In movies I often see cars used for long distance travel and not trains. I can’t imagine having to always drive for a long time everytime I need to commute long distances. Sorry for the shallow question, I’ve never been to the USA.
In: Technology
The standard answer is that the US is very large and have relatively spread out population centers. It will be expensive to connect so many cities with trains especially if each city isn’t really that large (ie won’t actually provide a lot of customers) As an illustrative example, there are 34 cities in Europe that have a population of more than 1 million but only about a dozen in the US (this is not exactly a fair comparison since US cities tend to have large metro areas).
Second, US cities have expanded outwards rather than upwards. You end up with large metro areas which makes train networks a bit bothersome because a “central” city station might be a distance away from many of the city residents. Cars are simply too convenient.
Third, historically, many of the railway lines were privately built and operated. And their biggest priority is cargo not people.
Finally, the automotive industry has quite deliberately promoted roads and cars as the sole means of people transportation.
Latest Answers