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0 pointsin3d4y ago0 comments

This is true about NYC but not about Boston or any other U.S. cities.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

lucb1e4y ago· 2 in thread

According to https://www.valuepenguin.com/auto-insurance/car-ownership-st... even in new york the vehicle ownership rate is only half (23) of the highest state (Delaware with 44 registered cars per 100 inhabitants). Assuming basically every family has one or two cars in Delaware (that's the impression I get of what is the norm in an average USA state), that translates to nearly every family having a car on average in New York as well.

Then again, the Netherlands reportedly (https://longreads.cbs.nl/european-scale-2019/car-ownership/) has 48 per 100, which would be higher than the highest USA state, while I think most people are aware of the difference in car mentality between the two countries so something doesn't add up here. I'm not sure what I'm missing.

flicken4y ago

America has low car ownership rates compared to western Europe, possibly due to income inequality. See this 2012 article.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/it...

> The U.S. is ranked 25th in world by number of passenger cars per person...The Carnegie paper explains that car ownership rates are closely tied to the size of the middle class.

lucb1e4y ago

Huh okay. I knew there was larger inequality and considered writing that in my comment as a possible reason, but I was also under the impression that you are going to have a hard time living without a car in the USA and figured those people would sacrifice other things instead (not spend any money on healthcare, for example). If they just don't have one at all, despite the car culture, that makes the income inequality hit even harder than it would in Europe I guess.

lumost4y ago

As a Bostonian I would disagree, I only purchased a car after 8 years in the city and even then only use it to escape the city.

Depending on how you count there are between 4 and 9 mass transit lines alongside a fairly extensive bus network and commuter rail system.

Granted, if you live in the suburbs you’ll need a car for most activities.

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