this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
918 points (98.1% liked)

Fuck Cars

11657 readers
1368 users here now

A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!

Rules

1. Be CivilYou may not agree on ideas, but please do not be needlessly rude or insulting to other people in this community.

2. No hate speechDon't discriminate or disparage people on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexuality.

3. Don't harass peopleDon't follow people you disagree with into multiple threads or into PMs to insult, disparage, or otherwise attack them. And certainly don't doxx any non-public figures.

4. Stay on topicThis community is about cars, their externalities in society, car-dependency, and solutions to these.

5. No repostsDo not repost content that has already been posted in this community.

Moderator discretion will be used to judge reports with regard to the above rules.

Posting Guidelines

In the absence of a flair system on lemmy yet, let’s try to make it easier to scan through posts by type in here by using tags:

Recommended communities:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
all 46 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 101 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It's wild to me that people will say this, then drive on a government subsidized/built road, buy government subsidized fuel, literally walk into a government building to register their vehicles (with the government, so that their vehicles can be properly taxed by the government), and pay for government mandated insurance (that they have to pay for again to actually use).

But I'm a chump for paying for unlimited rides once a month. Okay 👌😒.

[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 23 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

"But by providing car infrastructure, government enables economic development!"

"Yeah, that goes for train infrastructure too, you know."

Over here, government still provides the roads, but pulled back sharply on providing parking infrastructure. That's privatized. Good luck finding anything nearby for less than €20 per day.

[–] AntY@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

"Let's keep the costs public and the profits private!" they said.

[–] Gamechanger@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Antwerp city. They're trying to push people to park outside the city for cheap and take public transportation.

[–] Gamechanger@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

Sounds nice 💚

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

They think gas taxes pay for it.

[–] Traister101@lemmy.today 7 points 2 weeks ago

They're supposed to but well, you know

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

What’s funny is in practice the government spends more money subsidising vehicle fuels than they earn from taxes on the fuel.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 44 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Often I feel that people believe that paved roads are naturally-occurring, geological formations. As evidence, I submit the people complaining about road construction and maintenance work as if it's a ploy by the government to obstruct their travel, or the Lemming that I ran into a few weeks ago who was convinced that people in poor, developing countries have to drive cars, because it's too expensive to build bicycle infrastructure.

That’s the result of cars being the global default.

100 years ago you had loads of routes that were only accessible by rail, not road.

[–] glowing_hans@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Yes; North americas first transcontinental connection was the Pacific railway, finished 1845. It was completed before the first highway was ever built. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad

[–] snekerpimp@lemmy.snekerpimp.space 29 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

“Yea, well I don’t need roads with my 41 inch lifted, 4x4 half ton truck, with 30 inch rims and r25 racing slicks”

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

“Good luck crossing the local creek or any wooded area.

Also, aren’t you the guy alway mumbling that you’d shoot someone who goes into your property. Good luck finding a driving route without going through anyone’s property.”

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago

Reliance on cars helps continually isolate people as they go about their daily lives. It's important for fostering everyone's ruggedly individualistic, Randian grindset.

It also allows you to transport units of meat from the store freezer to the ice chest you keep in your basement (that you'll one day rely on to stave off hunger during the zombie apocalypse).

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 weeks ago

Both pictures contain the same amount of people.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 2 weeks ago

Fascism literally profits from human misery. Cars are no exception.

[–] PixelDerp404@lemm.ee 14 points 2 weeks ago

I hate This so much in Germany Our Highways (Autobahn) are so expensive but Like No one cares but the second better Public Transit or Bike infastructur is brought Up so many people bitch About cost

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

I fully believe the single most important thing to any conservative male that espouses their NEED for a pickup over taking the train and walking two blocks is that they can't purposefully run over people on a train/metro and look big and intimidating.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is why we call them "gender-affirming vehicles," or "emotional support trucks."

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 3 points 2 weeks ago

My wife calls them "tiny penis trucks". If there's a bunch all together, it's a "tiny penis parade"

I like the gender affirming vehicle though. Not too many women desperate to drive a truck that never touches dirt or cargo.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I believe that autocorrect changed the word "causes" to "spouses" on you without you noticing.

[–] Tyoda@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'd say it was meant to be "espouses"

espouse

verb

  1. To become/get married to.
  2. To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).
[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's definitely a better fit.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 2 points 2 weeks ago

Well, I'm glad you guys can interpret what I meant!

Yes I meant "espouses" but my autocorrect dropped the first "E" and I didn't proofread well enough.

[–] Zolidus@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Substitute the word "causes" for the word "spouses," and it makes sense.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

"We care about efficiency and the budget"

"Cool, so we could move way more people at a fraction of the cost if we built this passenger rai-"

"Woah there buddy, you didn't actually believe that stuff I said about the budget and efficiency, did you?"

[–] MNByChoice@midwest.social 8 points 2 weeks ago

We need to qoute the cost of trains separate from that of installing rails. Let people assume they can bring their own train from home.

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Be careful, Hungary is now experimenting with "privatizing" some roads.

[–] Omgpwnies@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Ontario more or less did that a couple decades ago. Taxpayers funded the 407 which is a toll highway through Toronto. The Conservatives under Mike Harris in 1999, effectively "sold" the 407 to a foreign company for a paltry $3bn (technically, a 99 year lease, but for us that's about the same as being sold).

The highway has since generated many multiples of that in revenue that is not going to fund Government projects, but to line the pockets of an investment conglomerate. As a result, rates have increased despite an "agreement" with the government to maintain rates as long as there is sufficient traffic, which has been exceeded and is steadily increasing.

[–] Emerald@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

I wish driving was a sustainable and humane method of transportation, but it really isn't. I do love driving but I also agree that suburban sprawl is awful and not sustainable financially and environmentally.

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 5 points 2 weeks ago

Why is the text left to right, but the images have to be observed right to left to understand?

[–] Zolidus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

When big train starts lobbying hard and kicking more into their 'campaigns' I'm sure their tune will change.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

They already do this. Unfortunately "big train" is a bunch of corrupt freight companies attacking passenger trains in order to maintain their privilege/profits/oligopy.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Well not really, cuz the conservatives want them to be toll roads. Built with public funds for private profit though, that's always fun.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 2 weeks ago

Is there two tracks with the train? It sorta seems like one. I really like the elevated design with the single pole. The city near me you have streets with poles on either side and no island on the road but I like this better. Would sorta be nice for an upside down Y or something on the bottom and have bike and pedestrian lanes through them to give cover from weather.

[–] Treetrimmer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Poor people getting govt assistance are welfare queens, but farmers getting rich off of government assistance? That's just morning in Murica 😅