tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post354322040908009831..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: The anti-transit shell gameCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-38457454639169475342009-12-19T16:40:17.113-05:002009-12-19T16:40:17.113-05:00The Gini index isn't manipulation; it's th...The Gini index isn't manipulation; it's the standard way of computing inequality. Hong Kong ranks worst in the developed world there - you can look it up.<br /><br />Iceland doesn't have much of a bus system. Reykjavik has local buses, but the primary form of transportation is cars. Again, look the statistics up - Iceland ranks third in the world in vehicles per capita.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-17659999526213716572009-12-17T23:22:36.809-05:002009-12-17T23:22:36.809-05:00Again, why with the economics? Is the distribution...Again, why with the economics? Is the distribution of income among the population and its change over time the only thing that matters? I suppose they have the benefit of being easily quantified and fairly easy to measure, with extensive statistics already collected. But really, isn't money, and income, and economic activity in general just a means to an end? Mind you, it's some fuzzy hard to quantify end along the lines of having a good life, but it's one that a transportation system can affect very directly without going through the intermediary of income and economics.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-13474875321864083452009-12-17T19:58:36.623-05:002009-12-17T19:58:36.623-05:00Again, just because someone says something, doesn&...Again, just because someone says something, doesn't mean it is true.<br /><br />For example, Hong Kong is not a country and it is not particularly stratified. I could however easily manipulate statistics to make it look like there is tremendous inequality there.<br /><br />Iceland could have very good transit without any trains. Buses work very well sometimes.Helen Bushnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177708490995175178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-58164210037058861182009-12-17T18:52:38.781-05:002009-12-17T18:52:38.781-05:00Equal access to transportation is an input variabl...Equal access to transportation is an input variable, one that you'd expect would give you good output variables like low inequality, low long-term unemployment, and high income mobility. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to correlate with any of the three.<br /><br />I gave counterexamples for inequality in the previous comment. As for income mobility, consider that Canada and Australia rank together with the Scandinavian countries as the most socially mobile countries in the developed world, whereas France and Britain rank together with the US as some of the least socially mobile. And as for long-term unemployment, again compare France to Canada.<br /><br />It's a serious issue, because other social issues, like equality in education, are strong correlates of inequality and income mobility.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-27135697784691002032009-12-17T12:07:40.200-05:002009-12-17T12:07:40.200-05:00Fairness is not just about income inequality. The ...Fairness is not just about income inequality. The fairness that Cap'n Transit is talking about is more along the lines of equal access. After all, not everyone is physically capable of driving a car (whether due to youth, age, or disability). Should we exclude them from full participation in society just because of that? Excluding them on those grounds would be rather unfair.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-21204380965088408972009-12-16T16:06:29.681-05:002009-12-16T16:06:29.681-05:00You don't need transit to provide fairness, an...You don't need transit to provide fairness, and transit doesn't mean you'll have to provide fairness. The two most transit-oriented first world countries, Hong Kong and Singapore, are also the two least equal; New York has the highest inequality rate of all US states (followed mostly by Deep South states). And Iceland has no rail transit, but maintains low inequality; even its pollution level is low, because of renewable energy.<br /><br />There are many good reasons to end road socialism, but fairness for all isn't one of them.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-29753306005880119182009-12-16T16:05:51.672-05:002009-12-16T16:05:51.672-05:00I want to make the point that the numbers that ant...I want to make the point that the numbers that anti-transit activists come up with may simply be wrong.Helen Bushnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177708490995175178noreply@blogger.com