Why American public transit is so bad

美国公共交通为何如此糟糕?

Most Americans have no choice but to drive. How do we change that?

大多数美国人除了开车别无选择。我们如何改变这种状况?

In the middle of the 20th century, the US government made a decision that would transform American cities: It built a huge system of interstate highways, many of which went right through the downtowns of its biggest cities.

在20世纪中叶,美国政府做出了一项改变美国城市的决定:它建立了一个庞大的州际公路系统,其中许多高速公路直接穿过美国最大城市的市中心。

This sealed the country's fate as a car culture, and today we're seeing the results. In most cities, it's extremely difficult to get around without a car, in part due to public transit systems built to serve an outdated commute. And when our politics turn to infrastructure, the government often favors building new roads and highways instead of improving and expanding public transportation.

这决定了这个国家作为汽车文化的命运,今天我们看到了结果。在大多数城市里,没有车很难出行,部分原因是公共交通系统是为过时的通勤服务而建造的。当我们的政治转向基础设施建设时,政府往往倾向于修建新的道路和高速公路,而不是改善和扩大公共交通。

The result is a system that forces more Americans to drive, at the expense of those who rely on public transit. It's also the biggest contributor to our country’s carbon footprint. Fixing that over the long term will require a reimagining of American cities and towns. But there's also a way that, if we wanted to, we could improve American transit systems, and get more people riding them, in a matter of weeks.

其结果是一个系统迫使更多的美国人开车,而那些依赖公共交通的人却为此付出了代价。它也是我国碳足迹的最大贡献者。从长远来看,要解决这一问题,需要对美国城镇进行重新规划。但是,如果我们愿意的话,还有一种方法可以在几周内改善美国的交通系统,让更多的人乘坐。