It amazes me that if I stay in the U.S. after graduation, I’ll be able to see where my place in society is by what kind of vehicle I am in.
I would know I’m part of the lower class if I don’t drive anywhere and only use public transportation.
In the U.S., public transportation is seemingly designed for the lower-income population. Every time I’m on a CATS bus, I find myself thinking about how much I don’t want to be like the other people on the bus with me.
The idea of waiting 20 minutes for a bus, dealing with unpleasant bus drivers and hearing weird noises is a great motivation to study.
America’s obsession with avoiding public transportation and the reputation it has is a bigger flaw than most people consider it to be. The fact that most people 18 and older have their own cars leads to an extreme amount of pollution and, more importantly, a lot of traffic.
There is a reason why a city like Baton Rouge of roughly 230,000 citizens, according to the 2013 U.S. Census, has worse traffic than Berlin — Germany’s capital, with a 2012 population of 3.4 million citizens, according to World Population Review. Taking advantage of public transportation the city provides is crucial for having fewer cars on the road.
But Americans are not to blame. Cities here in the U.S. are created for the use of cars.
Many cities are so crowded or spread out that people are forced to live in suburbs, 15 minutes away from central areas. If you live in the suburbs or far away from main areas of your city, you are probably not willing to sit on a bus for 30 minutes to get there — if there is a bus route offered near you at all.
If more cities were designed so people live closer to downtown areas without interstates everywhere, maybe Americans would adapt to it like Europeans did and either walk or take the bus to get there. Oft-visited areas should also have limited parking spaces to encourage people to leave their cars at home.
Another flaw is the driving age. With a limit that ranges from 14 to 17, the U.S. has the lowest driving age in the world together with Ethiopia, according to 2pass.
In Norway, you are not allowed to drive until you are 18, as in many other countries. However, this isn’t an issue in those countries because public transportation gets you wherever you want to go, so a lot of young adults do not mind waiting to get their licenses because there is no real need to have a car.
Buses in Europe are also pretty comfortable, quiet and big, so your public transportation experience in general is not as bad as the American system’s reputation would suggest.
American cities like Portland, Chicago and San Francisco have realized that putting money into public transportation and encouraging the use of it is very beneficial and necessary. It decreases pollution and traffic and is a less expensive option for its citizens.
Still, most American cities have not.
Markus Hüfner is a 19-year-old mass communication freshman from Kristiansand, Norway. You can reach him on Twitter @MHufner_TDR.