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Originally Posted by psfred
We will learn not to commute so much, doesn't matter what in. Europe is way ahead of us, in spite of the fact that the US had the best mass transit systems in the world in 1950...
Watch for the mass migration back into the cities -- no way to get there from the 'burbs inside a decade.
Peter
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Do you know how expensive it is to live in the cities these days? And if demand increases the price will only go up...I don't think people will be moving back in droves anytime soon. The exodus has been going on for fifty years now and it will probably not be reversed quickly.
Telecommuting will increase dramatically where it's possible. I think more light rail will be built. It's expensive, but no more expensive than building roads in most cases. Property around the train stations will be more valuable than property further away; this is already the case in some places in the north east.
It's true that our mass transit system used to really be something. I know that in Rhode Island, you could go practically anywhere in the state by trolley in the '30's. It's a real shame all that infrastructure was ripped apart.
The ritual of the daily commute will continue for many years to come for many people. If oil prices really do rise astronomically, new technology will catch up in a hurry.