I mean, does the population density in the US support bullet trains? I know that both Japan & China for example have large population density within each city (whether you live in Osaka heading for Kobe or from Shanghai to Beijing, you get the picture) plus the governments of both countries invest heavily on the infrastructure including maintenance.
Distance is another factor between destinations, like from Nagoya to Kyoto it’s only 130km (80mi) and the commute by bullet train is 33 minutes while from New York to DC it’s 226mi taking you 4 hours by car but via bullet train, the commute time is less than it would be from driving alone. The cities in Japan are closer to each other by comparison.
China is a large country (not big as let's say like Russia in terms of land size) alongside varying topography and climates (they can still install tracks in uneven terrain but adjusting how they are installed), although their population is larger than the US (they have about more than 1.4 billion people as a country while the US is about 348 million).
The taxes work differently across countries, like in both Japan & China: they have the funds gathered from taxation allowing them to maintain constant upkeep or make further improvements. Well, what does the US government spend their taxes on? That in itself also lies the question whether the taxes citizens are already paying are worth it.
Taxes exist in all countries regardless, as governments need funding to maintain and improve infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, etc. The real question is: how is the government using that money? For example, in Japan the reason why public transport is considered reliable is due to their government using people's taxes for upkeep & bullet trains.
Because high speed passenger rail requires three things that don’t exist in the United States.
1.) Long-term planning 2.) Coordination among different communities 3.) A desire to invest in people’s wellbeing
We are in the ‘pieces are starting to visibly fall off this thing’ phase of societal collapse. That means that, while we’re still rolling down the road, there is a largely un-acknowledged awareness that the car isn’t making it all the way to the destination. As a result, people and institutions are all acting in their own short-term self interest.
Short-term self-interest. The cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
You're absolutely correct, but they were referencing the simpsons.
what you're not appreciating here is how extremely dynamic the situation in the US is. in china, you have cities which have existed for 2000 years with rather stable population, so you can map out a city and know where the streets are, and build public transport there. in the US, cities can rise and fall within 20 years (check out the rust belt cities). so it doesn't make sense to build infrastructure "for the ages", because you can't plan ahead that far. so we end up with short-term planning, which is why the housing is cardboard and the mode of transport is cars.