Do Your Buses Get Stuck in Traffic? (The Downs-Thomson Paradox)

Why HN readers recommended it

HN points to it as a clear introduction to why widening roads fails and why transit-only lanes matter.

This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.

Video & recommendation details

Creator / channel

Not Just Bikes

Topic

urban transit and congestion

Format

explainer

Level

general

HN recommenders in dataset

4

HN mentions in dataset

6

Recommendation years in dataset

2021–2023

These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.

From the original HN conversations

Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.

• Please, please watch the videos I linked. Especially the Not Just Bikes channel. For example, this one [VIDEO] can quickly explain why a transport system flooded with autonomous cars and poor public transit would make the overall system worse for everyone . There is also …

• Train fans will always still take the train, and for good reason (they are a better experience in some ways), but the fundamental issue of whether we can address car traffic and congestion is about whether other forms of transit can be faster. [VIDEO] and …

• Correct, The Downs-Thomson paradox [1] is a known issue in urban planning stating basically unless you improve public transportation car congestion will continue to get worse. > the equilibrium speed of car traffic on a road network is determined by the average door-to-door speed of …