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