"Regular people make political transportation decisions all the time without realizing it. For example, when a person in a car-dependent place decides to go anywhere, they may not feel like they are making a transportation choice, and they may not be aware of how their choice affects others. From their perspective, they are not choosing to drive to a destination; they are just choosing to go there, and they may feel like a car is their only option."
"In the United States, car dependency is currently the status quo. Conversely, in transit-friendly places like the Netherlands or South Korea, the status quo supports the development of more transit. That doesn't mean it's apolitical to expand transit in those areas; it means that the pro-transit side has so thoroughly won the political fight that abundant, high-quality transit is considered normal."
People built the transportation system and people decide whether to change or maintain it. Elected officials, government staffers, business owners, workers, and community leaders make transportation-related decisions that shape communities and can be influenced. Regular people often make political transportation choices without realizing it; in car-dependent places driving can feel like the only option and travelers may not consider alternatives. In the United States, car dependency is the prevailing status quo, whereas transit-friendly countries like the Netherlands and South Korea have normalized abundant, high-quality transit after political victories for pro-transit interests. Advocates for transit, biking, and street safety must work persistently to challenge entrenched systems and change expectations.
Read at Streetsblog
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