09-27-2021, 11:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-27-2021, 12:30 PM by beechnut79.)
I had a thread under this same title on the original forum inspired by the Fourth Turning book. It has now been nearly a half century since the so-called modern Winter of our Discontent, when folks including myself had to wait in long lines to get gasoline due to a supposed shortage. Many at the time including my own parents doubted the sincerity of the shortage because, once the price reached a certain level, you could once again get all the gas you wanted, anytime of day or night. One thing it did accomplish was to call attention to our over dependence on the auto for our sole in many cases transportation needs. There was at the time a fleeting moment when interest in public transportation accelerated, only to fall back to the background once the shortage was over. Guess what! Today we are even more dependent on the auto than we were at that time, as the far flung so-called exurbs situated beyond the long established suburbs with their spread out landscape ascended to prominence.
With the recent spike in gasoline prices the thought crossed my mind again. But every time the price goes up demand seems to go up as well, so go figure. We were debating as to how high the price would have to get before a significant drop in consumption would occur. When first rideshare and then food and grocery delivery services began dotting the landscape it was widely assumed that they would help to reduce car dependency as a ride could be summoned and food and groceries delivered through gig economy apps, saving traffic and gasoline. It is now very obvious that it didn't work out this way as any traffic savings were negated by the volume of folks wanting a slice of the gig economy pie. Full disclosure: I am a food delivery driver and have been at it for five years.
Back even before the gas shortage hit, at a time when folks seemed more idealistic and felt more warm and generous toward others and humanity in general, pollution became a central concern yet it was more concentrated on industrial factory pollution as opposed to that generated by excess car traffic. The move toward unleaded gasoline may have been a step in the right direction but quite obviously not enough. The unfortunate byproduct is that it was no doubt one of the things that led to the downfall of manufacturing employment within the US.
Much has been made about switching to hybrid or totally electric vehicles. Can be done but it won't do anything to curb traffic congestion. We can't continue to build our way out of said congestion forever. So, what do you all think? Obviously there so far hasn't been the will to do anything to reduce auto dependency. What do you see happening?
With the recent spike in gasoline prices the thought crossed my mind again. But every time the price goes up demand seems to go up as well, so go figure. We were debating as to how high the price would have to get before a significant drop in consumption would occur. When first rideshare and then food and grocery delivery services began dotting the landscape it was widely assumed that they would help to reduce car dependency as a ride could be summoned and food and groceries delivered through gig economy apps, saving traffic and gasoline. It is now very obvious that it didn't work out this way as any traffic savings were negated by the volume of folks wanting a slice of the gig economy pie. Full disclosure: I am a food delivery driver and have been at it for five years.
Back even before the gas shortage hit, at a time when folks seemed more idealistic and felt more warm and generous toward others and humanity in general, pollution became a central concern yet it was more concentrated on industrial factory pollution as opposed to that generated by excess car traffic. The move toward unleaded gasoline may have been a step in the right direction but quite obviously not enough. The unfortunate byproduct is that it was no doubt one of the things that led to the downfall of manufacturing employment within the US.
Much has been made about switching to hybrid or totally electric vehicles. Can be done but it won't do anything to curb traffic congestion. We can't continue to build our way out of said congestion forever. So, what do you all think? Obviously there so far hasn't been the will to do anything to reduce auto dependency. What do you see happening?