Originally Posted by
dynodonn
To me, 1 to 2 less cars out of 100 is really not overall noticeable during a rush hour commute.
You have to look at trends and on a longer scale. The big changes are not on the highway. They are in peoples minds. This is 1.7% less rather than 1.7% more so its really a 3.4% shift. It's also a reversal of direction. But most importantly, it says that people are starting to register their discontent. They are starting to look around for answers and talking to other people.
I met a woman yesterday, she did not know that I was car-free and out of the blue she made an observation about public transit in Little Rock and asked me whether I thought it was possible to live without a car in Little Rock. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had been car-free in Little Rock for almost 7 years.
As Mark Earls points out in his talk, people live to be social. We take our cues from each other. If you watch the video, you will see one man dancing at a concert. For the longest while it is just him. But then another man joins him. Then after a while, a 3rd and 4th people join. Then more, and then more and more. It's not a straight line progression. In terms of the video, I'd say we are at the point where the second man starts dancing. It doesn't look significant, but it is. "One Robin does not make a Spring" as the saying goes, but it's generally a good indicator.