Most people in the US, if they don’t have a truck, they have an SUV or crossover with a hatchback and seats that build down. I drive a Subaru Crosstrek, their smallest US crossover, and I have loaded/moved/unloaded a couch by myself with it.
Yeah it hangs out the back a little but you click a mini carabiner into the door mechanism at the upper part of the hatch and tie some rope to that and down to the metal bar it normally closes onto. That keeps the couch from falling out, and keeps the hatch down at the couch level so the hatch door isn’t sticking up extra tall.
Here, most places will deliver said sofa to you cheap or even free, and even bring it up to the umpteenth floor your apartment is on.
Buying a car in cities here would be an insane money drain for literally no benefit. Even if you want or need to drive, you can rent an almost-new German car for single trips for super cheap.
I’ve lived a couple of years in Germany and the Netherlands and I know the options you have, it’s very nice. I’m on the outskirts of a good size city. There are bikeable places when you get more urban closer to downtown, but there are no options other than car in the area I live in. Even most homeless people have a car here, or they have someone they rely on with a car who is willing to help them out.
I’ve only spent a few hours in Budapest, but I remember it having public transportation there. We don’t have that option either. There is a bus service for low income seniors, but even they have to schedule rides weeks in advance. Walking isn’t an option either. You travel in a car or you don’t leave your home here.
I loved taking trains and biking when I lived in Duesseldorf. I didn’t use buses as much. I still hate buses from the years I lived a little north of San Francisco. You couldn’t rely on them to run, sometimes they were hours late or never came at all. I gave up on trying to get to work on a bus there.
Most people in the US, if they don’t have a truck, they have an SUV or crossover with a hatchback and seats that build down. I drive a Subaru Crosstrek, their smallest US crossover, and I have loaded/moved/unloaded a couch by myself with it.
Yeah it hangs out the back a little but you click a mini carabiner into the door mechanism at the upper part of the hatch and tie some rope to that and down to the metal bar it normally closes onto. That keeps the couch from falling out, and keeps the hatch down at the couch level so the hatch door isn’t sticking up extra tall.
Here, most places will deliver said sofa to you cheap or even free, and even bring it up to the umpteenth floor your apartment is on.
Buying a car in cities here would be an insane money drain for literally no benefit. Even if you want or need to drive, you can rent an almost-new German car for single trips for super cheap.
I’ve lived a couple of years in Germany and the Netherlands and I know the options you have, it’s very nice. I’m on the outskirts of a good size city. There are bikeable places when you get more urban closer to downtown, but there are no options other than car in the area I live in. Even most homeless people have a car here, or they have someone they rely on with a car who is willing to help them out.
I guess it was the same in Budapest, Hungary. It didn’t make sense for me to get a car there either.
I’ve only spent a few hours in Budapest, but I remember it having public transportation there. We don’t have that option either. There is a bus service for low income seniors, but even they have to schedule rides weeks in advance. Walking isn’t an option either. You travel in a car or you don’t leave your home here.
I loved taking trains and biking when I lived in Duesseldorf. I didn’t use buses as much. I still hate buses from the years I lived a little north of San Francisco. You couldn’t rely on them to run, sometimes they were hours late or never came at all. I gave up on trying to get to work on a bus there.
I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t need to be a rich country to have decent transit, you can be shit broke and it’s still possible.
You’re right though, if people decide they don’t need it, you can’t set up your own bus line.