Why Europe is Insanely Well Designed | reasons, comparisons and questions | reaction

How Europe's urban planning and public transit is insanely well designed... would you prefer taking public transport or having your own private means of transportation? I haven't driven a car in years. Plus book and music recommendation(s).
Original video: • Why Europe Is Insanely...
OBF channel: / @obfyt
More videos/ music reactions/ short story readings on Patreon: / noprotocol947
Literary Recommendation:
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: amzn.to/429SVBy
Tarantula by Thierry Jonquet: amzn.to/4bazrkl
Music Recommendation:
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Un Veneno by C.Tangana: • C. Tangana, Niño de El...
Train Review Videos-
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British Pullman review by Kara & Nate channel: • We Rode the UK's Most ...
Resources:
- www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...
www.reuters.com/article/idUST...

[@_uncredited]

I live in a small walkable UK city and if I go out of town, I take the train like a sophisticated gentleman. For international travel, I cover myself in goose fat and swim.

[@Outland9000]

lol

[@TheHarrip]

That's standard protocol for us Brits.

[@kylemenos]

as is the norm.

[@mattpotter8725]

I cover myself in goose fat to go to my local town but that's just me!!!

[@willjerk1]

Here in Luxembourg they went a step further and made public transports free for everyone.

[@mittron2556]

It's not really free though is it?

[@willjerk1]

@@mittron2556 Well, you just pay a little bit more taxes.

[@azeezosho9459]

And then they tax your brains off I guess

[@pampelius1267]

We don't really pay much more in taxes in most European countries than you guys (I assume you're American) pay for taxes, health insureance​, student loans etc. Sometimes we pay significantly less. @@mittron2556

[@bigmatthews666]

Public transport can F off

[@xvln]

I am from the Netherlands All i need is 1 bike... But having a bus, tram, and train within a 2 mile range is also pretty nice

[@stonedmountainunicorn9532]

Dutchy here, still hurts when i'm at the pump...... Love your video's

[@Outland9000]

After visiting Japan every other country I have visited feels 2nd rate in terms of public transport. The Shinkansen really are something else. Also, like the jumper No Protocol.

[@publicminx]

thats not entirely true. the more rural the worse is also (and even more) true in Japan. Japan also has mostly older trains than in Europe (higher energy costs). what is true is that the train system in the metropole regions are very reliable. Berlin has btw. a better layout than Tokyo while Tokyo's timing is more accurate (which doesnt hurt in most of Berlin on the other hand since they come with a higher frequency. It doesnt matter when a U- or S-Bahn comes - if they came all the time). Also the trains in Switzerland are very reliable - similar to Japan. A general difference is that Germany as dominant center (geographically as well as economically etc.) has a more dense network than Japan, because its not just for Germany but due to bordering not just many relevant countries (much more indirectly) it is also an important transit and destination country. Since the 21. century this raised more and more (from roads to trains to internet etc.) which creates more pressure on the system (one often overlooked reason why the Deutsche Bahn (like some others btw.) has more trouble nowadays) , also because Germany (and its neighbors) is growing, while Japan has no street/road connection to other countries and is shrinking (or in detail it just still has the world wide tendence from rural to metropole centers - urbanization). Another problem Europe still has is that there are still some incompatibilities left from country to country (even more and more common standards exist) which can led to a chain reaction if delays. Problems Japan simply dont have to deal with (but they have for historical reasons a weired to energy-grid, one 50hz like in Euroupe (built mostly by Germany/German companies and standards), the other with 60hz like in the US). One thing that Japan does better than Germany/Europe is that it already since a long time created by intention much more density structures around stations (much higher houses, connected houses (block at block like the old building districts) and skyscrapers, more general density) while this obvious logic most Europeans even still dont know about - or no strong focus on.

[@couchmeltproductions6625]

I live in "rural" Portugal. A small town, we drive everywhere because the bus comes only twice a day but there is one train to take you out of the town

[@jdeamaral]

I was born in Portugal. In the islands of Azores...

[@rahzark]

Same here. I think this video kinda embellished the public transportation in Europe a little bit. Of course it's way better than the US, specially if you're thinking about big urban cities like Paris and Amsterdam. But in buttfuck Portugal in the middle of nowhere you have to drive to get anywhere in an acceptable time.

[@Dreyno]

@@rahzarkI presumed he was talking about urban living. If you live in rural anywhere, public transport is poor to nonexistent. But the U.S. is a different level of crap outside of a few big cities.

[@drewpaupanekis4710]

If you live in a rural area than there is hardly a need for public transportation. Rural folks need to realize this.

[@Dreyno]

@@drewpaupanekis4710 Rural folks do realise this. Whatever made you think they didn’t?

[@jdeamaral]

No Protocol is simply mesmerizing to me. She has a thirst for knowledge that is amazing. She becomes riveted by facts, that she did not know before. I don't know what she does in real life, but whatever she does...she must be great at it.

[@Isleofskye]

M,y favourite reactor and one test of a really confident person with no ego is the fact she goes straight into the video. I have others to chit-chat for 3 minutes and THEN say "Let's go straight to the video!" lol

[@jdeamaral]

I would love it if she did memberships or Patreon. Of everyone who has one on You Tube. She deserves it. I also wish that she'd do a live Q and A show.

[@vaudevillian7]

Completely agree, the most intelligent and curious reactor on KZbin. JJLA is a good second place, hopefully he’ll get through his Watch Mojo phase soon.

[@jdeamaral]

@@vaudevillian7 Thanks for the JJLA. Just started his videos, and so far so good...

[@vaudevillian7]

@@jdeamaralyou’re welcome

[@acidcrow4051]

I live in a small town in Norway, although close to the capital, and the public transportation is excellent. Lived in a place like this in Sweden before and it was also great. Only problem is that things shut down for a couple of hours late at night, so if you miss the last train, you're in trouble. There are usually night-busses and such, but it's a hassle. And taxi's are very expensive.

[@viikmaqic]

yeah, last trains are shit if you dont live in the center.

[@deadkennedy9140]

I live in a large village/small town in SW England and here's the thing. Public Transport is a wider option in Europe but is it "better". It might be for young, single and physically fit urbanites but heres some counter examples.., My walkable village is the only one with a train station in the area that connects to the nearest large town with a supermarket, and the local small retailers in the surrounding villages price accordingly. A weekly shop will cost 30% more for the elderly and mobility impaired. Say your a working mother with 2 young children, 1 in the village nursery and 1 in the primary school in the town 7 miles away. You aren't picking them up by train or bike, you need a car. Now how do you feel knowing that the exorbitant tax you have to pay on the fuel you have to use is subsidising the train/tram/bike journey of a young fit person in a large city. A lot of the videos I see comparing US to European infrastructure/goverment (public transport/healthcare /workers rights etc) appear to have been financed and published by interest groups specifically to influence US audiences* Their facts, averages and statistics never seem to reflect the reality as experienced, as your own experience of Spain so easily exposed. It always seems to be "socialist europe does it better than capitalist US", but they can only do this by glossing or ignoring the down sides. Fact is, I like living in Europe as its the culture I've grown up in and learned to negotiate. we get some things right and somethings wrong but "better" is subjective. *I know for a fact the USvUK healthcare video I've watched a number of Americans react to was produced by a thinktank who's aim is to create a US NHS.

[@emanuelparedes9187]

Notjustbikes is another youtuber that dives into similar topics. Good channel.

[@RutgertheFarmer]

I come from the northern part of the Netherlands, one of the more rural areas, but even the smaller or less densely populated towns, cities and regions have great public transport with busses and trains and you can walk and bike almost everywhere. Besides that, a lot of smaller places here still have all the conveniences and luxuries that you require for normal living like shopping centres with all sorts of stores, a theatre, a cinema, good schools, etc. All within 15-30 minutes walking and surely biking distance from eachother. Then, if you'd fancy something bigger metropoles offer, like certain exclusive brand stores or the best and well known party locations, those places are reachable for sure within a 1-2 hour car or train drive :).

[@terpcj]

Often forgotten by those with great public transportation is the large swath of not-that-many-people (esp. between the Mississippi and the Cascade/Sierra Nevadas). In fact, no matter where you are in the world, lower density areas tend to be underserved by any form of usefully-scheduled public transport. You require a largely urban setting that, as you mentioned, is zoned such that it's possible for a pedestrian to connect to public transportation in a reasonable time with reasonable effort -- while still offering roads as larger deliveries need to be transported to arbitrary places.

[@mrt136]

Exactly. I live in rural Norway, far north... as far north it is possible to go without start swimming. Everybody thinks Public transportation is so fantastic in Norway, but in rural areas it is virtually non-existant.

[@Beef8Cake]

@@mrt136do you need public transportation up there? Or are you all more independent and self sufficient so you don’t need the government to move around? I bet it’s absolutely beautiful over there. I live in Michigan, and I love our frozen forest. I need snow to be happy.

[@kylemenos]

I remember watching your videos about a year ago and I've noticed a change in the videos you made in that you seem far more laid back and confidant. Maybe I'm misremembering but I'm glad to see you are doing really well. It's been a pleasure as always to watch along with you.

[@fishbiscuit2000]

You asked about how people who live in smaller exurban spaces get into the cities. In the UK (and I assume in other parts of Europe) we have lots of "Park and Ride" stations. They're train and bus stations built on the edge of cities and towns where you can park for free and catch the train or the bus the last few miles into town. I live in a rural area with limited public transport, so driving the 30 miles or so to my nearest park and ride and then catching the train in to the city works well. The train ticket is cheaper than the cost of parking in the city.

[@tuberichter]

I live in Berlin, 3 walking minutes from the subway. I commuted daily 300km to an office in Hamburg - took me about 2:30h each way.

[@kylemenos]

People all over the world after Covid realised that working from home is a solution to workplace problems due to long travel times. 5 hours a day wasted man Jesus.

[@jyuvgrace5364]

Do you get paid for that commute? Else why would you spend 5 hours of your day dedicated to something work related and not get anything out of it?

[@camilkegels3640]

For smaller cities in Belgium, the primary mode of public transport is the bus, typically connecting to train stations for longer journeys. Personally, I opt for the (e-)bike to reach the train station. In general, the transportation network is well-coordinated, often as quick or quicker than using a car.

[@mattpotter8725]

Only just found your channel and wow, I'm addicted. You have a fascinating backstory from what you've given out thus far, live in Colombia, a mother from Central America, Nicaragua I think you mentioned in one of your videos, speak amazing English (probably other languages as well), and have lived in the US (to study I guess, although maybe it was because of your parents moving there for work). You seem to have a thirst for knowledge in many different areas, history, culture, science, sports, music, as I do too, and the way you comment on the videos you react to is very insightful which is why I'm addicted I think. One comment you made here, which I'm not going to criticise, because I'm sure everyone do this if they could, was about if living in a place where you could only drive into the city on certain days based on your number plate not but multiple cars so you could just get around the restriction is probably the only thing I didn't agree with thus far I'm a little concerned about, and again if you can do this, if you can afford multiple cars, maybe multiple properties then I'm sure it happens (as the registration is based on your address). Surely living not too far from where you work or if further away there is public transport to where you work is necessary in this scenario. Obviously if you live in a US city where the public transport sucks means this isn't an option would be a problem, but I don't think this would be introduced in a city that didn't have it because it just wouldn't work. I think I did hear a while ago that they did this in Mexico City, which I believe has good public transport, introduced this, maybe Santiago de Chile as well (I might be wrong on this one). But either way the introduction of such a restriction is done for a reason, to ensure air quality doesn't fall to dangerous levels affecting the health of residents of the city so I'm not sure just buying extra cars with alternating number plates to get around the problem is a great idea. Great videos, loving the channel, have many more videos to binge on. Would love to see some reactions to videos about issues local to you or where you are from as well as the current topics. Also, and I'm doing genealogical research and building a family tree at the moment but have you ever thought of doing a video on genetic DNA testing, maybe even taking a test yourself? I bet you would have such interesting results (maybe you wouldn't want to share though, which I would totally understand).

[@vaudevillian7]

Fantastic video as always, you’re by far the most intelligent ‘reactor’ on KZbin, thank you for being curious and keep up the great work

[@charlesf2804]

I don't have a car, and am okay with that, living in NYC (Brooklyn). If I wanted to go anywhere outside the city though, I'd need a car. But each has its pluses and minuses: with no car, there's no insurance or maintenance bills, and no parking hassles. Less freedom, though; if I want to just go somewhere upstate, say, I'd be in trouble if there's no bus or train option. Or, go somewhere at 2am (it might be safer to drive!). I think of it the same way I think about owning vs. renting a home or apartment: each has pluses and minuses, so it comes down to which set of pluses and minuses you're most comfortable with.

[@TimpossibleOne]

You either pay for car insurance or you pay the govt every time you want to go somewhere

[@MLWitteman]

You have to watch the channel Not Just Bikes, to understand transit, public transport & commuting in the Netherlands. I don’t own a car, but I live in Haarlem and I commute to Leiden & Amsterdam everyday. I use my bicycle to go to a railway station, and that’s where I take the train to everywhere in the Netherlands, or even abroad. And I often use the local public transport at my destination for the final stretch. Or I rent a bike of the Dutch Railway company NS. I hardly have any problems traveling this way. And it’s fast too! From my house, to my work in Amsterdam takes just 50 minutes.

[@deucedaprodeuca]

"Groovin'" by the Young Rascals... I absolutely love the way that song makes me feel. I have this continuous dream of a town I live in after a major apocalypse, and it's difficult to explain the overall feeling of this abandoned, almost peopleless (that's a word now 🤣) town, and the feeling of other places I seem to live in on other dreams, but when I went to listen to that song after someone asked you what record is on your wall, I got that feeling I get from those dreams. Now I have to put it in my Playlist. Yes, I dream of a planet with 1% of the population, and I think Thanos is actually the protagonist of good guy in the Marvel movies. 👀😁

[@xxx_phantom_xxxw_t_a9479]

Hello from Switzerland (a paradise when it comes to public transport), I sold my cars around 20 years ago (mainly because of the costs and parking problems), and I use public transport (the nearest bus stops are just a 5-minute walk away) for daily errands and also when I drive to my daughter and grandchildren (who live in another part of the country), everything is within the same time frame as if I were driving, but I am less stressed. Almost every village is connected to public transport, which means you can get anywhere (including in the mountains, sometimes by boat, cable cars, etc., most of which are also part of public transport = only 1 ticket required).

[@tomsoyer5639]

Buy a motorscooter, problem solved.

[@xxx_phantom_xxxw_t_a9479]

@@tomsoyer5639 Sounds clever, except that in our city center there are mostly pedestrian zones, through which only public transport is allowed unless you walk. So, this would create more of a problem than a solution.

[@0utcastAussie]

I've watched a few of your videos and you appear to be a well educated, balanced and open minded young lady. All I can say to that is... 👍( I actually spelt that out but YT changed it to an emoji)

[@user-ig5xr5ph9r]

Great job, as always, young lady!

[@Megatronix.]

Your channel is a blessing 💯 Music picks: "The Platform" by Dilated Peoples, "Trans Europe Express" by Kraftwerk & "Highway Chile" by Jimi Hendrix.

[@ravenward626]

I've been listening to some jazz flute lately as background music. I don't have a song to recommend, but it got me wondering: have you seen one of Jethro Tull's famous flute solos, or the flute scene from Anchorman? Both are entertaining in their own ways.

[@Onnarashi]

Living a few minutes from a small town in Norway. Buses come every 30 miniutes and are usually fairly on time. You can take it all the way to the town centre which is 6-7 minutes by bus from where I live. There have been some issues with some of the buses not arriving on time or breaking down due to technical issues, but I can count those instances on one hand.

[@SimonJM]

When I (living in the UK) told an American friend I was going out to dinner and would be walking about 30 minutes to get there, they were ... dumbstruck and wondered why I was not going to drive and my response of "it's only 30 minutes" didn't really help! 😁 I'm sure I know at least ONE wretched song about transport ....but my brain is metaphorically sitting on the dock of the bay! How about 500 miles by The Proclaimers, or Red Barchetta by Rush?

[@onehairybuddha]

National Express by The Divine Comedy.

[@SimonJM]

@@onehairybuddha Just listened to that - pretty darned good, thank you!

[@onehairybuddha]

@@SimonJM You're very welcome!

[@josephkruse3402]

Several good points in this video are betrayed by personal bias and a serious misunderstanding of population density. The U.S. has an area larger than France dedicated to just the national park system, let alone the state parks, etc. The U.S. also has more land dedicated to agriculture than the entire continent of Europe. This makes the contempt of the video flawed to say the least. The U.S. transportation system isn't great, but it's what reasonably developed there under completely different circumstances than those that existed in Europe. European transit is better for Europe, not necessarily the U.S. Still, a good deal of change and modernization would be great.

[@epicsseven7686]

Your channel popped up on my account. My assessment of why Europe is designed well. To me, the obvious is Europe can't be looked at as a country. Meaning it's obviously a continent, where each country is smaller than the US. Minus Russia. And because each country is smaller than the US. It's easier to control the overall infrastructure per country. But. It's also the political structure that allows this. The European connections between each country came later. In particular. The European Union Regarding the US. Capitalism, urban sprawl etc is what has defined this country. I was raised in Detroit. The automobile capital. After the second world War. Highways were built for people whom desired to move further away from the cities. Ironically. LA infrastructure was based on the automobile. While New York wasn't. Even Detroit wasn't initially based on the car. It was similar to Chicago and New York. But much bigger than New York, due to urban sprawl from the cars. This lead to creating Highways. This country is more focused on cars, which replaced the trains. But now it has came back to haunt us. Even China has seen worse, with traffic in Beijing that makes LA look like a small suburb. But because the politics are different over in China. Transit is strong over there. There's too much red tape here in California. I reside near San Francisco. We had a high-speed rail that was started some 20 years ago. But the lack of money and privatized has made it difficult to get traction.

[@Will-nn6ux]

I have to say, when driving in the US, I did find it amazing that the roads seemed as busy as in the UK despite the country having only about five times the population but many times the geographic area.

[@kauinoa2004]

It really depends where you’re driving. There are entire roadways you can drive where you won’t see cars for hours. Looking at the maps of the US that they put up in this video (I work in trucking so I regularly route trucks all over the country) I can identify all those train lines run through urban areas and every there aren’t trains are mostly desert or farmland or mountains

[@takireewilliams5544]

LOVE YOUR VIDEOS 🙏

[@NoProtocol]

Thank you (: I’m glad you’re liking them so far!

[@thatoneguy8096]

CONGRATULATIONS ON 100K SUBSCRIBERS 🎉🎉🎉

[@NoProtocol]

Thank you!!

[@thatoneguy8096]

@@NoProtocol did you plan on doing a celebratory video for this milestone

[@dquanissavage6287]

No Protocol Awesome Video Today!!🔥🐐🐐💎

[@user-gt2ud2gw9e]

The major issue with public transport in Europe is INTIGRATION. Integration covers more than one aspect (e.g. connection timings). It also includes infrastructure. In France, for example, in cities and most large towns, when you arrive at a station, a free bus (navette, en français) takes you from the station all round the centre. Many of the historic narrow streets are banned to traffic anyway. In UK we have something similar called park&ride, with which you leave your car in the outskirts of town and take the free bus to the centre, where (once again) you would otherwise have a major headache unless you're a delivery van. A very good example of this is in quaint Lincoln, where the twisting bus-only streets are so narrow, the driver often has to pull in his side mirrors in case they scrape the buildings.! But I have seen many more examples of this in Europe. Very often it's a great way to tour the town free-of-charge, and with knowledgeable locals, instead of totally-lost tourists.

[@laurynasg9932]

Iam from a town with ~20k people living in it. We have 5 or 6 bus lines connecting every single corner the of town, And there are a bunch of "local" bus routes connecting smaller villages with the town and then we have intertown bus leaving aprox every 1.5 hours or so.

[@danmacarro]

Ten years ago, living in Philadelphia, I had a car but only used it to drive out to the city. Now I live rurally 30 minutes from Raleigh and just need a car and have kids so it makes it easier for anything. But still if I have to visit family in Pennsylvania or vice versa, I’ll have them take Amtrak (but it’s still a terribly slow 10+ hour ride)

[@Will-nn6ux]

I'm British and I am a lifelong driver. Yes, public transport is good, but it can also be pretty expensive. My family live about 70 miles away, which is a drive of less than an hour and a half or a train journey of over three hours. I had one job about 30 miles away which would just have not been practical to commute to via public transport because of the location. I do sometimes take public transport, but mainly if I plan to drink or have been drinking alcohol.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

France pioneered high-Speed rail in Europe. They started planning in the mid-1960s and built hundreds of miles of dedicated high-speed track (LGV) before the first High-Speed Train service (TGV) carried passengers in 1981.

[@JayGundry]

I live in the UK and don't own a car but I hear about the US finding those who prefer to walk being a little weird a lot. Culturally our views on walking are different as we will think nothing of walking a couple of miles. It's as easy in our heads as walking to our next-door neighbour. I've even reached a stage in my life where I have constant sciatica and have to use a walking stick sometimes... but still a three mile walk in my head is "only a little over an hour to do". We do have a good public transport option though if needed with buses coming by every 10-15mins sometimes depending on where you are.

[@Dreyno]

I live outside a small town in the countryside. I drive everywhere. When I go to a city, I prefer public transport. Less sitting in traffic and don’t have to worry about parking, taking a wrong turn etc.

[@thecommander9137]

as a note regarding taxes on cars, here in Denmark the taxes for purchasing a car are about 120%. simply put if a car costs 10,000 you will pay 22,000 to get the car, then there's additional taxes, like road tax.

[@alcor4670]

6:27 The Philippines also has a "number-coding" system similar to Beijing, where you can't drive around Metro Manila on a specific day if your licence plate ends in a certain number (1-2 on Monday, 3-4 Tuesday, etc.). It generally doesn't work though, since it forces many people to buy an extra car. What's worse is that they end up parking their vehicles just about anywhere, leading to more congestion.

[@TheLineCutter]

that no intro dive-in earned you a sub right there

[@chriswinter8511]

A part of it is that European cities tend to be very old. Pre-dating the car by hundreds of years. So the city centers In a lot of places aren't made for having a lot of vehicle traffic. Whereas in the US a lot cities grew in line with the development of the car so cities grew with cars in mind. Less initial need for the US to develop alternative transport options if people focus lot on cars... that is until the number of cars become too much which it has done.

[@johnathanmonkeysmacker420t2]

Bobby Fingers ! Highly recommended .. granted will make slightly longer vid than normal ,but well worth the ,”take” on older public media events that shocked ,or were huge news for whatever apparent reason us humans make into giant public spectacle .Again “Bobby Fingers” .

[@DaveListerr]

Greetings from Prague 🇨🇿 i got rid of my car. Cost a lot of money. Gas. Parking and everything else. Bus is 2 mins walk away. Metro 10 mins away. Also have bicycle. But i love walking. If it's up to 2 km. I just walk. There is absolutely zero need for car for me. Also I'm much more fit and healthy when i got used to walk daily longer distances 20-25k steps. Listening to podcasts so it's not a waste of time either.

[@Boa_Omega]

Ok since brought up Murder on the orient express, included in the box set is an irl trip from Calais to Vienna with the actor himself David Suchet who completed all the stories from The mysterious affair at Styles to Curtain :Poroit's last case. Woth the watch.

[@hape3862]

Europe is slightly larger than the USA, has 50 countries instead of 50 states and twice the population. So why not compare them? In fact, for almost every state in the US, you could find a country in Europe that is very similar in terms of size, population, geography, demographics, climate, etc. Canada, on the other hand, could not be more different from the US, except for its similar size.

[@johnavery3941]

I am from Scotland and have never learned to drive. Public transport is great here. You can get to most major cities in short period of time by train which is a bit more expensive than the bus but they are very frequent. Rural bus services are also very frequent but Rural folk tend also to have a car for food shopping / getting kids to school. Also the Highlands and Islands Ferry and Plane services are subsidised by the Scottish Government so the islanders can get to the mainland to see family and friends. Finally all major cities in Scotland cities centres are walkable.

[@jamesgardner2101]

I live in a small city in Indiana. We do have public transportation available within easy driving distance.

[@jamesgardner2101]

@@chrischarman8707 It's an easy drive or an hour's walk

[@colinfraser7150]

Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota is getting better. Starting to get into some of the more suburban areas too.

[@srottfaen]

In Oslo I think we have a pretty good public transport system. Still, they do seem to be taken by surprise every year when it starts snowing again. As for related music I'm not sure. Maybe Road Song by Ikebe Shakedown? Or maybe Metropolis by Kraftwerk? Or Speed Racer by DEVO?

[@WaechterDerNacht]

So it's not only Swiss public transport that is surprised when we get snow in winter... xD

[@steddie4514]

Or "Cars" by Gary Numan 👍🇬🇧

[@DeKaded]

I visited Madrid in spring of 2019. Me and my friend did wonder about road signs forbidding driving inside city centre. But the our airbnb host explained that you need special permission to drive inside city. I.e foreigners couldn't rent a car and drive there. The traffic was really crazy tho

[@CiprianMoisa-ij4pv]

I saw that many Americans want to settle in Romania, the reasons are multiple, the climate, the very rich land for agriculture, the mountains, the forests, the castles, but also the fortresses, the beauty of the animals, we have the largest population of bears in Europe, and the second delta in Europe, the Transfăgărășan Carpathian mountain road, which is the 1st place in the world in Top Gear.

[@exeterjedi6730]

City of 250,000 which is mostly walkable, but there are buses everywhere and to the nearest towns. As I have a disability I have a free bus pass that lets me travel anywhere in England. Going further I'd take the train, but in the UK longer distances are more expensive , so slumming it on the bus becomes necessary, and there are regular bus services around the clock.

[@danmayberry1185]

Passenger rail depends on "cost per passenger trip." That's total operating cost divided by ridership. Low gov't (tax) subsidy is best achieved in a concentrated area with high demand.

[@DigiDivide]

spotted the Keith Haring top! my fave artist of all time.

[@WaechterDerNacht]

I live in Switzerlands 6th biggest city with ~120'000 people. I don't even own a car. I go to work by bike and train. When i need to go somewhere: bike and train. If i need to go somewhere and can't usethe bike, i can take the bus that goes nearly every 5-10 minutes. And it actually is cheaper with the annual 2nd class and bike passes for whole Switzerland (~4140 CHF/year for both, a car including gas, insurance, service, tyres etc. costs usually more). In Switzerland, you can get nearly everywhere by public transport. If it's a connection that has many smaller regional trains it takes longer, but if it's an InterCity and more than one stop you're probably faster than the car. There is a good video of "Not Just Bikes" on Swiss public transport. So I would recommend checking it out...

[@jimgorycki4013]

I remember in South Florida when gas went over $4 a gallon, people were taking mass transit. There was such a demand that they needed to add more buses and train cars and even schedules were increased! For instance, instead of waiting for a bus at the max 30 minutes, it would be reduced by more than half. Once the prices went back down, mass transit efficiency decreased. Now mind you the trains were mostly North and South and were parallel to the I-95 corridor (you can see the traffic jams!) there weren't many East West corridors with the exception of Miami-Dade's Metrorail, which did go to certain bedroom communities that were burbs to Miami proper. IMHO, I would take mass transit, if it was more efficient. As for the book Tarantula, I don't think I have seen the movie. It's a Pedro Almodovar movie (one of my favorite directors because - well, Penelope Cruz!) so will watch it. Missing Persons was a phenomenal band. The Bozzio couple Terry and Dale Bozzio both performed with Frank Zappa BTW, Dale the vocalist, Terry the drummer. An awesome drummer I might add.

[@BergenDev]

I live in a suburb and we have busses passing by every 15 minutes, and you buy tickets on a app on your phone. No hassle. Regarding parking, a lot of parking garages are under ground.

[@guyfrape687]

Good song for this one (7:55). Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi. "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot"

[@BennoWitter]

I didn't watch the video about the luxury trains, but I used to work for a tour operator that sold luxury train trips all over the world. From the South African "Rovos Rail" to the "Venice Simplon Orient Express" we sold a lot of those trips and some of them at a price point of a new car.

[@chrisbasarab2446]

I have friends who live ca. 200 km outside Paris and work in Paris, commuting daily via TGV. Even with the price of the monthly train subscription, they pay less to own a house that far from Paris and they take less time to get to the office in the morning and home in the evening than their colleagues who live in Île de France (the greater Paris area), where traffic is a nightmare. They do have a car, but they use it for larger shopping trips, vacations or weekend trips, not commuting. Most of their small home city's centre is a mostly car free area anyway, with modern streetcars for public transit.

[@Isleofskye]

Tonight: Outer S E London to Central London: Shall I: Option 1: Walk the 25-minute return journey to my nearest Bus Stop. Wait for a Bus. Bus journey and walk to the Train station 15 mins.. Wait for a London train to Waterloo. Travel 27 minutes on the train. Then walk 10 minutes to her house and do the reverse coming home and leaving at around 10.45pm. Walk in the freezing or wet January cold weather to the station. Wait in the cold for a train for 15 minutes. The train journey is 27 minutes then walk to the Bus stop and wait 15 minutes for a Bus .10 minute journey and walk home 12 minutes OPTION 2 get in my car. Drive 40 mins, park in her drive. and 35-minute home journey in the dry and warm??

[@rednaskela4830]

US also seem to prefer intersections over roundabouts until very recently where it's been a minor shift. Everything about roundabouts works better in terms of better flow of traffic, crashes is decreased by 48%, crashes is less severe due to lowered speed etc.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

While I agree to a large extent with my fellow Dane here, when he says that Europe is bigger than the US, he also has to include a bunch of the cities on the list of the most congested cities: Istanbul, Moscow, Kyiv, Saint Petersburg and Odessa. And now his statement "European cities don't feature very prominently" doesn't really make sense since more than half of the list is European cities (including Bucharest which would be part of the equation no matter how you count Europe). Have to call out when the bad argument is bad.

[@onehairybuddha]

Well spotted.

[@vaudevillian7]

Yeah that’s always bugged me about this video

[@MW_Asura]

True, that's the only thing I didn't really like in the video as another European myself

[@seanspuffy]

I came here to write this. I find this video very misleading and agenda driven when you have to include Russia and far east Europe to prove the "US is bad," then simultaneously ignore the undeserved area of transportation in Europe and just act like it doesn't exist. Where's the train line to Moscow on his map? It's not there because it would prove Europe too has large swaths of missing train lines in geographically and low populated areas.

[@Dude_Slick]

I'd much rather drive. But for longer trips I would love to have the rail system in Europe. We took a few day trips by rail while we were in Budapest, and it was awesome. Although we did spend a few hours broke down on the tracks once, and that sucked. But an Amtrak trip from NY to Miami cost more than flying down and paying for an airbnb and rental car for a week.

[@arnodobler1096]

I live in a 3k suburb of a 30k small town in southern Germany: train, public bus and city bus + bike and walk lanes

[@darkknight8139]

I live in Utrecht in The Netherlands, and I have a car. My employer pays for the car, but if I would have to buy my own car, I may not choose to do so. Public transport works quite well to travel in the middle part of the country, and if I would visit family or friends living in a town at the other side of the country, I could get there by public transport too. Using a car would be a lot faster, and we have some good car sharing plans too, where you could rent a car for a day or less. Of course having a car is a pleasure most of the time, but owning a car here is relatively expensive.

[@RB-H]

I live in London and work in Central London, so I don’t need to drive much. Especially because of London’s great transport links, but having a car can be useful at times

[@NoahFroio]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I used to use public transportation (BART, AC Transit, MUNI, and WestCat), but the high rate of system failures, lateness, rising costs of monthly passes (for each system or Clipper card for agencies which accept it), not to mention the incease of homeless people using BART as a temporary home, and criminality on the public transit systems, just made it untennable as a daily means of transportation. So, I drive everywhere I go, and find it not too much more expensive, and generally less time consumptive, and much more pleasant. Which is a shame, I spent many, many years without a car, but since, COVID, I purchased a vehicle and just find solo commuting the best option in the current Bay Area environment.

[@LIVEFRMNYC]

A lot of New Yorkers (and commuters from Jersey) are going to go back to public transportation or buy an e-bike/e-scooter, cause we are about to have congested pricing in April. They already put the cameras up on 60th street on all avenues in Manhattan.

[@jeffjaeger739]

around here, they've been taking lanes away from the cars and making them bike lanes. in areas where there's generally less auto traffic (residential neighborhoods, for example), this makes sense and seems to be working well. but they've done this on quite a few of the main roads that flow between busy areas, and all that's done is massively increase the traffic congestion. where traffic tends to be the busiest, there's now one less lane!

[@thewheezingdead2492]

My town is pretty well linked if you don't drive, a regular bus to the train and then a 3 hour journey into London if you hate yourself enough to go there. As a note Agatha Christie's best is "And Then There Were None" though "Murder on the Orient Express" gives it a good run for its money.

[@NoProtocol]

And Then There Were None is such a good one, good call

[@andeez4663]

SONG RECOMMENDATION: Not Walking in LA but "Drinking in LA" by Bran Van 3000 a real late 90s pop classic. Also have you reacted to anything by Not Just Bikes channel? Really good on city design and zoning. His "Why I hate Houston" is a YT classic

[@AnthonyValentine-vm1yc]

In the US freight has priority over passenger trains, cos they own (& badly maintain due to shareholder pressure) the track. In Europe passenger traffic has priority, subsides by govt. But freight tfc is severley hampered by these restrictions to 'fit in' between passenger 'paths'.

[@daluzsoares]

I live in the Netherlands, the reason I bought a car is something I can no longer remember, I used it 2-3 weeks ago, it's time for me to find out again where I parked that thing.🤔

[@jeffjaeger739]

wow! look at the comments from people on here... they're from everywhere! this girl seems to be very well travelled, well read, and very eclectic. so, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she'd have all kinds of people following her, from all over the world.

[@LynxLord1991]

In the smallest of towns you gotta bike to the next town over by otherwise a train or bus leaves the station here every 30 minutes

[@Isleofskye]

Fascinating if, a one-sided video. What about if you are Self Employed as a Builder, Plumber, Carpenter, etc. You HAVE to have a car. In London, the blatant Anti Car Major is about to charge EVERY DAY:$12 for a return trip through certain London Car Tunnels PLUS already charges a $14 charge for LEZ(Cleaner Air) PLUS $16 for entering the Inner London Congestion Zone so over $200 EVERY week. I lwill never drive in the heart of London as Public Transport is good and FREE for Over 60's. However, if you have no Subway/Tubes like Outer S E London then you HAVE to have a car. It takes 25 minutes return to walk to the nearest bus stop and took ONE HOUR 7 minutes for a Car journey of FOURTEEN minutes!

[@lucabaroni7715]

Yep european plumber go to work by bus...

[@Isleofskye]

@@lucabaroni7715 Hi Luca. So they carry pipe cutters, basin wrenches, pipe benders, adjustable wrenches, power tools, spanners, water pump pliers, pipe benders, plungers, and blow torches. etc. That is quite a lot to carry on the bus,my friend:)

[@user-gn1cl9ix7p]

Portland, OR has a downtown streetcar system that works pretty well, I think.

[@L30L005]

The amount of infrastructure that would have to be put in place for me to get from my small town in Iowa to say Glasgow, Montana without needing a car doesn't make sense economically or logistically.

[@vaudevillian7]

I live in a fairly rural area in the UK and there’s still relatively good buses and even trains - although the trains aren’t as good as they used to be before the Beeching Cuts. We still like to complain about them though. So it’s not just about city transport but inter-city and inter-town as well

[@blyatt]

Where did you live in Europe? I live in the midwest and it's definitely weird for people to be seen walking. It's usually only homeless or less well off people. I really enjoy being able to take public transportation when I visit Europe.

[@Tyrisalthan]

You have to define what you mean by a smaller town? Is a town with less than 50000 people considered small? If yes, we have constant local bus service, and both trains and long distance busses stop here. And not just once or twice a day either, there is several connections per hour. More active during the day, but there is also some night time connections. There is also a bike connections to pretty much everywhere (separated from the car traffic of course). So not that bad for a small town, even though most people still drive cars.

[@davidbrock1565]

Thanks!

[@NoProtocol]

Thank you so much David (:

[@thomashan4963]

2:53 - Public transport (if it’s decent enough) over driving by myself. The reason - If I could spend less money by hiring someone who could do my work better than me, why not?

[@BigShadowsWorld]

density of population makes a big difference in transport systems spread the population out then transportation system falls down due to insufficient usage (economic considerations) or long intervals between departures. people don't like to wait..

[@EliasBac]

I was born and raised in Paris and have been living in Montreal for the past 10years. I owned a car in Paris (well, I was living 20km away from Paris), and I also own one in Montreal. Both cities have the among the best transit systems. Montreal being by far one of the best in N.A. Paris one of the best in the world. Although I own a car, I only use it to travel outside de city. I both cities I only use public transport to go to work or visit friends around. Because it is cheaper, more efficient, and you don’t necessarily have to be fully sober. What ? lol And last but not least. I was blessed enough to afford having one and always had a place to park it. Because cars are a freakin money pit (Pit ? Pitt ? I don’t know)and a pain in the butt to manage. Also a reason why I prefer public transit: no parking headaches.

[@paulbo9033]

The Beijing car alternating licence plate rules was copied from Singapore. It doesn't lead to doubling up on cars for two reasons: 1. Owning a car in a city is becoming a pain 2. The public transport is amazing there, and improving all the time. Im a Londonder, and I was shocked the first time I went to NY and saw first hand just how poor all public infrastructure was there incl the Subway.

[@bugsby4663]

I live in rural France and there is very little public transport apart from the occasional bus. If you look at a map of France the top left (NW) has hardly any railways. It used to have an extensive rail network but it was closed after WW2. I walked in central Salt Lake City years ago and got stared at.

[@anthonyhowrard526]

on a different topic Netflix have got a new series out about The Six Nations. Its on in the UK and not sure about other places but if not and you want to watch a vpn works. Take care,

[@theriomrasputin8233]

Having grown up in the 70s/80s. We often took a public bus to different towns for shopping. Problem was, they would not travel across the county lines. And living on the edge of 3 counties, with scattered merchants made it difficult to shop efficiently. The solution was to ride a bus. Then walk across into different counties and hope to be near a bus line. Or take a taxi. ($$$) Eventually by mid 1980s the availability of buses diminished. Now its a rare sight to see a bus. Usually its morning runs and evening runs only. Vehicles are the only viable solution for most people here. Trains are only used to haul coal as they are private.

[@adambagnowski8206]

There is a whole album Trans-Europe Express by Kraftwerk which is a celebration of European railway network and the idea of freedom of movement within the continent.

[@NoProtocol]

I will listen! I know some tracks off of the album, really like Kraftwerk

[@AidanLonergan-bz1cp]

As an Englishman who used to live in LA and was forced to walk to work and everywhere else for a time that song hits like a brick

[@gablison]

I have family who live in Pasadena and they literally will take the car from 1 strip mall carpark and park it at the carpark of another strip mall literally across the street away. It was so strange to me as I live in a city with a robust walking culture with one of the best public transport systems in the world. It sucks that it's not a very pet friendly city so travelling around the city with a dog is very difficult, but that's a discussion for another day. When they came to visit they were struggling to walk more than 1 full block without having to stop and take a breath, so weird.

[@vaudevillian7]

The problem with comparing Canada to the US is that due to the latitudes and lack of Gulf Stream the vast majority of Canadians live in a very narrow strip right on the US border, so you’re never going to see continent-spanning rail networks except in that east-west corridor.

[@Chrystalsdad]

This video has an interesting philosophy. Social engineering as a plus. Imagine that! It shows the two different ways of looking at life. In Europe it is much more conformist here in the US, somewhat less conformist.

[@exiledskunk5046]

I was thinking that too. Hes a typical western european. I am a western european too but grew up in africa and have a libertarian world view so i butt heads with my fellow dutchies very often. The default mindset here seems to always be for a centrally planned solution to everything, the coercive use of power to create the envisioned end state.

[@adeptusmagi]

also If USA introduced a few high speed long distance lines between key points with car transport available it would be very effective , eco friendly, and profitable