Friday Video: Sean Duffy’s ‘Great American Road Trip’ Should Include Trains

Give me highways or give me death!

U.S. Transportation Secretary and former MTV personality Sean Duffy recently launched the first “Great American Road Trip” at a Washington pep rally that was part rhapsody to car culture, part trade show, part travelogue — and in all ways, an invitation to more state-sponsored driving.

But many American urbanites — and a majority of New Yorkers — don’t want to own a car to enjoy what Duffy rightly calls our beautiful country. But the GOP highwayman didn’t offer any alternatives.

It’s not entirely his fault: Amtrak isn’t ideal; it’s slow (New York City to Montreal in … 12 hours!), it’s frequently delayed (freight comes first!); and often doesn’t go to vacation destinations (“Next stop, Elmira!”). Decades of subsidizing driving (in the name of “freedom”) has left America’s rail service far behind that of countries all over the world, leaving New Yorkers with fewer choices for long-distance transportation. 

Which brings us to today’s video, in which City Nerd Ray Delahanty interviewed former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg for his thoughts on how American rail travel could be improved.

And it ain’t by building more highways: