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I'm now taking a new bus to work, which deposits me a mile and a half from work. That's just me, to exercise, I need to be forced to do it, to get the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Add in the walk to the bus stop to return home, and still! not the recommended 10,000 steps, as I've counted them!
You? You probably get in your recommended 10,000 steps before you jump in your car in the morning to go to work?
No I go to the gym to workout. So while you are getting your "10,000 steps" I'm driving to they gym to pump some iron. Like I said your making up good reasons to ride the bus. The only good reason is if you can't get a car. I rode the bus when I did not have a car and it was terrible. If you miss the bus, then you'll be waiting for the other one, you're late to work, you're fired...
One poster remarked that, with a new car, one should expect 150k miles without any major repairs, but given the high-tech complexity of cars today, and the forbidden costs of even minor repairs (yup, many cars today, you can't replace the headlight without taking it to a dealer!) I suspect some minimizing here, which you'd expect from those completely addicted to the idea of owning a car!
And? How many can't even afford a new car? Buy a used one, and? God only knows what you might be facing!
And, during those 150k driven miles, and with the escalating traffic fines to help fund the government, not one traffic fine during those 150k miles driven? My last one: $480! Sheer entrapment! And I couldn't get the blasted glove compartment open, no proof of registration or insurance, so included in that $480 was $90 and $80 for those 2 missing documents!
The stress of driving a car today? No one puts a price tag on that? Again, minimized! Given all the pedestrian-related deaths in this city, I all but panic everytime at seeing an unlit crosswalk at night! And then coming up on a bicycle rider with no rear lighting on the streets! More panic! Hit a bicyclist, hit someone in a crosswalk, you may as well curl up and die! Involuntary manslaughter!
I must admit that this post was so silly that I was laughing out loud on the bus this afternoon. The driver gave me a weird look.
I spent no less than FOUR HOURS on a city bus this afternoon for a trip that I could have accomplished in maybe 1.5 hours by car. I missed one bus on the 4th leg of my trip and came close to waiting two additional hours had I missed the final leg.
Well, riding the bus was cheap - and that was the ONLY positive thing about the experience. On the first leg, the bus driver arrived two minutes early and I almost missed it. That ride was uneventful. Leg two featured a shouting match between a Somali woman and the bus driver and a near fight between that woman and another passenger who was playing the Somali women's baby. The third leg was interesting as the bus route actually driven deviates from the bus schedule on the bus system's website. Unlike the last time which left me stranded, at least the bus driver was able to direct me to a different bus route.
On the fourth leg, I missed the connection as I needed to take 10 minutes to conduct some business. Actually, the bus that I was supposed to take did NOT make the prescribed stop leaving three people waiting for an additional 25 minutes. Fortunately, the later bus did come on time. However, the new bus driver failed to exit at one point missing a stop and had to backtrack. This is the second straight day that the passengers have had tell the bus driver how to locate the stop as the bus company does not deem it necessary to train its employees.
I have driven nearly 200k miles without a single ticket or even being pulled over. Nevada is probably the most LAX state in speed enforcement. If you got a ticket, more than likely, the officer deemed that you were a threat to life and limb.
I do not see a vehicle as being such a large expense, if you pick a quality vehicle and ***DO THE PRESCRIBED MAINTENANCE***. The problem is that most people defer maintenance until the repair is major. By the way, my last headlight change was $18 at the local Pep Boys.
I have no intention of giving up a vehicle that allows me to do the things that I like to do (volunteering, cultural events, and the like) in a time effective basis just so I can say I am more frugal.
Jlawrence: My Mexican co-worker, I believe, assessed it quite correctly: I was brown-baited that night, when I received those tickets!
2 A.M., looking for a park to walk my pet on the west side, unfamiliar territory, made a right turn onto a major street, the extra-wide space from the curb to the outer lane appeared to me to be a lane for usage, was only going a short block to make another right hand turn, motorcycle cop saw me, the ticket: driving in an unsafe lane! No other traffic around at that hour!
And? Me with my personalized license plate: Tjuana!
Cop was probably drooling over the prospect I was a potential DUI charge, and was probably shocked to see me roll down the window to see a 64YO Caucasian male sitting there!
WTF!!! Why the Tjuana personalized license plate!
My Mexican co-worker: Get rid of it! You were stopped once before at night, and it's that license plate! And I did, I turned it into DMV shortly after!
Granted, not all bus systems are as great as those in Las Vegas where we have 24 hour bus service, due to an estimated 24,000 nightshift workers here.
But I've been lucky, taking the bus to work, only one time, so far, the bus broke down and I was late for work!
Sometimes the bus is better, sometimes driving is better. Wow! I can't believe something like this would be situationally dependent!
The bus is never better. Maybe a train, but never a bus. I guess if saving a few bucks in gas is worth waiting hours and having no control of your own is worth it to you then yes the bus is beteer
The bus is never better. Maybe a train, but never a bus. I guess if saving a few bucks in gas is worth waiting hours and having no control of your own is worth it to you then yes the bus is beteer
Maybe it's like that where you live, but not everywhere. My bus comes every 12 minutes and I don't have to get stuck paying for a parking garage that's farther away from work than my bus stop is. Some bus systems have private right-of-ways (busways, bus lanes, or HOV lanes) which allow the buses to speed past gridlocked traffic.
I also have a personal preference to minimize my driving. I generally don't find driving enjoyable (particularly in rush hour traffic) and I hate walking out my door to realize I have to now spend 10 minutes shoveling my driveway and cleaning snow and ice off my car and another 10 minutes waiting for the car to get warm. Sometimes it's nice to chat with my neighbors or coworkers at the bus stop for a few minutes too.
It very much depends on where you live, and what their transit is like. Also, to a lesser degree, on your own circumstances.
I live in Manhattan - I wouldn't dream of driving. The closest bus runs every 5-8 minutes. During the day the subway is faster than even cabs. My in-laws used to drive into Manhattan, and often pointed out how much faster it was than the subway from their house - but they somehow never quite counted the time it took to find parking... (And they had chosen to live a 15 minute walk from the subway... they would not have, if they had not had a car.)
My brother, also living here, did own and drive a car for a few years - but he worked nights. He could park at 11:30 in midtown, he could park at home in the morning, he was driving against traffic, not bad. And not typical.
When I lived in NJ, I had a car. There were some advantages - I do miss the trunk - but I don't miss the time it kept stalling out, or the repairs, or the initial cost of the car and insurance... I was delighted to sell it when I moved back to NYC. I was in an area where I could manage with transit, but I was limited in what I could do, and when I freelanced, I needed to be able to drive. In those days, I sometimes drove into Manhattan on weekends or at night, because transit was difficult in my neighborhood late at night, but I avoided driving in during weekdays. The few times I had to, for one reason or another, I found traffic and parking truly horrible.
Now, we are considering moving away from NYC - and the first requirement on the list is good transit and reasonably walkable neighborhoods. We both work mostly from home, we would not be driving to work, it doesn't make sense, to us, for us to buy a car to use it just once or twice a week, if that.
As for expense - the reaction has a lot to do with what you see as necessary. If you have always had a car, if you need one where you live (and most Americans do,) you do not see it as an overwhelming or unreasonable expense. If that has not been part of your budget, if it is something that would be sort of handy but not vital, you really see how quickly those expenses add up.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,981,862 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chancellor14
The bus is never better. Maybe a train, but never a bus. I guess if saving a few bucks in gas is worth waiting hours and having no control of your own is worth it to you then yes the bus is beteer
The bus is better. No having to find parking. No paying for parking. Convenient routes and runs often.
No way will I take public buses if I don't have to. I enjoy the luxury of having a car to go wherever I want to whenever I want to.
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