I invite anyone who buys into this sweeping generalization to walk a half mile in Las Vegas, NV; Tempe, AZ; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; or Tampa, FL in July or August.
Many cities in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal see temperatures just as hot as Houston or Las Vegas. Yet public transport is just as common as in the rest of Europe.
Walking half a mile in 35 C (95 F) isn't an actual problem unless you have a medical condition or you are morbidly obese. For those very rare 40+ C (105+ F) days, throw an official midday siesta, or just shut everything down like for snow days.
>Walking half a mile in 35 C (95 F) isn't an actual problem unless you have a medical condition or you are morbidly obese.
Again with the hand waving as if this was a solved problem. Trust me - if you actually try to walk half a mile on a 90+ degree, high humidity day you will regret it. The issue isn't just infirmity - i.e. those prone to heat stroke or overweight, but one of comfort. If you actually try tooling around in Houston (for example) you'll end up soaked in sweat. It'll be worse if you're dressed for the office in long sleeves and slacks.
That's when you'll discover that more than the public need to adapt to public transportation uber alles. Can I use a shopping trolley for groceries? Sure. Can I cycle to work? No doubt. But what if your employer doesn't have showers available? Mine doesn't. I can't show up drenched in sweat looking like a wet rat and stinking all day of sweat. And that's exactly what'll happen if I ride the few miles I have to work. Even if I take a change of clothes to work I still have no place to shower and neither does anyone else unless they are health club members. There are many externalities you're just hand waving away. As someone who lives in this climate I assure you I'd love to see light rail everywhere but it just won't replace the last mile for people without drastic societal changes.
There's also the fact that bus and rail frequency needs to dramatically increase to entice riders and also accommodate them when they do come. Will people choose a 45 minute bus ride over a 15 minute drive? Particularly when on average you'll spend 7.5-10 minutes baking in the sun or lightly shaded by an un-airconditioned bus stop? Not unless forced to, no.
I invite anyone who buys into this sweeping generalization to walk a half mile in Las Vegas, NV; Tempe, AZ; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; or Tampa, FL in July or August.