Young adults
look at the world they are inheriting, frustrated by congestion and the high
costs of keeping a car. Many try to get along without one. They value having the
right device with cool apps to summon a ride without owning a car. They scope out Uber, Lyft, Vulog and others
leading a global transformation of urban mobility.
 |
| Marcus Sharpe (right) learning about podcars in 2014. |
Transit and
other public officials seem -- if not oblivious -- bewildered by the new
economics of mobility. “Why are we holding on to the old technologies of the 20th
century?” questions Marcus Sharpe in freeway-jammed Atlanta. To him, transit officials seem wedded to the
past, unable to even think about modern modes to link up urban nodes better. He
sees how sleek, high-service transit networks can be envisioned, not just
lines.
The Old
Guard
Unfortunately
Baruch Feigenbaum of Reason Foundation did not in 2013 when he proudly
presented a plan to eliminate chronic congestion that costs Metro Atlanta
drivers $1100 a year. A 2010 plan by
consultants HNTB has meant that highway and transit systems have failed to keep
pace with north Georgia growth.
 |
| Does MARTA not care enough to see the logic of enhanced TOD? |
Reason’s plan
tries to update and move on, mostly by recommending new self-financing “dynamic
lanes” and shifting transit funding from Georgia DOT to the Department of
Community Affairs. Claiming to look out 30 years, the plan doesn’t even mention
shared use, “smart TOD” or PRT -- the “untried” mode that excites Marcus and
many of his cohorts.
Freed from
20th century baggage, Millennials look at urban living with fresh
eyes. One calculates that putting a dollar more tax on gas would be an easy,
revenue-generating measure that would very quickly reduce traffic. “Dude, is it
the same people blocking the metric system?”
Millennials
bubble with new ideas for tackling the problems of the world. It’s time for aging Boomers to shake loose of the 20th Century!
