Have you ever regularly used public transportation?

[ZZman]

We have bus service in my city and it is rarely ever used by people. Back when going to college downtown I would often use the bus. Since then I haven't. I have occasionally used plane travel but don't really consider that normal public transportation for most due to cost etc.

Have you ever used a bus, train, subway, boat, plane for transportation?

 

[bdcardinal]

Nope, it is way to unreliable here. My normal 10 minute commute to work would take about 2 1/2 hours each way to go 10 miles.

 

[ripcord]

I once had to take the bus home for about a week during college while my car was broken. A trip that took 20 minutes by car took 3 hours by bus including transfers, waiting at bus stops and walking. I had a job downtown, and while I could catch a commuter bus, I had to catch a route that only came twice an hour and took two or three times as long to drop off me several blocks away from my destination. It was just too much hassle.

 

[Krieg]

Road a public bus in New Orleans and someone pulled a gun on a gambling associate. Never again...Driver took gun away and kicked suspect off bus. I was a teen..

Street cars were fun!

 

[wander2039]

Only used the light rail here a few times, best way on the weekend to bypass paying for parking. Now when we visited New York city last summer we used the subway, back 2019 in Bangkok we used the BTS skytrain. Both were easy even for us tourists.

 

[KGMtech]

When I went to private grade school from grades 6-10, used BC Transit, when I went to BCIT I used BC Transit, when I moved to Ontario, I used Windsor Transit for the first 6 months until I got a car. When I lived in Toronto I only used the TTC when going downtown and needing to conserve funds that would be otherwise spent on parking. Since leaving Toronto, never used any local transit. I prefer my own car for the privacy and comfort.

I accept that the use of public transport is very much a measure of how convenient, safe & clean this service actually is, if it fails on any one of these legs, the private car will remain & dominate.

 

[MRC01]

Nope, it is way to unreliable here. My normal 10 minute commute to work would take about 2 1/2 hours each way to go 10 miles.

Bus service in my area is similar yet not quite so bad. The bus is usually late anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, but sometimes early and drives away as you're walking up to the stop. Or maybe that was the prior bus 30-45 minutes late, it's impossible to tell. And it takes 45 mins to go 5 miles. I put up with this for about a year, then finally started driving myself, which takes less than half the time on the same route.

 

[UG_Passat]

Yes. Beats the stress of sitting in traffic

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

We use it when visiting Mexico. It is cheap, fast and have a huge number of busses so you're never standing around for long. Some cities they will just drop you wherever you want along the route if you ask. Probably safer than a car since you can sort of blend in.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

We use it when visiting Mexico. It is cheap, fast and have a huge number of busses so you're never standing around for long. Some cities they will just drop you wherever you Probably safer than a car since you can sort of blend in. We also used the street cars in New Orleans. Fine during the day.

 

[raaizin]

When I lived in Brooklyn NY, subway best way to get into NYC. Nice to read the paper on the way to school or work

 

[vavavroom]

It's been over 30 years. Neither my skateboard nor my bike was suitable for some frequent trips. School was 12 minutes away by bicycle.

 

[y_p_w]

I don't think there's anyone who hasn't taken public transportation at one point or another. Doing so regularly is another matter. I was actually pretty easy when I had a part time job in downtown San Francisco. I had other ways of getting to work in Silicon Valley, but most offices are spread out and not all that convenient for public transportation unless it was something near a bus stop or light rail station.

I'm thinking of possibly taking a new job where it might be convenient to take public transportation. Not that it would be any faster, but being stuck in traffic can be infuriating. Public transportation can help with one's sanity and possibly get work done.

When I was in junior high school, my assigned school was several miles from home. Our school district worked with the local bus agency to arrange transportation to/from school, and only school age children were allowed on these buses; they didn't take aboard any passengers after leaving school. There was one route near home and they'd run three buses in the morning and three buses returning. They didn't put anything on the normal bus route sign (either rollers or electronic), but placed a placard on the window with the name of the school on one side and the return endpoint on the other side. Fares were normal youth fares and we could buy discounted bus tickets. And those tickets got interesting as they were these thick paper close to cardstock and some would separate them into two pieces and try to fool drivers into accepting them. At that time they were using new Duncan fareboxes with a coin slot where it totaled the amount where the driver could see all the coins before hitting a button to drop them, and a ticket/bill acceptor where it would slide down and the drive could see them in the window.

I found a photo of one of these old boxes. The only control that the driver had was the button to release coins into the hopper. It was automatic if an adult fare was inserted (would drop by itself) or the driver could release it after a youth/senior fare was inserted. Bills and tickets were automatic with a roller belt to drag it down into the chute.

 

[Shel_B]

Absolutely!

BART, our subway system, is perfect for going into San Francisco or even out to the two airports. Sweetie and I used it frequently for going into Berkeley to see a movie or to the theater or for dining out. From our station to downtown Berkeley cost us 65¢ using our senior passes. A trip to San Francisco, depending on exactly where the destination was, was about $2.25 vs, at the time, more than $5.00 ($7.00 now) for the bridge toll plus gas plus the hassle and expense of parking.

Sure, public transportation is not ideal for all situations or at all times, but here it can certainly be an efficient and inexpensive adjunct to using one's car. And at certain BART stations, at certain times, parking was free, and it's always free with a disabled placard.

When I visit my sister in New York, we usually take the LIRR into the city. The trains are comfortable, with big, cushy seats, and offer "quiet cars" where radios, cellphones, and loud talking are frowned upon - somewhat akin to a library. Very pleasant and enjoyable.

 

[CleanSump]

Used to take the bus and subway from MD suburbs to Crystal City via DC Metro Center. Was very reliable and not any hassle.
Haven't used it to commute since we moved out of Crystal City in the late 1990s. I do use Metro subway to go to museums and such in DC and to Reagan National Airport.

In certain Asian countries it's much better than car rentals.

 

[fisher83]

When I was a kid we took the city bus all the time when we spent weekends with my grandma. She was very frugal and went many years without a car despite owning a pretty substantial amount of real estate. She just viewed cars as being troublesome and an unnecessary expense.

 

[Shel_B]

When I was a kid we took the city bus all the time when we spent weekends with my grandma. She was very frugal and went many years without a car despite owning a pretty substantial amount of real estate. She just viewed cars as being troublesome and an unnecessary expense.

They sure can be. As a single example, a few years ago a couple of friends moved out of their home while some extensive remodeling was being done. They rented a place about a mile from their home and I drove over to see them one day. Parking was a PITA, and it took me about 15 minutes to find a space about three blocks from their apartment. If I had taken the bus, which stops in front of my apartment building. I'd have arrived at about the same time and would have been closer to their place. I remember saying to myself, as I was looking for parking, that I should have taken the bus.

 

[supton]

When I've visited NYC, yes. Same for DC. No desire to drive in those areas when visiting.

When I was in college, I went carless for a bit. There was a local bus, but, they didn't do trips after like 5pm. I think I rode it like twice. It was easier and almost faster for me to ride my bicycle instead.

 

[eljefino]

If I go to Boston I drive to the end of one of the MBTA lines and ride the subway in, nearly always.

I ride a commuter van 3/4 of the distance to my work, reimbursed by my employer. Saves on parking, which is at a premium.

 

[Aredeeem]

Yes. From where I live in central Jersey it’s the way to go into Manhattan. Trouble free if you can travel around rush hour. Car toll thru Lincoln Tunnel $17. Parking at Port Authority Bus Terminal $24 for eight hours. Senior fare is less than $10 bucks. You don’t wanna drive yourself if you can help it.