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After spending some time on the road I have lost all faith in humanity and concluded I will soon die at the hands of an innatentive driver or be the victim of a fatal road rage incident. For commuters taking public transpory daily as a supplement to your vehicle... is it so inconvenient you cannot deal or it's okay? I've been hearing mixed things
Plenty of people use it all the time - because the alternative is too expensive. If driving by cars was affordable and parking was easy and affordable and there was no traffic, most people would take their cars. (Who really wants to sit on a smelly, crowded, inflexible, anonymous bus or train over sitting in their own vehicle anyway?)
I don't use it, but here's the situation. St. Louis' public transportation options are a light rail (with limited pickups) and bus transportation. When I first moved back to St. Louis I investigated taking public transportation from my home in the county to St. Louis City for work (about 20 miles). Because there was no immediate access to the light rail, I would be forced to transfer twice and the estimated commute time was listed as about 2 hours...Since St. Louis has almost ZERO traffic, it really didn't make any sense for me to use public transit, except saving money (my work would reimburse me for my expenses). Either way, the difference of a 25 minute automotive commute, vs saving $200/month in gasoline really wasn't worth it for me. I like my freedom, and the idea of losing 4 hours of my day just getting to and from a job would be major hit to quality of life. Occasionally i've participated in work conferences which are located close to our metrorail system. For those conferences, I tend to take public transit. It still takes me about 10 minutes (including leaving the house, and parking the car on the lot) to make it to the metro station, but after there, the 30-35 minute ride to downtown isn't all that bad. If public transit was a bit more available, I'd take it in a heartbeat...but heck, it was a 2 hour commute to the county in 1904...so the idea of it still taking that long via the bus system, just seemed ridiculous.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I drive 2 miles to the park and ride, then spend 35 minutes on the bus. My employer pays for parking and the bus pass so I could go either way but with saving on gas and not being stuck in jammed traffic I prefer the bus. It has it's own lane and zooms by the traffic, so in the afternoon it's faster even with multiple stops along the way. Also, I can catch up on personal e-mail (and forums) which makes the time pass quickly.
I used public transport for a few years when it was available and convenient. It was great because you don't have to worry about anything but the schedule! It's great sitting and being chauffeured so you can read, relax, etc, while someone else drives.
Scenario 1 - walked out my door to a bus stop a few hundred yards away, or took a bicycle with me. Rode the bike in town or walked. (vs driving and paying to park, equal time)
Scenario 2 - drove a couple miles to the train station, took a 40 minute train in and walked a few blocks. (vs driving 30-60 minutes, traffic depending, and then paying to park)
If I could use public transport more often I would but I'm just not in a dense area and a car or motorcycle is necessary to get places. If I had the option to ride share or drive to a public transport, I'd take it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrossCountryTrip
is it so inconvenient you cannot deal or it's okay? I've been hearing mixed things
Why not try it? It's not like it's going to hurt you to give it a shot for a few weeks, get into the routine, and then make a decision for yourself.
I do, LA's metro system is actually quite decent now and the Red/Gold Line gets me to where I need to go usually. It saves me a crap ton in gas thanks to the high gas prices around here.
I used to live and work where one bus was all I needed. I walked 2 blocks to catch it, it was a frequent bus so one came every 15 minutes and took me straight to work (downtown), it was fine. However, when I lived in that same house, and my kids used the bus to get to their school (10 miles away, 15 min by car) it took them an hour and a downtown transfer. When they were threatened by a crazy guy with a knife on the ride home one day, I stopped letting them use the city bus (they were 11 and 16 at the time).
Currently I only use it (city bus) when my car is in the shop which is pretty much never. I sometimes take a shuttle bus to my school (out of town) from a park & ride, but it's a bit different and I prefer to drive my car to the P&R.
When I have to take the bus in town to get where I need to be to catch that shuttle, then my 15 to 20 minute car trip to the P&R turns into this:
Walk 1/2 mile to bus stop. Bus I need only comes once an hour and is almost always late. Besides, driver on that route is a major sourpuss, don't know WTH her problem is. Transfer after about 5 miles. Catch connecting bus which goes all over the place (seems like it). From first bus to destination, the 15 to 20 minute car trip is about an hour and fifteen minutes before I arrive at the park & ride where I catch my out of town bus (which takes another hour). So, all total if I don't use my car it takes me over 2 hours to get to school, but if I drive it's an hour & 15 from my front door to campus. I don't like it but I still do it when I need to. Saves quite a bit, can't deny that.
Whether or not it is pleasant or tolerable for you depends totally on your city's transportation offerings and where you live and so many other factors.
Every day I drive to the subway station (20 minutes) where I take the train/subway downtown (30 to 40 minutes). I don't mind either, though lately I've begun to hate commuting because it's a waste of time; I'd like to move closer to work. On the upside, I can relax to some music on the drive and work on my classroom material on the train. This is in the Chicagoland area. I am thinking of trying the Metra (train train) once, to compare it to my current commute.
Thanks everyone, I'm gonna try it out for the rest of the week. I'm no stranger to bus or train rides but it's never been an everyday thing for me. Looking at route times it'll take significantly longer, that's for sure. But can't hurt to try.
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