Updated: Do you use public transit

[InflatableBuddha]

Transit has been discussed in some of the gas threads, but I think it deserves its own thread. Why do you love or hate transit in your city? How much do you use it? Vote above.

Update: I added another option for the third question, as a lot of people posted to say they live outside urban/metro areas, and transit is non-existent.

 

[pyonir]

The third one, about using transit regularly...well i live 30 miles outside of the city center...so it really doesn't come out this way. So i don't really fit into any of the available options. I guess routes being inefficient would be the closest.

 

[imported_LoKe]

1. Often costs more than gas would.
2. Takes too long to get anywhere.
3. Crowded

 

[dug777]

1. Work almost entirely.

2. Both cheaper, and parking is impossible to get AND incredibly expensive

3. TransPerth are fucking useless (honestly not THAT bad, but once in a while they drop the ball and send three buses down the same route at the same time, which incidentally bears little resemblance to the suggested time on the timetable ).

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: dug777
1. Work almost entirely.

2. Both cheaper, and parking is impossible to get AND incredibly expensive

3. TransPerth are fucking useless (honestly not THAT bad, but once in a while they drop the ball and send three buses down the same route at the same time, which incidentally bears little resemblance to the suggested time on the timetable ).

We'll run a train on your girlfriend...and i promise it'll be on time.

(sorry...don't know where that came from. I'm just mean tonight)

 

[walkur]

I don't even own a car anymore...
- bus stop to the centre of amsterdam 1 min walk.
- buses leave every 5-10 min. during rush hour
- dedicated bus lanes on on the major routes
- trainstation 5 min bike ride.
- company (partly) paying for subscription
- parking spaces are hard to find (and expensive)
- no problem getting home after a couple of beers

When/If I ever have i'll probably buy a car again..

 

[FoBoT]

you should have had an option for the last one "not available"

i live in the sticks, no buses anywhere near here

but to be honest, i wouldn't use it anyway, i prefer the flexibility my car gives me

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
you should have had an option for the last one "not available"

i live in the sticks, no buses anywhere near here

Same.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Living in the city, taking the subway is:
Faster
More Convenient
Less expensive than paying for parking

 

[Tommouse]

I take it because I hate driving in downtown Boston, that and it would cost me a ton to park my car anywhere for the day. The T is alright, a bit dirty/sketchy at times but works pretty well.

 

[Bateluer]

Only when I've been drinking, and only if/when I can't get a hold of a friend for a ride. Rarely happens though.

 

[Dirigible]

If transit is conveniently close to my start and end destination I take it when traffic would be an issue, when parking would be an issue and when drinking is planned. I use BART a lot, for both work and recreation trips.

 

[K1052]

I use it (subway/L) every day to and from work. It is easier/much cheaper and usually faster than having a car especially during rush.

 

[dullard]

For several years I took a bus home from school and then work. I would car pool in to school/work most days and need a ride home.

Why? I and my wife at the time had only one car for both of us. As students we didn't have enough money to have a second car and the cost of parking at the university was astronomical. When I graduated and started work, I just kept that up.

However, I hated it. Busses here come once an hour and only from 7 am to 6 pm. The busses also run +-15 minutes from their schedule. Thus you had to be there 15 minutes early and you very easilly could stand there until 15 minutes late waiting for the bus. Add to that the 15 minutes it takes to walk to the bus stop and another 15 mintues from the bus stop. Total time wasted: 1 hour, double that if you need to take it both ways. And if you miss the bus, prepare to stand around another hour. Also if you miss the last bus, prepare to walk home.

So, as for your poll options: I formerly used it regularly, but I don't use it now (divorced and have my own car). When I did use it, I used it because the bus was far cheaper than car payment + gas + insurance + parking + maintenance + car depreciation (most people forget all those other costs and only consider gas in the equation). I don't use it now because it is far too infrequent and inefficient.

 

[ggnl]

The public transit system sucks here. Busses are infrequent and seldom run on time. About half the routes shut down by 7:30 pm, and the whole damn system shuts down at 9pm. Practically useless...

 

[slsmnaz]

No way to use them here. It would take a loooooong time to get to work.

 

[erub]

I use it to go to and from the airport in Atlanta. Why drive down there and pay a lot of money to park when I can take the train right from a block away directly to the terminal? Other than that, it doesn't really go that many places. When I was in China, I used public transit everywhere, foreigners can't drive

 

[Anubis]

i used it when i lived in boston because it was easier/faster/cheaper then driving anywhere

 

[Zolty]

Nope but I walk the 5 blocks to work. I drive 45 min or so / week, to flight school.

 

[TheSlamma]

I live 1 block from the busiest bus line in Colorado (the number 15) and use it every time I go downtown.

 

[jlee]

If you don't use transit regularly, why not?

Because it doesn't exist..

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: LoKe
1. Often costs more than gas would.
2. Takes too long to get anywhere.
3. Crowded

I am glad the buses I use dont fall in that category.


I take the bus to work because it picks up right near where I live and drops off in front of my office building downtown. I also use the bus after football games/drinking downtown because I dont want to drive.

I can understand why alot of people cant/dont use it because of where they live and work. I am very lucky though, my company pays for my bus pass and my bus times are 20 min each way.

 

[yllus]

In Toronto it's a pretty good way to get around the downtown core, so I have a monthly pass. Otherwise you better own a car.

 

[irishScott]

DC Metro FTW! I have to drive to Vienna to get to a station, but even that's much faster than traffic into DC would ever be. Not to mention parking. Only downside is the crowds around rush hour.

 

[JulesMaximus]

No. Public transportation here is painfully inconvenient.

I bike to work 2-3 days a week though. My commute is 20 miles round trip and I ride it on a road bike. I breeze through traffic like a hot knife through butter and I use zero gas. Been doing it for 2 years now.