(not my photo)
Many years ago, when I live in the DC area, I rode public transportation pretty regulary. Or at least occasionally. Or at least the second half of the time I lived in DC (when I worked downtown). Not bad, but frankly it was as cheap to drive, if I had 1 other person riding w/ me. Time was probably comperable, thanks to DC Traffic.
When we moved to the midwest, Public Transit wasn't really a viable option, based on where I lived vs where I worked... But for the past 6 years, I've been in a location where public transit is at least an option. But I still drive. Why? Well, I did a little analysis, and confirmed what I had presumed to be the case.
I live just under 12 miles from work. I spend about 45 minutes / day (total) on my communte. My schedule isn't locked to 8-5, but varies day to day (primarily when I leave). No tolls. No parking costs.
What if I took public transportation? In my case: walk to the bus, bus to the transfer station, another bus, and finally walk to the office. Each walk would be 0.4 - 0.5 mile, which quite reasonable (when the weather isn't bad).
Not bad, BUT: Based on the published schedules, total time would be about 140 minutes per day. Just under 2.5 hours, more than triple the drive time. That's a lot of time: almost 7 hrs/wk additional time! And missing any connection would add at least 1/2 hour. But what of all the money I'd save? Well..... As I read the schedules, the daily cost would be about 70% higher than what I'm currently spending on gas. Even if I add estimated auto maintenance costs (from the web), it's still about 25% higher.
Hmm... Public transportation would add a LOT more time, and cost a good bit more. And reduce my flexability.
(not my photo)
Sorry, it's a no brainer. I'll keep driving. Guess I'm just a bad person...
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