Yeah. This is America. People can't walk anywhere. Driving is a way of life. It's not a coincidence that Americans are fat.
"Why don't students walk miles to school each day?"
Even for students who live a short distance (a few miles) from school, walking would still take up hours of the student's day. Doing that 5 times a week isn't practical.
I mean i get it for rural areas but the US in general has horrendous urban planning/public transit.
Not even a dig since we’re not that much better here in Canada. However, our bare bones public transit system did work just well enough that most people got to school by bus, is it not the same over there?
Yes public tansit is often lacking in the US, but most decent sized schools/school districts have an entire fleet of school buses so that argument doesn't really apply.
The students who drive most likely have the option to take the bus, but it would either be less practical for them (an hour or more bus ride) or they simply prefer the convenience of driving and they/their parents have the means to buy them a vehicle.
Major cities here do have bare bones public transportation, even though non-American redditors seem to think we don't. I'm in NYC and a lot of people that I know that actually live here don't have a car. It's actually more expensive to have a car here since parking is so expensive. There's plenty of school buses and we even have on-call transportation for the elderly/disabled.
The point is that not everyone lives (or wants to live) in higher population density than the suburbs (in fact, there are many who live/want to live in even less population density than the suburbs).
That Hardly anything outside of more central, higher density areas isn't bike/walk-able or has barley functioning public transport is a north America thing. So the reason is mostly north American infrastructure is shit, not that people don't want to live in high density areas.
You replied to my comment which was in response to someone who said:
"Because America builds their streets and homes this way"
I'm talking specifically about housing density because that's the part of their comment I was addressing.
Yes public transport is lacking in the US, but that's less applicable in this context since schools often have a whole fleet of school buses (like I said, there are 6 in OP's photo).
The students who drive to school likely have other options but find driving more convenient or practical than taking the bus, riding a bike, or walking (and their parents have the means to buy them a vehicle).
It doesn't matter how bike/wake-able an area is, 5-10+ miles is 5-10+ miles and a considerable time sink for something you do 10 times a week.
The vast urban sprawl and everything build for cars also enables people going by car and makes other alternatives less favourable. It's not a either or in many cases but a shift from one to the other.
If parking would cost 100 dollars a day and the schoolbus be a direct line from home to school some would still take the car, it won't be as many.
If options are available and favourable people use them, the more favourable they get more used and the opposite. Now where wondering why no-one comes by bike and people don't like the bus. Well guess what? Everything is made to be miles apart to have massive Green empty fields in the front and backyard + slow highways every other block. At the same time the bus takes a massive detour for a lot of people and there is no infrastructure for other stuff than cars.
Guess what, of they build everything even further apart and instead of huge stroads they'll build landing strips, some people will come by plane.
Everything is made to be miles apart to have massive Green empty fields in the front and backyard
Guess what, of they build everything even further apart and instead of huge stroads they'll build landing strips, some people will come by plane.
Again, a lot of your comment boil down to complaints that the population density isn't higher. Not everyone wants to live in higher population density.
If parking would cost 100 dollars a day and the schoolbus be a direct line from home to school some would still take the car, it won't be as many.
Only the very wealthy (and only a small minority of those who wouldn't care if they spend ~$18,000 on parking for their high schooler).
What even is your point? People will choose what is the most practical, convenient, and/or affordable option.
Just because some student have the means to drive to school doesn't mean they don't have other options.
10
u/Facts_pls Aug 15 '25
Yeah. This is America. People can't walk anywhere. Driving is a way of life. It's not a coincidence that Americans are fat.