Oslo. The subway only runs in the city Oslo, not the entire province, and only has 6 or 7 lines total, because as you may know, Oslo is a much smaller area. But in terms of getting around in town, it's perfectly reliable.
In fact, the subway company will pay you back for whatever money you spent on a taxi as a result of the subway being delayed. They also do this for buses, but with buses, the bus has to be 30 minutes or something crazy like that late.
They will not pay you unless you checked in at the subway station though, which you probably didn't unless you knew the subway was gonna be delayed, and you wanted to file a complaint.
Finally got around to this episode. You guys are so wrong about backing into parking spaces it's not even funny. Backing into parking spaces is exactly what you should be doing.
The comparison to Forklifts, pallet jacks, etc. is just plain reversed in what you are saying. Forklifts have greater maneuverability in tight spaces because when they travel into a tight space the steering is on the back of their vector of motion. And when they leave the space "backwards" the steering is in the front. The exact same thing happens when you back into a parking space with a regular, front-wheel steered car.
Backing into a parking space also gives you better visibility when leaving the parking space since you have fewer blind angles. It also gives you the ability to completely view the parking spot before making your approach, making sure that for example the other cars on the side aren't over the line, or some crappy moped is occupying the entire parking spot or so.
The comparison to Forklifts, pallet jacks, etc. is just plain reversed in what you are saying. Forklifts have greater maneuverability in tight spaces because when they travel into a tight space the steering is on the back of their vector of motion. And when they leave the space "backwards" the steering is in the front. The exact same thing happens when you back into a parking space with a regular, front-wheel steered car.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Another reason they're more maneuverable in general is not because of which end the drive wheels are on, but because they've got a two or three foot wheelbase, and they can turn their steering wheels almost 90 degrees from the axle - which your car can't. Most models can pretty much do a 360 degree turn on the spot, unlike your car.
Edit - Also, don't forget, we're disagreeing, so prepare to be called "Kids."
I used to back into parking spaces constantly when I was a volunteer firefighter. With the added visibility, you're only shaving a few seconds, but that's better than missing the truck.
I am not 100%, but I believe Amsterdam is also 24/7 when it comes to trams. Trains out of the city, and busses within are not, however, so you can't get a full public transport solution.
Our buses have a service gap between 1am and 2am, I only meant the subway when I said 24/7, not all public transport. Not sure about trains, but I believe they also don't run between 1 and 2.
The VRE only runs on weekdays, and it only runs into DC in the morning and out of DC at night. >_<</p>
HAH!
Well, not hah... I was burned by that on a business trip to Columbia. Thought I'd head into town to meet some friends OH WAIT NO TRAINS RUN THE REVERSE COMMUTE.
As much as I like the MBTA ("The T") proper, the MBCR (Mass Bay Commuter Rail) is pretty shit. Unless you're going during peek hours, the MBCR doesn't give a shit about you. You might get a train every two hours or so in off-peek hours/directions. I used to have a class, back when I was living at home, that got out at 6:40. I had to wait until 8:30 for the train, simply because of timing.
My biggest public transit gripe is the parking situation at NJ Transit stations in northern NJ. It's a 40min ride into Penn Station from any number of very nice towns, but the townships own all the land around the stations and create parking scarcity, while giving residents priority in getting permits. It's not uncommon to encounter a 5 year waiting list for a parking spot if you live one town over. Then you get into the realm of scouring Craigslist for people who will rent you a spot on in their driveway.
This almost completely fucked us out of any benefit when I moved my family north to give my wife a shorter commute to NYC. Luckily, her job wound up moving way downtown, so it makes more sense to just drive half of the commute and take the PATH (a local rail the just gets you over the water, with downtown stops).
Boston wasn't so much "designed" as "evolved organically." The roads in modern day Boston are pretty much derived from the cow paths used by the early settlers to bring their cattle to what's now the Boston Common park to graze.
I was going to comment on Rym and Scott's totally bullshit comments on not backing into parking spaces earlier, but thought it wasn't worth it. They are wrong for so many reasons it would take to long to list them all, and my time is better spent elsewhere.
However, one thing to point out is that in Europe parking spaces are typically much narrower than in the USA. This might be because parking spaces that you can pull into in the USA are usually in parking lots. In Europe there are far more on actual streets. In the case of narrow parking spaces, reversing in is waaaaaaaaay easier than driving in forwards. Having a mirror on both sides means you have twice as many views that you can line up with the target down the side of your car, rather than a single floating point that has to judge the front two corners of your car, plus one side, if driving directly into the space.
Finally, if "speed in pulling in or out" are your main considerations when parking, then everything you say on the matter can be discarded. Speed should never be a consideration, only safety of yourself and others.
It does definitely matter how wide the spaces are. We have enormous, ridiculous, gigantic parking spaces in most places here, many of which are angled for drive-in. (It's against the rules (and sometimes laws) to back into angled spaces if they're angled against the roadway).
Many parking lots that aren't angled ban backing in. I could head up to Beacon and take pictures of the signs from at least half a dozen apartment complex parking lots. No reason was given, but it was a ticketable offence to be backed into a spot.
Speed pulling out is a huge concern if you commute by train in upstate New York. You have to book out of the train and run to the stairs at the platform edge before the slow, lumbering masses get there (or else you're stuck an extra 5+ minutes behind them).
Then, you have to book to your car, start it, and get out of the parking lot immediately, or else there's a solid 10 minutes of backed up traffic to wait through.
That 15 minutes a day if you're not quick adds up over the months ;^)
I think part of the problem is that Americans have bigger cars than Europeans. This means smaller turning radius, better surround vision and more cars in the same amount of space.
I back into my spot in the garage because its in the corner and it is a pain in the ass to drive in forward.
I don't really have a garage, but when I park at the family business, I back into my spot nearby for the same reason - It's between a house and a building, and if I parked nose-in, I'd be backing out all but blind. Considering I have to reverse "Over" a footpath and into a street, I'd rather not be doing so blind.
Comments
In fact, the subway company will pay you back for whatever money you spent on a taxi as a result of the subway being delayed. They also do this for buses, but with buses, the bus has to be 30 minutes or something crazy like that late.
They will not pay you unless you checked in at the subway station though, which you probably didn't unless you knew the subway was gonna be delayed, and you wanted to file a complaint.
The comparison to Forklifts, pallet jacks, etc. is just plain reversed in what you are saying. Forklifts have greater maneuverability in tight spaces because when they travel into a tight space the steering is on the back of their vector of motion. And when they leave the space "backwards" the steering is in the front. The exact same thing happens when you back into a parking space with a regular, front-wheel steered car.
Backing into a parking space also gives you better visibility when leaving the parking space since you have fewer blind angles. It also gives you the ability to completely view the parking spot before making your approach, making sure that for example the other cars on the side aren't over the line, or some crappy moped is occupying the entire parking spot or so.
Another reason they're more maneuverable in general is not because of which end the drive wheels are on, but because they've got a two or three foot wheelbase, and they can turn their steering wheels almost 90 degrees from the axle - which your car can't. Most models can pretty much do a 360 degree turn on the spot, unlike your car.
Edit - Also, don't forget, we're disagreeing, so prepare to be called "Kids."
The VRE only runs on weekdays, and it only runs into DC in the morning and out of DC at night. >_<
Well, not hah... I was burned by that on a business trip to Columbia. Thought I'd head into town to meet some friends OH WAIT NO TRAINS RUN THE REVERSE COMMUTE.
This almost completely fucked us out of any benefit when I moved my family north to give my wife a shorter commute to NYC. Luckily, her job wound up moving way downtown, so it makes more sense to just drive half of the commute and take the PATH (a local rail the just gets you over the water, with downtown stops).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/washington-rated-the-worst-for-traffic-congestion--again/2013/02/04/125be724-6ee3-11e2-8b8d-e0b59a1b8e2a_story.html
However, one thing to point out is that in Europe parking spaces are typically much narrower than in the USA. This might be because parking spaces that you can pull into in the USA are usually in parking lots. In Europe there are far more on actual streets. In the case of narrow parking spaces, reversing in is waaaaaaaaay easier than driving in forwards. Having a mirror on both sides means you have twice as many views that you can line up with the target down the side of your car, rather than a single floating point that has to judge the front two corners of your car, plus one side, if driving directly into the space.
Finally, if "speed in pulling in or out" are your main considerations when parking, then everything you say on the matter can be discarded. Speed should never be a consideration, only safety of yourself and others.
Many parking lots that aren't angled ban backing in. I could head up to Beacon and take pictures of the signs from at least half a dozen apartment complex parking lots. No reason was given, but it was a ticketable offence to be backed into a spot.
Speed pulling out is a huge concern if you commute by train in upstate New York. You have to book out of the train and run to the stairs at the platform edge before the slow, lumbering masses get there (or else you're stuck an extra 5+ minutes behind them).
Then, you have to book to your car, start it, and get out of the parking lot immediately, or else there's a solid 10 minutes of backed up traffic to wait through.
That 15 minutes a day if you're not quick adds up over the months ;^)