Pardon my cynicism over this, but if Paris was calling for "Cleaning up the Seine River" before the Olympics and we saw how well THAT worked... after hearing about all the issues LA has with its...
Pardon my cynicism over this, but if Paris was calling for "Cleaning up the Seine River" before the Olympics and we saw how well THAT worked... after hearing about all the issues LA has with its own public transportation, i have a hard time believing this will come to fruition. Heck, they even point out that the results of the election this year will also have an impact.
But let's say that LA somehow DOES get a better public transportation system in place... I still feel like they'd be underestimating the logistics required. I live in Japan, a place that is lauded (I think that's the right word) for its transportation... which at the same time is also infamous for how crowded its systems- especially trains- get. The Japanese are used to being in close proximity to each other, and have thin statures. I do NOT see any Americans being able to stand insanely crowded transportation systems... which is what would happen during the Olympics.
Comment box Scope: comment response, information, personal thoughts Tone: neutral Opinion: some Sarcasm/humor: none Los Angeles is on a transit-building tear and has been for several years. The...
Comment box
Scope: comment response, information, personal thoughts
Tone: neutral
Opinion: some
Sarcasm/humor: none
But let's say that LA somehow DOES get a better public transportation system in place...
I can’t say for sure whether that will be “enough,” but this is the kind of event for which LA Metro could run peak-level service around the clock.
LA’s metro system won’t look like Paris’ by 2028, but that probably isn’t necessary to get people to a few key sporting destinations.
I do NOT see any Americans being able to stand insanely crowded transportation systems... which is what would happen during the Olympics.
Are you from the US or Japan?
People get very physically close to each other all the time in US metro systems. It happens in New York, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, and every other city with a railroad. People obviously have a preference for a bit more room, but I wouldn’t call this unheard of or unacceptable in the US.
It also happens on people-movers in airports, in security lines at airports and sporting venues, and of course people are quite physically close in economy seats on airplanes. Not to mention how close people are at concerts, festivals, clubs, and bars—everyone who has ever been to the club has developed strategies for shoving through masses of unaware drunk people.
As for statute, I’m not sure what the makeup of Olympic in-person viewers is exactly, but would speculate that it is mostly a function of distance from the venues with some bias toward people who are amateur athletes themselves. Okobi et al. write in the National Library of Medicine that obesity rates are significantly lower in urbanized areas than rural ones. If my theory holds true, the Olympics’ position in LA (rather than a rural area) at least inclines people living in said urbanized area to attend rather than distant rural folks.
But that’s beside the point because Americans routinely squish onto subway systems as it is.
The other thing to note is that modal ridership tends to be elastic both structurally and psychologically. This means that people choose a mode of transportation based on various factors including its real usefulness and availability, but also their perception of its convenience. The mere announcement that the Olympics will only be accessible by transit immediately changes the ridership characteristics of that event. This announcement discourages people who hate being near other people from attending. (This phenomenon is fairly well recognized in the context of automobile roadway “induced demand,” but it applies to any mode.)
Would I expect car-minded Americans to make a fuss? Sure. Would they boycott the Olympics? Probably some of them. Would the Olympics struggle to fill seats? Doubtful—LA has an enormous population and I think most people would be more excited to go to the Olympics than peeved about having to be in a tight subway for 30 minutes.
in San Diego, during Comic-Con, the trolley gets packed like a can of sardines with people being ass to ankles, yet no one complained or had cultural hang-ups about it. in fact, people would make...
in San Diego, during Comic-Con, the trolley gets packed like a can of sardines with people being ass to ankles, yet no one complained or had cultural hang-ups about it. in fact, people would make room and get even closer together to allow for one more person to board.
Pardon my cynicism over this, but if Paris was calling for "Cleaning up the Seine River" before the Olympics and we saw how well THAT worked... after hearing about all the issues LA has with its own public transportation, i have a hard time believing this will come to fruition. Heck, they even point out that the results of the election this year will also have an impact.
But let's say that LA somehow DOES get a better public transportation system in place... I still feel like they'd be underestimating the logistics required. I live in Japan, a place that is lauded (I think that's the right word) for its transportation... which at the same time is also infamous for how crowded its systems- especially trains- get. The Japanese are used to being in close proximity to each other, and have thin statures. I do NOT see any Americans being able to stand insanely crowded transportation systems... which is what would happen during the Olympics.
Comment box
Los Angeles is on a transit-building tear and has been for several years.
The newly opened downtown connector links several of the region’s rail lines. In the context of network analysis, the significance of this (finished) project cannot be overstated. The agency is spending about $120 billion on capital projects for its regional rail network ahead of the Olympics. For context, that’s twice as much as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s 2022–26 advanced appropriations for rail.
I can’t say for sure whether that will be “enough,” but this is the kind of event for which LA Metro could run peak-level service around the clock.
LA’s metro system won’t look like Paris’ by 2028, but that probably isn’t necessary to get people to a few key sporting destinations.
Are you from the US or Japan?
People get very physically close to each other all the time in US metro systems. It happens in New York, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, and every other city with a railroad. People obviously have a preference for a bit more room, but I wouldn’t call this unheard of or unacceptable in the US.
It also happens on people-movers in airports, in security lines at airports and sporting venues, and of course people are quite physically close in economy seats on airplanes. Not to mention how close people are at concerts, festivals, clubs, and bars—everyone who has ever been to the club has developed strategies for shoving through masses of unaware drunk people.
As for statute, I’m not sure what the makeup of Olympic in-person viewers is exactly, but would speculate that it is mostly a function of distance from the venues with some bias toward people who are amateur athletes themselves. Okobi et al. write in the National Library of Medicine that obesity rates are significantly lower in urbanized areas than rural ones. If my theory holds true, the Olympics’ position in LA (rather than a rural area) at least inclines people living in said urbanized area to attend rather than distant rural folks.
But that’s beside the point because Americans routinely squish onto subway systems as it is.
The other thing to note is that modal ridership tends to be elastic both structurally and psychologically. This means that people choose a mode of transportation based on various factors including its real usefulness and availability, but also their perception of its convenience. The mere announcement that the Olympics will only be accessible by transit immediately changes the ridership characteristics of that event. This announcement discourages people who hate being near other people from attending. (This phenomenon is fairly well recognized in the context of automobile roadway “induced demand,” but it applies to any mode.)
Would I expect car-minded Americans to make a fuss? Sure. Would they boycott the Olympics? Probably some of them. Would the Olympics struggle to fill seats? Doubtful—LA has an enormous population and I think most people would be more excited to go to the Olympics than peeved about having to be in a tight subway for 30 minutes.
in San Diego, during Comic-Con, the trolley gets packed like a can of sardines with people being ass to ankles, yet no one complained or had cultural hang-ups about it. in fact, people would make room and get even closer together to allow for one more person to board.