Expert sounds the alarm on troubling data about how people get to work: 'Is it really freedom?'

A TikToker took to the platform to discuss troubling data about how people get to work and how it shows a lack of real choice in the United States' transit options. 

TikToker and transport expert molesrcool (@molesrcool) posted a video titled, "When driving your car is your only option, is it really freedom?" 

@molesrcool when driving a car is your only option, is it really freedom? #cars #pedestriandignity #traffic ♬ Yacht Club - MusicBox

In it, the OP breaks down U.S. Census Bureau data about how people travel to work, opening with a map that shows only one U.S. county, New York City, primarily uses public transit to get to work. Virtually the rest of the country's counties (excepting northern Alaska) use cars as their primary means of transport. 

The TikToker breaks the data down further, showing that 77 percent of Americans drive alone to work, while another 10.7 percent drive via carpool, which it's noted "is just more cars." 

Only 4.7 percent of people use public transit to get to work, and that number is said to be "skewed towards a small number of major metropolitan areas." 

"In most of the United States," the OP says, "driving alone or carpooling are your only two real options. And that's not a real choice at all." 

The creator adds that we shouldn't get rid of cars, but "cars shouldn't be this much of the pie." 

Walkability and flexibility for citizens is a growing issue around the globe. Cities like Paris have made an effort to put pedestrians on equal footing with cars, while Amsterdam has been praised for catering to pedestrians as well. 

The U.S. lags behind those cities in walkability, particularly in cities like Los Angeles, which is frequently criticized for being impossible to navigate without a car. 

In this case, commenters lamented the state of affairs. 

"I try to walk but in my city there are barely any sidewalks," one person commented. 

"If we had better infrastructure, we would use public transportation more," another wrote. "At least I would." 

"I wish I could use public transport to go to work," posted a third. "I hate driving! But there are no options here." 

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