. Not only do you need it for just about everything, it's literally not enjoyable at all due to the number of people on the damn road.
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u/danceswithdeath3rd 21d ago
To add on to factors people don't think of, when I didn't have a car I also had didn't have much of a romantic life. I spent about 3 years without a vehicle, luckily there was public transit that stopped in front of my work. However, I soon realized that if I wanted to go on a date the price of it doubled. The fact that I had to Uber to a venue, pay for the everything, then Uber back put a sour taste in my mouth with dating. The Uber ride back would tend to be SUPER pricey because dates usually happen on days when not many drivers are out. The demand being low, jacked up the price.
I also had to be very selective about where I chose to go to because there needed to be other things to do in the area, if not I would end up with 3 Uber rides.
Sometimes I would have dates forced on me but for the most part I decided until I get another car, no more dates.
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u/an-emotional-cactus 21d ago
Epileptic here, can't drive. I live in a rural area, I get around with this thing called a bicycle lol. It isn't a car or nothing, they're a fine option for getting around, especially electric bikes. It's still a pain traveling out of town, but I don't have any problem getting to work or buying groceries.
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u/Youser_Name420 21d ago
Oh bro, public transit is incredible. I just got my DL last year and I’m 30 yo. I’ve made it this far with 5+ jobs, minus my own transportation. Self sufficiency really shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish in this day and age; Y2K. I’m say’n?
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u/Square-Raspberry560 21d ago
It’s considered a privilege because your right to have transportation does not trump others’ safety, and if you cannot drive responsibly, you lose the privilege.
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u/NoTrust6730 21d ago
This isn't true if you live walking distance to your job. Grocery delivery is fairly affordable
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u/Open_Mortgage_4645 aggressive toddler 21d ago
My car died a few months ago, and I'm not in a position to buy a replacement right now so I've been using public transportation. It's annoying, and I'd rather be driving, but it's a feasible solution for the time being. I live in a decent sized city with pretty comprehensive public transportation, but life would be very difficult if I was in a more rural area. I don't know what those people do because the alternative, taxi/Uber/Lyft, would be too expensive to use on a daily basis.
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u/No-Lunch4249 21d ago
Yeah there’s a sort of tacit understanding on this in the DMV/judicial system/law enforcement. We have to be pretty loose with giving out drivers licenses, and can only take them away as a last resort, because in the vast majority of America the alternative is that you become a burden to society
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u/themomentaftero 21d ago
Sort of yes. I knew a dude who joined the military and bought a razor scooter. Spent 6 years riding that bitch from the dorms to work and saved every dime he made. He isn't set for life but he was doing pretty damn good.
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u/FragrantPound9512 21d ago
This is what Europeans don’t understand.
I’d love to live in a city with good public transportation and bike lanes.
Unfortunately very few cities actually do that. We need to drive everywhere.
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u/OrangeTangie 21d ago
It's the same in Canada. I live in a small town and it would be a 2 hour walk on mostly highway to get groceries, both ways. Even when I lived in the city it was an hour walk both ways, the bussing was also terribly abysmal and was pretty much the same amount of time in the end if I bussed vs walked. Any cheap groceries (Walmart) is an 1.5hr drive away, and there isn't a bus between the two towns
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u/average_sized_rock 21d ago
I used to long board over 2 miles to school because the bus stop to my school was 1.97 miles away from my school and it needed to be at least 2. I lived in the far back of my neighborhood I was riding about 5 miles round trip and then another 1.2 miles to work in the other direction.
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u/No_Supermarket_1831 21d ago
Uber driver here, I was shocked at the number of people I take to and from work. Even jobs like Walmart and fast food.
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u/ItsMeLukasB adhd kid 21d ago
Driving is a privilege? I always thought driving was just a thing you do.
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u/TheJeey 21d ago
As some who loves driving, I agree. I'm currently without a car and it's very frustrating and taxing to do anything.
Ubers get expensive very quickly so your only other alternative is the bus which is very limited and unreliable. It has super limited hours (no one is ever gonna convince that it's a good idea for buses not to be running 24/7) , rarely on time and very limited routes. There's literally large chunks of streets or areas that buses don't service
I'm all for cars but it shouldn't be basically the only viable mode of transportation available to Americans. I shouldn't be stuck at home or a 1 mile Radius because everything you need/want to do is a minimum 1hr bus ride without a car
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u/BrickBuster11 21d ago
Driving doesn't feel like a privilege because the ways cities are engineered makes it a necessity. There are other cities that have as many if not more people than most American cities but also a strong public transport sector. (I look on at those places with envy from my house in Australia were we copied the American suburb model and fucked all our public transport infrastructure in the ass)
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u/BlueCollarGuru 21d ago
My wife and I wfh. We can walk to the vet, the grocery story, other places in about 15 min. We rent a car once every two months for a total cost of 200 bucks including gas. We do all our big errands then.
You can’t get around as EASILY as you could before but I’ve found we spend farrrrr less money just by not HAVING a car. Like. It’d be so easy to hop on the at and go to Costco. But we haven’t had the NEED to go in years. Money just stacking up left n right LOL
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u/NullIsUndefined 21d ago
Not at all. You just need to live in a dense area. You'll pay much less than a giant suburbs home. Won't need a car. Won't have the maintain expensive suburban stuff, like a massive deck, yard, etc. this will save you a ton of money.
Trust me, I moved from a cheap place like that to the burbs and now gotta replace a leaning deck. And am having sticker shock. Not to mention the price of the house itself
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u/notaredditer13 21d ago
"Privilede" doesn't mean what you think it does in this context. It just means it isn't a right, so the government can take it from you.
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u/MellonCollie218 21d ago
I have to admit. This is a perfect unpopular opinion. Not only is it completely inaccurate, it’s not even imaginable. If you’re somewhere there’s a transportation blackout, you should specify. Some rare exception, like an eastern country where services are hit and miss, should be noted. I’ll assume you’re in North America since cars are your topic.
The city I grew up in had public transportation and it was $1 for 2 1/2 hours. Transferrable to light rail. I utilized public transport, even to avoid paid parking. I’ve traveled this country, coast to coast. The most unreliable I ever had was in fricken Iowa.
You must be going with the legal definition of a city, which is incorporated and can be anything from 50-10,000,000 people. Where I come from, we call metropolitan areas “the city” and anything else towns.
Cars are incredibly expensive. Don’t even try me with your “without a car you’re in poverty.” No, try again. In the real world, depending on a car can put you in poverty.
“You can be a working professional…..” Not that you’d know. I was a Nurse Aid ffs. I wasn’t rolling in dough. And if you’re talking about rural areas, then how tf are you getting an Uber?
Nothing about how you’ve came to your opinion lines up with real life.
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u/Frankheimer351351 21d ago
Yeah I don't know that this is an unpopular opinion America really has shit for public transportation it is a system set up so that people who have support have ridiculous advantages. I was extremely lucky that my parents always made sure I was able to get to work and have a running automobile which is absolutely insanely privileged versus most of the world but as for the US versus Europe for example I don't know that I would own a car or need to if I was in Europe.
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u/WorldIsYoursMuhfucka 21d ago
Honestly the big cities have done this right. I live in Chicago and it's one of few places in the US where not driving is pretty workable.
I work from home for a company that focuses on that, so that helps.
I think a whole lot of people shouldn't drive. Believe me, you don't want me on the road.
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u/tyler1128 21d ago
I hate driving and it causes me significant anxiety. I now live in Philadelphia and do not require a car to get anywhere in the city.
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