Why isn’t public transport used more for evacuations?

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I know the easy answer is politics but it has to be more complicated that that because evacuations tend to involve other things that go against certain politics (like free food and open shelters). And even though somewhere like Florida doesn’t have tons of public buses, it would be logistically relatively easy to redirect the ones they do have plus school buses and private buses that are currently in disuse. Or for Amtrak to send extra trains down there, like cities do for sporting events. I’m seeing a lot of people online who seem like they’d be willing to jump on the first train/bus/plane to literally anywhere. What’s the logic in not making that more available as an option?

I’m using the US but I do feel like it’s not something you see even in general, at least not as much as expected.

Are there more complex reasons that I’m not considering?

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33 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Public transport and existing infrastructure gets used all the time for evacuations. However public transportation isn’t always the best answer.

Amtrak doesn’t go everywhere. Your local bus/subway system is local. Buses are good for people who don’t have possessions to save.

Good evacuation plans are built by utilizing as many resources as possible. I’ve seen thousands of people get stranded on the interstate for 24 hrs because most people didn’t think to use the state highways. This was back in 1998 or 1999. Southeast GA evacuated ahead of a hurricane. I got home in five hours vs 24 hours for most people.

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