I’m in a thinking mood.
I read a CNN article reporting increased ridership for many public transit authorities across the nation. With gas prices hovering in and around $2/gallon, this has influenced how drivers commute to and from work, school and home.
With no clear signs of let up anytime soon. Blame it on the continued instability in the Middle East, global terrorism, and the oil-hungry, emerging economies of China and India.
Over an extended period of years with gas prices nowhere where they used to be, I’m thinking a good portion of the US population will change their views on lifestyles that are directly based to driving and/or gas prices. The American “right” to drive a car and take extended roadtrips could be threatened. But what else out there could change? When will automakers fully intervene and endorse alternative fuel resources and collaborate to deliver affordable infrastructure to the consumers? Which lifestyles will adapt and evolve or be replaced?
Sorry for my rambling.
My train of thought is this: by connecting seemingly indirect ‘dots’, it can result in something that can ‘tip’ and radically change human habit. The premise is similar to that of the book, Tipping Point.
Here is an example:
In 2004, Korea opened its French-made high-speed rail bullet trains. The year before the National Assembly passed a law that mandated 5-day work weeks. Companies (with more than 300 employees) put this into practice. These may not sound like a such a big deal, but here is how it can be explosive.
Also in 2004, there was a so-called Well-being trend sweeping the nation, this meant eating healthy and exercising, recreation and travel. When you add the context of 5-day work weeks (that allowed salary men to spend more time with family) and the high-speed railways…
The resulting chain of implications:
1. Families will take advantage of having a true weekend, which allows increased interest and higher adoption rates for leisure and recreation activities, therefore more cash flows into the tourism industry and becomes a growth engine for rural yet scenic areas.
2. People moving away from the capital city for the affordable rural areas. Salary men could commute using the bullet trains. Therefore, lowered stress on public infrastructure because there are less citizens to support. And, minimizes traffic congestion and its product: airborne pollution/smog. Another point: it distributed wealth away from Seoul, to the surrounding suburbs and exburbs. And it could lower Seoul’s outrageous housing prices in the long term.
