Originally Posted by
wolfchild
Public transit is a hard sell for people who have other options. It is a fact that majority of bus users here in the suburbs do so because of financial reasons, they simply can't afford a car or they own a car but are trying to save money on gas and maintenance so they take a bus. . . .
I might have agreed with that once. But now I would say it's a hard sell mostly because people have become desensitized to the downsides of driving, but not to the downsides of transit. It's a rare thing for me to ride in a car, so I too forget about them. A couple of weeks ago a friend bought a car, and we spent a Sunday afternoon on a shopping trip to several of the local Asian grocery stores with him. Normally I'd go there on the bus or my bike. Driving there turned out to be an awful experience, and I'm not even sure it was faster. We spent an absurd amount of time creeping through crowded parking lots at a snail's pace, and several cars nearly backed into us. Then there were all the places where cars could turn only one direction and we had to make u-turns to get going the right way. And the backed-up freeway ramps. It suddenly became clear to me why most of the drivers I see look angry.
The bus does have some annoyances too, but overall it is far more pleasant than a trip by car. And I do love going by light rail or commuter rail when I can.