Commuting - Public transportation.

Im interested on your thoughts about using public transportation. I have seen a few comments in the last week about this issue, a few that hate it, and a few that love it.

Personally, I think the last time I used public transportation was in highschool, when my car was in the shop, and boy did I hate it! But now, I think things have changed, my current job is from 2:00pm to 10:30pm, I plan on commuting to bike quite often, but work is 25 miles away, and I really don't want to ride in 100F+ degree heat, in the middle of the day. The UTA (utah transit authority, ie, public transportation) bus can pick me up just a few miles from my house, and drop me off just a few feet from work. So I think I will be riding the bus to work, with my bike, and then biking home at night, where I don't need to worry about changing clothes or getting a shower, also it will be a lot better biking for me, no cars, cool fresh air. I think I will really appreciate the UTA bus this summer, I'll be able to read / study on the 40min ride to work, I may even sell my truck and save me $400 a month.

P.S. vote on the poll :)

Hi Joe,

I used to cycle to work before this new job. I'm about 15 miles away from work now, but it means cycling into London, then cutting across it..

They don't have showers either, just a wash basin *which I guess would be alright*. I might cycle in a day a week, if the weather in the UK ever brightens up!!! :fight:

Currently I'm spending £95.00 per month on train travel, which isn't that bad...then walk the rest to work (20 minutes).

I f I get my act together, it'll mean putting my slicks back on the Trek...hehe, looks a little funny with my suspension forks!! :D

take it easy on those roads at night pal!!!

Rich :dance:

Glad you have options Joe. Here in Philly Public Transportation is bad and in the suburbs it is almost non-existant. Not to mention they just raised the fare again making it the highest in the nation.

Here it seems everyone has a mini-van and an SUV.

I use trains a lot at the weekends. I cycle out on a route, and instead of returning by bike, just head for the nearest station (usually within 5 miles). This extends my cycling range quite a bit, and weekend tickets are pretty cheap.
I go back to my parents house by train, cycling to the station, by rail to London, across London by bike, then by rail again to Norwich, then by bike to their place. Its a great combination.

If Im feeling bad and its really cold and wet, I take a bus into work, but the walk to the bus stop and a 10 min wait in the cold mean its usually better to walk in the whole way.

I dont own a car, but rent one as I need to (about 3 or 4 times a year)

Rich, you ought to look at getting a Brompton folder, for each end of your train journey.

Hi Michael,

Yeah, my boss has one of those...only two problems;

(a) The bike is for girls...
(b) My girlfriend would cut my soft and dangleys off if I got another bike...

Still, it would solve my problem *not the cutting job, the bike!!* :D

Rich

I f I get my act together, it'll mean putting my slicks back on the Trek...hehe, looks a little funny with my suspension forks!! :D



Rich, if the streets in London and environs are anything like those in Kansas City, suspension forks would be most welcome!

By the way--what does a part-time vegetarian do the rest of the time? ;)

I used public transportation every day for the 2-plus years I didn't commute to work by bike, preceding my retirement in Dec. 1999. Then several times a week. Now with my return to cycling I may use it hardly at all. When I was bike commuting regularly, I hardly ever bought a bus pass, for I found I wasn't using it. Living only with a large cat, I can even do grocery shopping using just the panniers. Or walk to the store and back, which is more usual.

The thing I hate about public transportation is not the fare, which is reasonable in Kansas City, but the long waits for buses--because there isn't enough demand to finance more frequent runs. And, above all, the rude behavior of other passengers and, increasingly, the drivers themselves. Anybody wanting a lesson in incivility need only board a Kansas City Area Transportation Authority bus.

After more than thirty years of putting up with this, including 19 years without a car, I have a very pessimistic view of public transportation. The phony ads showing smiling drivers and cherubic passengers that the bus people run here and there, are in the same category with the ones that famous chain of fast-food restaurants runs--how dumb do they think consumers are?

Uh--don't answer that.

Hi Jon,

I know what you mean about unhappy drivers and passengers...the train ride in the morning into London is pretty hostile...no one looks at one another..they just sit there reading their newspaper or stare out the window..I I had my choice, I really would commute by bike every day...

Oh a happier note...my part time vegaterianism is linked to my girlfriend...hehe...when I'm at home, I'm a veggi, but when I leave home...Ohhhh baby!!!!!

How did things pan out with this lady you were going to go cycling with???

Rich :D

I use public transportation when I'm not on my bike. I get a subsidised monthly "unlimited use" pass for $30.
I prefer cycling and walking, but living almost 15 miles from work makes using the train or bus almost unavoidable at least some days, at least until I can cycle everyday without overdoing it. Nevertheless, public transport is o.k. where I live. It's nice not to have to drive.

Until last week, I used public transportation every day. Now, I just use it on Thursdays to meet my wife at her work. I ride a mile, get on the bus for the heavy part of the trip, then cyclethe rest of the way to her work. When it rains, I will probably take the bus.

Jonathan

Rich--that group ride the young woman told me about is on Mondays, so PROBABLY next Monday I'll go, unless I chicken out.

JRamsey--I hope the ATA in Kansas City, MO will follow the lead of your Johnson County transit and put bike racks on the buses here. They're talking about it... I'll believe it when I see it. Not sure I'd ever use them, but they ought to have them, and they WOULD get used.

I ride the bus M-F to work. I saved up enough for a beater car but Im considering a bike instead. There definately are some rude people on the bus as was mentioned earlier, but I think my biggest complaint would be the 40 minute wait between buses.

Our transit system here is really a wanna-be. Busses don't run very often and stop running by 8:00 P.M. Standing in 30+MPH winds in -5F temps waiting for a bus is insane. At least if your riding/walking, your generating some heat. :)

Great Falls is not so big that you can't get from one end of town to the other in a reasonable amount of time on your bike. The city is split by the Missourri River and the Sun River. Riding to the bridges can add some pretty good miles to your trip.

I live on a bus route used by three different bus routes. One of the routes, the # 410, ends within 4 km of my workplace. And all the buses are equipped with bike racks. So I really do not need to have a car to get to work. I have used the bus on several occasions to get to work combined with my bike on those nastier days otherwise I'll cycle in on the good days (range of 22 km to 26 km depending on which cycle route I use). The other good things about using public transportation combined with cycling is that it only costs me $ 2.00 Canadian one-way, the trip takes as much time as if I were to cycle all the way, I barely break a sweat on the 4k ride to work, and the closest bus stop is a half block from my front door.

My last experience with public transit was back in the early 80's in Portland, OR & it was what eventually got me back into cycling via a $35 Raleigh Sports. Back then Portland had a fleet of articulated buses manufactured in Hungary. Aside from the usual transit negatives like overloading to standing room only, these vehicles were typical products of a failed Socialist economy. Heaters were always on & windows were jammed shut. This produced a steamy, smelly but tolerable envelope in the Winter but became truly intolerable on Hot Summer Days. As I recall there were also issues with the Brakes (leaked fluid, overheated & sometimes burst into flames on hilly routes), Engines that used much more fuel than projected & more frequent repairs required. OTOH, It got me back onto a bicycle for work & school for 3 years. I moved to Vancouver, WA a few years later & rode the Vancouver system into Portland for a couple years & it was somewhat better equipment wise but still had lots of negatives compared to the freedom & flexibility of an Automobile. I also commuted back & forth on weekends between Seattle & Vancouver for about 6 months & found the service so cavalier regarding scheduled arrival & departure that I wouldn't even consider a rail commute if Amtrack was involved. I did ride the MAX light rail for a while in Portland but found Standing room only to be pretty tiresome after being on my feet all day at work. The first several stops downtown filled up the seats pretty fast. Just my 2cents. Don

Forgot to mention that my job here in Olympia entitles me to ride the bus free but my commute distance is so short I never considered exercising the option. Don

ON average I probably use public transit once a week..Reason I use it...It extends my bike range as mentioned by M.W....Makes a 70 mile round trip easy to do, if you need a quick way home in case your ride takes longer than planned.
As I mentioned in another thread..I had my first disappointment with biking and public transit..All buses have bike racks...
Used buses/bike commuting to do some of my Christmas buying two weeks ago. As stated, to cut the mileage and get home earlier i planned to finish the ride with a lift on a public bus..Buses so busy, either they were late or I missed connects...Caused me to abandon the bus and ride home way into the night with only a very dim light.. I have been a big supporter of public buses.This caused me to think you can't rely upon it... By the time I waited for late buses, I could have been home..But you do not always realize that when one missed bus leads to another.
Still A positive. Got my wife something she wanted from a speciality shop about 40 miles away from home..If didn't bike and had to drive, probably would have not gone in that direction and she would have not gotten a gift that she appreciated. Gave me more experience as a night rider even if I thought I was going to freeze. Just because dim lights are unsafe, so what. Still a big supporter of public transit, even if now less trusting of their reliability.

It's basically anything but the car when I travel in town. For some destinations, the car is simply too cumbersome, too unpractical (takes more time to warm cool... then to ride), too expensive to park, too slow...

So basically, it's either walking short distances or cycling longer ones. I use public transit -- especially with the children -- when the weather is messy. I enjoy foul-weather cycling, but my daughters (7.5 and 3.5) don't enjoy cold rain as much.They love cycling in the snow, however... especially as we pass most cars.

Regards

Public transport here is a bad joke played by the city fathers to salve their guilty souls and qualify federal money. Poor shcedules, worse routes, and no place to shelter from the weather.

I have visited areas where there was good public transport and used it. Plus, little beats the New Orleans street cars for fun public transport.

Folks. This thread goes to show you the state of public transportation around the world. I forgot the numbers exactly, but the U.S. funds highway construction about six times more than they spend on public transport.

If you don't live in Boston, New York or Chicago, you basically have poor public transportation. These older cities were the first to establish subways, elevated railroads, trolleys and buses before the century. Most cities that developed after the fall of the railroads basically built highways while pushing public transport as an afterthought. I can assure you, they will later regret this highway centric system.

The bus in my opinion is the slowest and worse form of transportation ever designed. The subway, heavy rail and Light rail (Trolley, Tram) are the best but most expensive systems and only available in seveal cities. Other European cities like London and Germany didn't dismantle their rail systems which explains why they have good transportation.

I use public transport every day of the week. They recently constructed a 1.4 billion dollar light rail just five blocks away from my house. We cruise at 50 mph at some points and when I arrive in Manhattan, there are hundreds of miles of subways at my disposal. My total transportation cost per month is $86.00 dollars! In other words, my total transportation cost per year is just over $1,000.00 USD! Folks, My nephew who's attending college spends over three thousand on car insurance alone!

As you can imagine, I've been able to save a ton of money not having to pay for auto insurance, gas, tolls, tickets and repairs. My car used to be the biggest drain on my finances and now that its gone, I've been able to pay off all my credit cards and school loans. The money that I'm saving from not having to own a car and using a bicycle during the weekends is incredible. Without a doubt, the decision to become car free was the best I've made in years.

I use the bus on occasion. One of the main problems here is that the Richmond metro area has three jurisdictions, Richmond city, Henrico county, and Chesterfield county. Chesterfield has refused to allow the busses to run into their county, largely for (unstated, but there) racial reasons, the great bugaboo of the fine city of Richmond. But that's waht you get when people still worship dead confederate generals, talk about "the war of northern aggression" as if it happened last week, and have a conniption about a statue of Honest Abe or Arthur Ashe being erected in town. Gah. I love this place, but some people here haven't had their two brain cells bounce off each other in a long, long time.

I use the bus on occasion. One of the main problems here is that the Richmond metro area has three jurisdictions, Richmond city, Henrico county, and Chesterfield county. Chesterfield has refused to allow the busses to run into their county, largely for (unstated, but there) racial reasons, the great bugaboo of the fine city of Richmond. But that's waht you get when people still worship dead confederate generals, talk about "the war of northern aggression" as if it happened last week, and have a conniption about a statue of Honest Abe or Arthur Ashe being erected in town. Gah. I love this place, but some people here haven't had their two brain cells bounce off each other in a long, long time.

Ahhhh, that sounds like the fine city I once loved and finally left. :D

I do, however, kinda miss the trees and hills in richmond. But I do not miss living in SHort Pump :P Have you seen that new Downtown Short Pump place? Makes me sick to my stomach!

I am still working out the details of commuting in winter regularly, so currently I take the bus at least twice per day.

Public transportation here is quite good. I pay 65 euros per month for an all-inclusive travelcard and I could get the cost down to less than 2 euros per day if I bought longer periods. None of our buses have bike racks, but you may be able to talk your bike inside during off-peak hours, as every bus has space for at least 2 child trolleys.

The bus is also the fastest form of transportation for me. My commute takes about 30 mins one way with the bus, 30-40 minutes on the bike, and maybe 1 hour with a car (during peak hours). And that is excluding the time I would spend trying to find a parking space.

--J

>>>>None of our buses have bike racks, but you may be able to talk your bike inside during off-peak hours, as every bus has space for at least 2 child trolleys.<<<<

A folding bike would be perfect for these buses. I would really look into getting one and buy a bag so it won't look like a bicycle.

The other day, my next door neighbors drove their car to the supermarket which is just across the street or about 500 feet! The U.S. is so car cultured that people would rather drive across the street rather than walk to the market!

We have excellant public transportation with 15 buses that transverse our city including a lightrail that cost the state over a billion dollars yet families still have one or two cars!

Hopeless public transportation in Denver. I've been here almost 2 years and never been able to use any buses/trains other than the free mall bus. They're building a new light rail station just down the road from us which will help my wife to get up to town and me to get down to Englewood for work. I can't see it opening for about another 12 months, though.

I grew up using public transportation for almost everything, so this has been a real culture shock.

[QUOTE=Dahon.Steve]>>>>None of our buses have bike racks, but you may be able to talk your bike inside during off-peak hours, as every bus has space

I was out in the cold and would have to wait (for a bus) for over an hour with no places nearby to keep warm..
The bus driver did not let me board under similiar conditions. Other drivers in the past had let me board. Not when I really needed a bus on a cold dark night.
I had come from Christmas shopping and my panniers were full..Felt sort of like the 'Three Wise Men,' trying to just get home.

Public transportation here is quite good. I pay 65 euros per month for an all-inclusive travelcard and I could get the cost down to less than 2 euros per day if I bought longer periods. None of our buses have bike racks, but you may be able to talk your bike inside during off-peak hours, as every bus has space for at least 2 child trolleys.
Now that Atlanta has bike racks on every bus (sometimes they fall down on this one, but they try to keep them maintained on every bus) you can literally conquer the city's auto-centric design with a bike and a $55 monthly MARTA pass. All that remains now is for people to overcome the fear of riding a bike in traffic.

Shoot, $55 won't get me a month's worth of parking! It will, however, get me a month's worth of parking at MARTA train stations.

But I still prefer just pure-and-simple biking over bike-and-transit, except that the I still haven't conquered the commuting distances sufficiently to go car-free (150 miles per week, not including shopping.) I guess I just don't discipline myself enough yet, but someday...

In Los Ageles County they have a light rails connecting Pasadena, Long Beach, and North Hollwood with down town Los Angeles California. When I recently rode these lines I was surprised to see biker wheeling their bikes on board and standing next to them at the end of the compartment. It looks a little dangerous to me. Most of the connecting buses have bike racks on front but that of course is not possible on light rail which is loaded from platforms.

In Los Ageles County they have a light rails... When I recently rode these lines I was surprised to see biker wheeling their bikes on board and standing next to them at the end of the compartment. It looks a little dangerous to me.
Yes, although MARTA's policy is "bikes allowed on all trains," it's not always practical. It's often so packed that you can't get on, or you can't get off, plus you risk giving some nice lady a chainring tatto on her L'Eggs, or maybe some tire filth.

If you get on first at the last station, you can often grab an empty compartment at the back of the train set aside for luggage. Then, you wait until enough people have cleared off before you exit. It takes a bit more skill than it should, really.

Plus, the other problem (one reason I prefer riding all the way) is that in the winter, if you get heated up and sweaty, you cool off in the bus or train, then you get chilled going back out into the cold air. If you just stay on the bike instead, you stay warm.

I remember running to catch the bus one chilly morning, about a mile, lots of it uphill. After I got on the bus, I noticed that my window and all the windows near me on my side of the bus were steaming over, but all the other windows were clear. :p

When I recently rode these lines I was surprised to see biker wheeling their bikes on board and standing next to them at the end of the compartment. It looks a little dangerous to me.

I've ridden the light rail you mention and it's perfectly safe. I bring my bike all the time on the light rail in New Jersey without any fear of falling over. The lightrail is the wave of the future. They just opened a line in Houston and it was packed with 400 passengers per train!

When I lived in Chicago I loved it and used it constanly, now I live in Denver and it is very unreliable, this city needs more buses. After 5 years of living car free I had to get a vehicle. It really complicates life and our finances.

Like Homer Simpson says, "Public transportation is for losers". I prefer not to take it, but then again I've never lived in a city with a good transit system. I prefer my bike, but I'll drive if I have to.

disclaimer: I don't agree with Homer, but I thought it was a funny line.

I takes public transpertation ev'ry chance I gets. Shucks, whenever I needs to git down to Reno, I always take the greyhound. It shore beats ridin' ol' paint across the desert!

Your experience on public transporatation is going to depend on the quality of the system. If the equipment is not maintained, the routes don't go where you need to go, or the schedule doesn't work for you, you're not going to be happy with the experience. On the other hand, if the local municipality has made a committment to, and a reasonable investment in, the local public transportation system, you might be surprised!

Even though I don't use it much, Portland's got a great public transportation system, including bus, light rail and street car, that serves a lot of people, most of whom don't seem to complain about the experience; in fact there are many local advocates working to make the system better; improvements continue to grow the system; and ridership routinely outpaces projections each time a new line opens.

In the city where I live, the only public transportation is bus. Their schedule is so unpredictable that they can be 15 minutes on either side of the scheduled arrival time. That can have you waiting at a bus stop for 45 minutes. In the winter, it is a painfully cold wait.

A couple of years ago, we had a snowstorm so I decided to take the bus to work. It took three transfers and two hours. I could have walked on foot in that amount of time.

I can get almost anywhere I want in the town by bike in 45 minutes.

The city recently bought some smaller buses to scale down and save fuel. The new buses cost around $100,000 so it got some press. I suggested that the city public transit could increase ridership and save the city money if they switched from buses to Corvettes. Corvettes are cheaper, use less fuel and I never see more than one passengers on any bus at one time, so it could fulfill ridership needs.

When I lived in Chicago I loved it and used it constanly, now I live in Denver and it is very unreliable, this city needs more buses. After 5 years of living car free I had to get a vehicle. It really complicates life and our finances.

People don't realize how much it costs to own a car! Seriously. When you own a car, all the costs associated with insurance, maintenance and fuel are put on the motorists. When I take the Light Rail, all those costs are SUBSIDIZED by the taxpayers of New Jersey and not by me! The actual costs of riding the Tram would be about $6.00 dollars each way without subsidation, yet I only pay about .70 cents per ride and weekends are free.

When I owned a car, it complicated my finances big time. Short periods of unemployment practically bankrupted me when I could not find work. I couldn't save any money and spent hours at the auto mechanic handing him all my money and paying the balances with credit cards. I clearly understand why we have record numbers of bankruptcies each year and it's due to auto ownership. I really believe Americans save so little money is due to their transportation costs (auto) are incredibly high and out of control. You're going to struggle big time if the second biggest cost in your household is your car. My transportation costs per month is my ninth largest household cost and I intend to keep it that way.

If you live in a state with little or poor public transporation, you have my condolences.

I never use public transportation. I still remember waiting in bus lines when I took the bus to high school. Then there was a half hour to catch the transfer bus. It was faster to walk the 2 1/2 miles. When I worked downtown Detroit, it was horrible trying to get a bus that was not full, and then I had a transfer at West Grand Boulevard. All the buses coming from downtown were full. I'd NEVER take public transport again. I have worked on the midnight shift for twenty years and public transport does not address shift workers.

I take public transit only when I'm carrying something too big to carry on my bike or when I need to be dressed more formally than is feasible on the bike - generally, not more than about three to four rides a month, usually all on the same day - I save up "heavy errands" and run them all at once with an unlimited daily metrocard.

As for the outrageous cost of keeping a car (as Dahon.Steve mentions), even indulging my bike habit pretty heavily, I'm saving a lot of money (and burning a lot of calories) commuting by bike - by my figures, keeping a paid-off Honda in New York cost me an average of close to $420 every month for the two years I did so; $180 went to parking and $193 to insurance every single month, and I averaged a break-in every nine months or so with a $500 deductable. So even with my current obsessive bike-upgrading and an unlimited metrocard every now and again, my wallet is happy ;)

-chris

As for the outrageous cost of keeping a car (as Dahon.Steve mentions), even indulging my bike habit pretty heavily, I'm saving a lot of money (and burning a lot of calories) commuting by bike - by my figures, keeping a paid-off Honda in New York cost me an average of close to $420 every month for the two years I did so; $180 went to parking and $193 to insurance every single month, and I averaged a break-in every nine months or so with a $500 deductable. So even with my current obsessive bike-upgrading and an unlimited metrocard every now and again, my wallet is happy ;)
-chris

If you live in New York City, it would be insane to own a car. People who own cars in Manhattan are either rich or broke! I know plenty of lawyers in New York City that are making 150K a year and don't own a car. People who own cars in Manhattan are just trying to show off their wealth or trying to look wealthy which is foolish in my opinion.