Oil Prices...Fundamentals or Not? | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 hidden)
I have another one (none / 0)
Raise the drivers license age to 18.  Put the highschool kids back on the bus.  I predict we'll see this when the shortages begin.

by bfaul on 06/16/2008 01:32:25 PM EST

It is a big potential fuel saver (none / 0)

The difference in traffic between Summer and Fall is unreal in my city.  I can tell when school lets out without ever needing to glance at the calender because the streets are so quiet.

Also, think of the insurance savings people would enjoy.  I wouldn't want to be the one to publicly make this decision though, those kids would never stop rolling the house in toilet paper.

by bfaul on 06/16/2008 02:37:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]
The only issue with that is (none / 0)
people start to work at 16, and that can be really complicated when mom and dad (and whoever else) work or are busy and can't drive those kids.

Of course considering how good the public transportation is in most of America this is a non-issue, so never mind.*








*Yes, that was sarcasm. At any rate, investing heavily in new train lines and more bus service is another no-brainer. Hell, the buses could be brought online relatively quickly in many places (you need signs, schedules and some admin/staffing changes, but it's still a hell of a lot faster than waiting for the currently impractical miracle technologies).

by Tom Hanc on 06/16/2008 10:08:16 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Here in Austin (none / 0)
We just got light rail this year. We tried to pass it repeatedly but the gas companies and car dealerships spent millions to lobby against it.  A few years ago it lost in a recount (if I recall).  Now it runs from downtown to the Norhwest and everyone is bitching its not in their neighborhood.  In six-ten months it will reach out towards (not all the way too) my part of suburbia and I am damn excited.

by ProfRich on 06/16/2008 11:24:42 PM EST

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It wasn't just (none / 0)
the car dealers and gas companies that killed it.

So many short-sighted, myopic people across America took a proverbial shit on public transportation by crying at the suggestion of even the slightest tax increase.  Now those same idiots are bitching about how expensive gas is for their daily commute.

Anyway, that's great news for Austin. When I go into the office one day a week (work remotely the other days), I take the train and then walk a mile which is fine and much cheaper than driving.

by Tom Hanc on 06/16/2008 11:54:20 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Oil Prices...Fundamentals or Not? | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 hidden)