SHU Professor Pens Op-Ed on New York’s Public Transit Policies

Associate professor Dan Rober discusses the benefits of congestion pricing

One of the best New York movies—possibly one of the best movies, period—in recent years is Robot Dreams, now screening in theaters. It tells the dialogue-free story of a friendship between a lonely anthropomorphic dog and the robot he orders from a TV ad (the movie is set in the 1980s). The film is a remarkable depiction of friendship, separation, and the inevitable changes of life. It’s also a subtle ode to a car-free lifestyle; the dog and robot traverse the city by subway and go to the beach by public bus. Otherwise, they walk or roller-skate. It is thus a quintessentially New York story in all its highs, lows, encounters, and near-misses. It is charming, but also realistic. Huge numbers of New Yorkers live this way, and even more could do so with better and more extensive public-transit service.”

Read more of Rober’s piece, “Urban Dreams,” in Commonweal.