Anybody Regularly Use Mass Transit?

I'm not sure if I'm who you're interested in, because I live in Chicago, but I use mass transit just about every day. It's very convenient for me, because I live very close to an L stop and work very close to another stop on the same line. (My commute, from the time I leave my apartment to the time I sit in my chair in my office, takes as little as 15 minutes.) Even when I have to go somewhere in the city besides work, my first inclination is to use mass transit, whether it's the L or a bus. Rarely do I use my car.

The convenience of mass transit, to me, encompasses more than just the time saved. I would use it even if I didn't live so close to the L. It's cheaper and less of a hassle than driving, which requires me to find a place to park, and pay for parking, and -- eventually -- gas. That's why I often use it even when driving would be faster. And while it's not a decisive factor, I do like the environmental benefit of using mass transit.

But the key is that, in a city like Chicago, the mass transit system is so extensive that using it is actually a real option. If I lived in a city that only had buses, and they didn't go everywhere or run very frequently, I'm sure my first inclination would be to drive everywhere.

 

I live in the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC and there is a Metrorail stop 0.9 miles from my front door.

I use Metrorail to go downtown ONLY when I am going somewhere that is a reasonable walk through a reasonable neighborhood once I get out of the Metro station.

Nationals Park is such a destination but there are plenty of others that do NOT qualify.

 

I grew up using mass transit every day in Boston. My parents didn't drive, so it was my only option.

I live in NoVA now and would love to use mass transit to get to my job, but I work in the 'burbs and taking the two buses would be at least an hour; it's a 10-minute drive against traffic. I recently interviewed for a job in D.C. and being able to Metro in/out and have an easy commute was very appealing, but it didn't happen.

I probably Metro into D.C./Arlington three or four times a month, when I'm going to Nats Park or down on the Mall or Gallery Place, somewhere of that ilk. If I lived three blocks from the Metro as opposed to three miles, I'd do it more.

 

No mass transit out here in BF Mississippi (well, there is, sort of, but it doesn't come anywhere near where I live). But when my sister and her husband lived in Chicago, they took the trains everywhere. They lived out on the far northwest end of the city (about as far out as you can get and still be in the city limits), so they had a car, but if they wanted to go anywhere in the city, they left it at home and took the train.

Actually, they lived pretty close to I-94, and when we went to visit them before they moved, I found it really wasn't a bad drive to downtown, if you avoided rush hours. But I think if I lived some place that had a good rail system, I'd take full advantage of it.

 

If it were more available to me and convenient, I would.

Not for environmental reasons, but because I really don't like to drive.

But I live in one suburb and work in another about 12 miles away, and even if I lived in the city, Indianapolis has quite possibly the worst mass transit system in the country. If Indy had a reasonable transit system, I'd have to be on buses/trains for about 60 miles to make my 12-mile commute, so it's not worth it.

 

You are the type of person I am looking for. Its easy to take the metro/subway in New York, DC, or Chicago, but what about other urban areas that don't have as much infastructure in place?

If you did live on a bus line, how much time would you be willing to spend on a bus? What would make you try it, or at least ditch your car once a week for the local transit option?


Sorry for all the questions, but I am just looking for background for a possible gig with the local transit agency.

 

Right after game you can get direct train from Stadium to CT. Otherwise shuttle to 125th and hop on scheduled service. If you have to go to 125th usually wait is not long.

 

I don't drive so I have bused it to work as long as I can remember. You just get used to the inconvenience, the delays, the crowded and late buses and I am always armed with my iPod and plenty to read. The transit system in my part of the Toronto 'burbs has improved immensely over the years. I've never had a problem getting around Toronto on the TTC, either via subway (very easy), streetcar or bus. Always commute into Toronto to Jays games via bus.

 

I think I have everyone beat.

I live in Middle Georgia. I was working in DC.

On my Monday, it was either drive to Augusta. Then hop a flight to Charlotte then on to DCA. Or, if that was full, drive to Columbia, SC, for the non-stop to DCA.

If I scored a pass on Delta or AirTran, I would drive to Macon, catch a nine-seater to ATL and then a non-stop to DCA.

While I was in DCA, it was the Yellow line to the southern terminus. Then a bus to the Roy Rogers on Richmond Hwy. A short walk to my apartment.

This all cut down on rental cars, because my car was at home (Ga.).

If I needed wheels in DC for whatever reason, I used ZipCar.

 

I actually left journalism for a job with a large transit agency (which I no longer work for) in its communications department. These were questions we were constantly asking. What incentives would it take to get you on the bus? Why do you ride the bus, environmental, etc. It was mostly interesting work.
The company I'm with now is moving to a new building where there isn't parking except paid parking, so I'm going to start taking the bus. It will add about 30 minutes to my commute going home (about 10 minutes going) but I'm not going to pay to park every day, it's not worth it to me. My company is fully covering the cost of a monthly bus pass, having worked in the transit agency I don't carry some of the same preconceived, stereotypical ideas about riding the bus, so I'm mostly looking forward to it. Plus it will save on gas. As long as the schedule holds true (and I think it mostly will given the times of the day I'll be traveling), it will be worth it.

 

baskethead ... you'll get a lot more reading done. First thing I noticed when I had a car was how much my pleasure reading declined.