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Effects automobiles have on our society
The consequences of urban sprawl
The consequences of urban sprawl
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Automobile Dependency and the Working Poor David Shipler briefly mentions in The Working Poor that lack of access to a car is one of the factors that make finding and holding a job difficult. A person in need of a job may be unable to afford a car, since car ownership is so expensive, but they may need a car because of urban sprawl and inadequate public transit networks. But just how serious is the burden of car ownership, and how exactly does under funded public transit and urban sprawl contribute to the need to take on this burden? The costs of car ownership concern motorists greatly, so it isn't difficult to find information. AAA releases an annual brochure and report called "Your Driving Costs." Their 2004 brochure reports a composite national average cost of 56.1 cents per mile over 15,000 miles of driving annually. This amounts to an annual cost of $8,415. Americans spend more of their income on their cars than they do on anything else except for shelter. A reliable car that has been paid for in full may cost $4,000 annually, but the upfront cost of a car is still great, and few Americans can afford to buy a car outright. This picture is complicated by the fact that few low-income families are able to afford a new car, which reduces the cost of financing, but these families are also likely to have poor credit which has the opposite effect. The used cars that they buy are also likely to be less reliable than the average, which increases repair costs. Clearly, owning a car is a huge financial burden. Why take it on? The problem is an urban and suburban infrastructure designed to accommodate cars at the expense of non-automotive mc and a lack of well-designed, well-funded public transit services. In the yea... ... middle of paper ... ...s Amherst. 26 Feb 2006 . Ewing, et al. Measuring Sprawl and its Impact. 2002. Smart Growth America. 10 April 2006. . Oppenheimer, Laura. "Portland, Ore., Ranks Among Least Sprawling Communities in Country." Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. 18 October 2002. ABI/INFORM Dateline. ProQuest. Univ Mass Amherst. 26 February 2006 . Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. 2004. New York: Vintage-Random, 2005. Sinha, Kumares C. "Sustainability and Urban Public Transportation." Journal of Transportation Engineering 129.4 (Jul-Aug 2003): 331(11). Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Host. Univ Mass Amherst. 26 February 2006 . Your Driving Costs. 2006. AAA Exchange. 26 February 2006. .
The simple car that was easy to fix with some simple tools have now become as complex as a supercomputer on wheels. Most people today have decided that automobiles of today are too complicated and just send their cars to a professional for repairs. As of January 2013, the average age of a vehicle operating on the roads today is 11.4 years old. (Associated Press, 2013). People are holding on to their cars a lot longer than in the past. Although, some claim that it is because today’s cars last longer. There is no doubt that today’s economy is also playing a part in the public’s reluctance to part with their older vehicles. However, cars will always need repairs.
For example, the more notable difference would be the amount spent on children’s education—in comparing with the same family type as mine, the family with a full-time minimum wage pays $47.89/month for their children’s education while the family with a median income pays $400/month, both at a public school. Whereas, my family type spent a more significantly amount due to the fact that both children are enrolled in a private school. This shows that family’s earning more than the median, are more likely to have their children go to a private education. Moreover, a similarity I found across all family types were the main expenses where money would be primarily dedicated to—specifically, housing, food, utilities, clothing, and having a mobile device and internet. For transportation, I noticed that the majority of family types had OPUS cards—with the exception of individuals on social assistance and full-time minimum wage having bicycles—and the family types of four with a median income, or twice the median income (including my own family type), owned up to two vehicles. This illustrates the difference in terms of costs being distributed for this category as OPUS cards cost about a tenth of what all the expenses would be in owning a car. What’s more, the amount of money set aside for “other” expenses were highly variable across the different family types, with some who could not afford to put any amount at all—such as, the single mother with 2 children on social assistance and on a full-time minimum wage—to a family of two parents and two teenage children making twice the median income who could spend $1431.54/month. Ultimately, I have learnt that for many people, despite having a minimum wage, it is very difficult for an individual to live (and survive) with
money to put food on the table. Not all people who are relatively poor are
Business travelers who spend much of their time in the car (like real estate sales agents)
some of the luxuries that upper class families have. These numbers would change a little with
Similar to the research done by Paul Ong on the identification of transportation gaps within the theme of car ownership and public and its influence on employment outcomes, the (WTP) also aim to find the gaps on transportation in Los Angeles County. However, these gaps were identified around the theme of Neighborhood Deficiencies; Mode of Transportation Deficiencies; Family-related Trip Deficiencies; and Welfare-to-Work Stage Deficiencies (Moreno, et.al, 2000).
New cars have no previous history. Lenders determining the loan value use the industry list value of car. New cars also come with manufacturing warranties and established standards when selling these vehicles. In some cases manufacturers will also pass on savings reducing the final loan amount. The facts are clear, new cars are more expensive to finance even with the buying incentives.
Transportation access for poor people and wealthy people will become more equal. In particular, social justice advocates contended that there was a relationship between social inequality and environmental inequality that needed to be recognized and understood more clearly. When it came to social justice issues, mainstream environmentalist did not focus on environmental inequalities to the extent they should have. The minorities and the poor lived in the most degraded environments. For poor people especially in the village or in a rural places most of them there are no own car. So, most people in that area use their neighbor’s vehicles for transportation. Other than that, in some cases, some people in rural areas which have their
Poverty in America is a serious problem because of the inequity of wages between the higher paying jobs and the low-paying jobs that only pays the minimum wage in each state which could be up to the amount of nine dollars an hour which unfortunately is not enough to maintain the basic needs for American families. Each family must prioritize where to spend their income which normally will go to their immediate needs of food and shelter. For example, Karger & Stoesz (2014) writes, " for most Americans, poverty is a fluid rather than static condition in which people cycle in and out" (p. 98). Moreover, it is hard for family who is just getting by and could not even afford basic medical needs or insurance. The people in question can be categorized as working poor. .
Price affordability is definitely the first thing I notice when looking at this car. When going to college most students don't have thousands of extra dollars lying around, so price is one of our main concerns. Price is an extremely attractive factor when looking at a Honda Civic because they are highly affordable starting around the low price of $14,000. If your one of those people that must have all the accessories and options, then you can buy a Honda Civic nicely equipped for around $16,000, which as you can see is very affordable when compared to others in its class.
What I drive. I personally own a Ford. I have driven one for over 13 years. My car has over 150,000 miles. It has a dent in the side and costs a minimum of $1500 to fix a year, but I still drive it. Why you ask? It’s simple. I used to spend $450 a month on a car note. Now I don’t. That’s $5400 a year. I was able to direct that money into savings and debt repayment.
responsibility that is fun. Having your own car to drive around in is a fun experience for
Automobile dependency has become a huge issue in the United States. People conduct most of their commutes in private vehicles. This presented us with problems in economics, social aspects, and environment. Traffic congestion caused by overcapacity of cars on roads provides losses in productivity, decrease mobility, and increase in energy consumption. In terms of social aspect, drive alone and spend more time by themselves in a car, not all people can afford owning a car.
6. Public transport; increasing car ownership combined with urban growth imperils the attractiveness and efficiency of public transport systems.
With convenience comes cost. There are many costs associated with owning a car. Firstly learning to drive can be prohibitive, with lessons often out of a lot of peoples budgets. Once you have passed your test buying a car can also prove expensive. It is often the case we have to buy cheap second hand cars as new cars are very expensive. Sometimes this is fine and you can have a reliable car, but other times you pick one up that’s not been well maintained and can cost you a fortune in repairs and keeping it on the road.