Behind the Scenes @ Chrysler Dealers

[OakLeaf]

I might mention the #1 drain on the US economy, but that would be "political"....

It might not be practical to build lots of passenger capacity to go from, say, Cheyenne, WY, to Pierre, SD, but that's not where most of the driving in the USA happens, anyhow. There's no practical or monetary reason at all why we couldn't RE-build the local and regional commuter transit systems that even small communities had 100 years ago.

[shootingstar]

It might not be practical to build lots of passenger capacity to go from, say, Cheyenne, WY, to Pierre, SD, but that's not where most of the driving in the USA happens, anyhow. There's no practical or monetary reason at all why we couldn't RE-build the local and regional commuter transit systems that even small communities had 100 years ago.

Good point, even when Canada is huge (even larger than the U.S.). Majority of people are not driving every day 100 kms. either 1 way or even a round trip.

So let's extrapolate into the future, when boomers get frail...and with our present disgust of some frail seniors who shouldn't be driving a car, how will this burgeoning population get around? AFter all, the aging population don't all have children, and not all have adult children who care about them so much, they will be around /want to chauffer around aging parents for appointments.

Many people when they age, are still quite healthy..they just aren't as alert enough to drive anymore. What is the transportation solution for this???

[papaver]

Many people when they age, are still quite healthy..they just aren't as alert enough to drive anymore. What is the transportation solution for this???

That's a difficult one indeed. I saw a bbc reportage not too long ago about elderly people driving their cars for the very last time. Some were happy to live without their cars, but there was one lady who was really bitter getting older and the fear of getting isolated was obvious. My father is a horrible chauffeur, so they do most of their shopping by bycicle. Luckily the supermarkets are not far away, but I can't see them doing this in ten years or so. We'll have to think of an alternative...