First off, car ownership is already quite expensive, even in the US. Even a paid-off $2000 beater will cost at least $250/month in registration, maintenance, gas, and insurance to operate. Probably more, if there's a long commute or paid parking. That's way more than any transit pass I know of and it's the absolute best case. A more typical case is needing to make car payments, which means paying interest and higher insurance rates, and tying up a significant portion of one's net worth and monthly cash flow in a depreciating asset (current used car market aside). I don't see how that's good for anyone's finances, let alone poor people. I own a car, but I still know it's a net negative in financial terms.
> makes car ownership very expensive
How much more expensive are we talking? If we say it's say $600/month to operate a beater, shouldn't the better job opportunities that are now available compensate for that? And if they don't - I mean, it's only $450/month more - how much better are these jobs anyway?
But hey, I don't know, maybe you're an expert on immigrant urban issues in France. Maybe you have in-depth knowledge that tells you that it's solely the availability of transit, and absolutely nothing else whatsoever, that has led to the current state of things.
$250/mo is about what I pay driving a paid off beater 100mi/day. And I pay "you have a dick and live in a shitty zip code" insurance rates.
A payment on a random economy subcompact that gets 40mpg would probably be cheaper because I only get ~22mpg.
>That's way more than any transit pass I know of
You are unaware of the cost of the various commuter rail passes that anyone not already living in the "inner ring" well served by bus any or subway needs to use to get into that inner ring.
It would cost me $380/mo to commute via rail (and take longer too). I used to pay it when I worked downtown. The prices don't go down that much for living farther in.
> $250/mo is about what I pay driving a paid off beater 100mi/day. I only get ~22mpg.
Your numbers simply don't add up. Assuming a 5-day work week, 48 weeks of work/year, and $2.50/gal gas (pretty cheap), you're spending $227/mo just on gas. You really only spend $23/mo on insurance, oil changes, brake pads and everything else?
I think you're seriously underestimating how much your car actually costs you.
And again, the paid-off beater is the absolute best case scenario. A financed new or new-ish used car (which is the more typical case) has additional insurance, registration, interest, and depreciation costs.
I'm not anti-car. I own a car and I think cars are great, for a wide range of use cases. I am anti-"favoring transit over cars hurts poor people" lies. Because they are lies.
For someone who claims to drive 100 miles/day? Impossible.
Also, $30/mo just on insurance (which, again, to me is not credible) is way more than $23/mo on insurance, registration, and maintenance. Registration is usually $5-10/mo. Maintenance on a car driven 2x the national average is going cost a pretty penny.
Caltrain's most expensive pass, which covers 6 zones, is $400. But at a minimum that's a commute from Morgan Hill to San Bruno, which is a 120-mile round trip. It's going to cost at least $20/day to drive that commute.
> It would cost me $380/mo to commute via rail...when I worked downtown
Was parking free in downtown?
> and take longer too
If it was both more expensive, and took longer, why didn't you drive? Why take public transit at all? My guess is that it was still cheaper than driving, after considering all the costs.
> makes car ownership very expensive
How much more expensive are we talking? If we say it's say $600/month to operate a beater, shouldn't the better job opportunities that are now available compensate for that? And if they don't - I mean, it's only $450/month more - how much better are these jobs anyway?
But hey, I don't know, maybe you're an expert on immigrant urban issues in France. Maybe you have in-depth knowledge that tells you that it's solely the availability of transit, and absolutely nothing else whatsoever, that has led to the current state of things.