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Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?
(usa.streetsblog.org)
More importantly, why is he sportin' the double denim?
this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
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Why does this administration do anything?
Corruption. Someone is receiving money off it, somehow.
Why can't they ever be corrupt in a way that's good for the environmental? Have a conflict of interest that leads to more trains or solar or something.
It doesn't even make sense. Theoretically it could be a good thing, but considering they want to destroy the national parks and forests, I'm not sure what people would even be traveling to see.... A copper mine? A logging operation?
Because environmentalists don't have any money. Hard to corrupt the system when you don't have the money to do it with.
Donald trump, before he got his R branding, was kiiiiind of like this on 'trans women are women' via extreme misogyny and geberally being a creep.
I guess a stopped clock is still right twice a day.
Yeah. Big 'okay please stop respecting me now' vibes.
Maybe because the automotive market is doing poorly at the moment, and gas demand is down as well.
I think it’s the economic cratering rather than simple preferences at work here.
Presumably people are chosing food over travel...
10% of Americans account for 50% of discretionary consumption. We are technically already in bifurcated economy.
The poors living hand to mouth without possibly of gaining sufficient capital to escape their condition.
Technically the elimination of the poor will improve equality
Or we could eliminate the billionaires to fix this issue.
that would drastically reduce GDP though
Because the Department of Transportation is now a wholly owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil.
Now?
Yes.
Corrupt as it was, it still maintained some degree of independence. It does no longer.
Think of it as something akin to the difference between the period when two separate corporations were part of a cartel in which the larger of the two was by far the dominant partner, and the situation after the larger one has bought out the smaller, fired the entire C-suite and most of the employees and sold off most of the company assets.
Road trips are great, I just prefer to take them by bus.
Train* when available.
Bring a bike with you and you can basically go anywhere on your trip
Maybe in Europe or any other country that has a good or decent passenger rail system.
In America you can't reach a lot of the country by rail and so many things worth seeing aren't reasonably reach with a bike.
you cant even reach nearby tech campuses without a car, and it also a convoluted roads/free way highways in our area. nearby as in 25+miles from a major city, this alone limits people wanting to get into biotech jobs.
WOW
As for why the Department of Transportation wants people to drive to all these places — rather than to travel there by the many other means of transportation it theoretically oversees — Sean Duffy's answer was, essentially, 'because America.'
Capitalism
Bike touring beats "road trips" by car any day of the week.
Said like a true european or someone who lives in a huge city with biking infrastructure.
Except in terms of speed, safety, convenience, and comfort.
Great exercise, very green, and an experience though.
except in terms of speed
Is... Is that the point, on a vacation? Id want to see stuff.
safety
Yeah, drivers try to kill cyclists all the time. They're a menace.
convenience
On amtrak, i can go to the cafe car, get wasted, eat salty snacks, drop some acid, stare out the window for a couple hours, then nap. All without stopping.
The internet doesnt break. The bathrooms always work. The seats are comfier. What the fuck am i missing?
comfort
Citation. Fucking. Needed.
To add to this
safety
A broader definition of safety includes health risks from a sedentary lifestyle, which would include a large proportion of people. Cycling reduces these risks, while driving makes them worse. Cycling still increases your life expectancy, so safety shouldn't be a reason not to cycle.
Of course, perceived safety is important too as this is preventing people from taking up cycling. But that's a different conversation.
A conversation best resolved with a global ad campaign of totally random totally apolitical car bombs. To advertise the dangers cars pose to us and our environment.
You’re genuinely brain-damaged if you think bikes are more comfortable than cars. No citation needed—it’s called having an ass. Like bikers literally get injuries for sitting on those microscopic seats for too long.
And we were talking about bikes, and you started talking about how amtrak is more convenient. Fucking huh??? Again, brain damaged.
take bike on train
You... You get off the bike to get onto the train. You know that, right?
injuries: bike butt!
I guess I've always felt more uncomfortable in and around cars. For some reason. I have dead nerves all over my fucking grizzled-ass fucking body thanks to cars. Places i just don't feel anymore.
If i have problems with bike butt, i can sorta stand for a few minutes; it's fine.
You will see stuff in a car, especially out west. Seeing things doesn't really have relevance unless we are talking hundreds of miles per hour. A bike is slower than a car.
As convenience goes, we are talking about using a bike, not going on a train.
As far as comfort goes, a car is more comfortable than a bike. If you disagree, you only know economy cars.
I have driven a lot in the west, and what you see is just automobile infrastructure, which is pretty much the same everywhere and incredibly ugly.
The interesting sites require you to hike away from the roads.
see things
Yeah. The road and cars around you, if you dont have 'a driver'.
bikes not convenient
Because you need to move to move? Yeah. Also, you can take it much farther on most trails than a car.
bike less comfy than car
Uh, okay. So walk? Stay on the train?
Except in terms of speed
Exploring isn't meant to mean zooming through communities as fast as you can. You can cover over 100km a day by bike, and truly experience the areas you're passing through.
safety
Probably safer than driving. People in cars make cycle touring unsafe, but you don't have to bike alongside them in many cases.
convenience
This is a matter of perspective. Some people, like myself, enjoy planning, gearing up, and executing the plan way more than "what's the easiest way to do this?".
comfort.
Debatable. I find sitting in a car for hours at a time to be excruciating. But I can sit on my bike and ride for 10+ hours at a time, and still want more. And if you're in traffic? Good luck.
If you are doing a proper cycle tour or bikepacking adventure, there's going to be a lot of opportunities to stop, visit local spots, eat, etc.
To me, a "road trip" is about the experience. Everything that comes after that is going to be about how you get to enjoy that experience. And I'd rather be doing it outside of a metal cage. I think most people who've experienced more than just driving would probably agree.
Also, shut the fuck up about how cars are debatably more comfortable.
If it’s pouring rain outside, would you rather sit in a car or on a bike? If there’s a blizzard outside, would you rather sit in a car or on a bike?
Like shut the fuck up with your dumbass bad faith arguments. You just want to be right. I fucking hate cars, but they’re literally designed for a comfortable, air-conditioned sit.
God I hate bitches who just argue for the sake of arguing.
If it’s pouring rain outside, would you rather sit in a car or on a bike?
100% bike. It's fun! A rain poncho, and you're set.
Also, a road trip in a car while it rains would suck.
If there’s a blizzard outside, would you rather sit in a car or on a bike?
Neither. But I'm from Canada and bike through the winter. Also more enjoyable than driving in the winter 😀
Your response proves you’re not from america and have no idea what you’re talking about 🤣 (americans don’t know what kilometers are)
If you have never driven through the middle of America, you would have quite the time trying to do so on a bike.
It would be an adventure, to say the least.
Bike fits on a train much easier than a car at least.
I don't even know if America has passenger trains with car carrying. I believe that is a thing in Europe and maybe Asia.
I’ve only ever heard of one. If you need to travel Virginia to Florida with your car at the right time