MCG (Australia) parking situation for Swift shows confuses Americans

[Yavin4]

More than 280,000 fans filtered into the MCG over three days to see Taylor Swift take the stage and many people overseas had the same question: where did everyone park their cars?

To cater to the 90,000+ people going to the Eras Tour in Melbourne, extra train and tram services were offered over the three nights. The MCG is near two train stations and there are plenty of tram stops around Yarra Park.

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/2024/02/20/mcg-taylor-swift-confusion

Americans do not have the "freedom" that we think that we do. We are constantly forced to live a certain way because of lobbying by powerful interests. Even when other countries do things better, education, public transportation, healthcare, etc., we are told over and over again and again that it won't work here. Everything in America exists, not for the public good, but because it puts money in some rich person's pockets.

[spooky3]

1. I partly agree with the article but think he missed a major point.

Many Swift fans are young and from smaller cities and towns. Older people and those from bigger cities would be very familiar with how to navigate subways, metros, etc., from experience with their own community systems or from traveling.

[brooklynite]

2. Its comforting to blame "them" for our own failings.

Americans weren't forced to buy cars because of a lack of mass transit. They chose to in the post-war period as urban communities sprawled into the suburbs, and government funding for highways vs transit followed the demand change.

nb: while urban transit is fairly good in major Australian cities, the national rail system is far worse than Amtrak. I was there last month and we took an intercity train than only ran once a week. There were only two trains a day between Sydney and Melbourne.

[speak easy]

9. "an intercity train than only ran once a week?"

[brooklynite]

14. Yup. And not one of their vacation trains like the INDIAN PACIFIC

An ordinary train of three cars from the 990s

[Prairie Gates]

3. The train situation in the US is an international joke

Outside the northeast corridor (which is itself mid at best, as rail goes) we are among the worst in the world.

And then we get so-called political experts coming even on Democratic boards with anti-rail arguments. What an embarrassment.

[Gore1FL]

12. I assume you mean passenger rail

U.S. freight rail is the best in the world.

[malaise]

4. Lots of practice with

Cricket😀😀

[redqueen]

5. Yep. Public transportation is so dire in the US

Just another example of public policy that doesn't serve the public

[Ligyron]

6. I think "freedom" (whatever that even means) is hardly the motive for most immigration.

No, the motive is money - they think they'll make more of it here, be better off financially and enjoy a better overall lifestyle in the USA.

[Kid Berwyn]

7. Always gratified to hear suburban Detroit's sheltered Right Wingers...

...raised on Fox Noise return home from their first trip overseas discover things there aren't what they were told, life there isn't what they believed, and the news on the tee vee there is so much different from the pulp they are fed at home.

Like the scales fell out of their eyes or something.

[woodsprite]

8. I'm 60 yrs old, and had never

Taken public transportation anytime, other than private coach bus trips, until the Women’s March after Trump was elected. Now we take it often. Bus, Train — I love it! It saddens me when I think about how many times we didn’t go somewhere due to the hassle or expense of parking.

[LisaM]

10. I have taken transit for years, but in Seattle

they have completely disrupted the transit model thanks to an ill-advised blank check known as ST3. When Taylor Swift was here, it screwed everyone up. They removed (several years ago) many of the flexible bus routes that included park and rides from the suburbs and put everyone on one crowded line that depends on inconvenient transfers. Then they encouraged people to come to the Taylor Swift concert on the train (many did), even though there were two sporting events also going on. People were stuck for hours because of the lack of capacity and anyone who wanted to work downtown was completely out of luck (the same train stops at all the downtown stops so you can't bypass it).

I am all for transit, I have been using it for 30 years, but Seattle has mucked it up big time (my 15 minute commute now takes 40 minutes).

[obamanut2012]

11. I take the light rail to work and around the city almost every single day

As does my wife and many of our friends. Including to see concerts, plays, etc. in our city. We very rarely drive, except to Costco or the mall.

Americans in cities and certain large suburbs connected to cities know all about this.

[LeftinOH]

13. I've been to Melbourne: The streetcar/tram system is world class. Melbourne is

about the size of Chicago (I think); the overall quality of life there is usually at or near the top in all categories.