Anybody Regularly Use Mass Transit?

No problem. Probably the two biggest things that might change my views on transit are convenience and accessibility. If I knew I could get from Point A to Point B quickly and without hassle, then I would probably use transit. The other issue is, if I work unusual hours or go to a game that -- for example -- might go into triple overtime, I want to make sure the bus/train is going to be accessible and it won't be a long wait when I leave.

The biggest problem with making transit work in spread-out cities like the one I live in is that it's very difficult to make it accessible to all (because there is a lot of single-family housing and it's not very dense, therefore each stop would serve a small population) without sacrificing time (to make up for the density, one needs more stops, which can make a trip unbearably long). I grew up in Indianapolis and have lived in an apartment complex on the opposite end of town. The closest bus stop to my home in my youth was a mile and a half away and nearly all of that walk was up a busy collector road that had no sidewalks -- and I lived in a residential area that was fairly close to a busy commercial area. I lived in an apartment complex later that was close to a bus stop, but it didn't run very late and if I had to cover a game downtown, I couldn't guarantee being able to get back (or being safe at the bus stop or walking to/from the bus).

The other part is inconvenience. The only place in Indianapolis where buses have been used enough to be profitable are in the heavy-traffic northeast corridor -- between the city and Carmel/Fishers/Noblesville, its very oversaturated northern burbs. The traffic in that area can be bad, but it's not nightmarish. In the rest of the city, traffic jams are so few and parking so available, it doesn't really make sense to take transit. Parking is usually as cheap as riding the bus.

 

In large cities when it's not convenient to drive, I'll get on the train. I hate doing it in DC now, though, because Metro rates have skyrocketed. Four years ago, I could get from point A to point B for $4 roundtrip. Now that's the cost of most one-ways.

 

Just rode the NYC subway today. Forgot how efficient it is. Also reminded me how the passenger loads in most U.S. cities make it near impossible for public transit to work here.

 

Daily Metro-North RR user, Harlem Line, Hartsdale-to-Grand Central ($229/mo.). I rarely drive to Manhattan for anything. For a formal dinner/event, I may use a car service, instead.

 

I hate driving into NYC. I'd rather pay the $30 round trip train fare from the end of the NJ Transit line than deal with the tunnels or the George Washington Bridge.

NJ Transit is great on the Friday night and the weekend as two kids can ride for free with an adult.

 

Something that makes Neal Boortz chuckle to himself, his chins and manboobs jiggling in time?

 

I'm really looking forward to getting on the Red Line and heading North after work with the Cubs playing tonight ...

 

I live at the very end of MBTA service, in that a bus line from the last Red Line stop goes about a mile from my house. I also work in another suburb 30 miles away, so I commute by car. No option.
BUT, when I go into Boston these days, I most often drive to Alewife Station, which has a large parking garage, and take the subway in. There is also an Express Bus service to the airport that's about five miles from my house which I use for most trips. If I lived closer to the city, I'd take the T as much as possible. Why drive in this town if you can avoid it?

 

I drive now, but I used to ride public transit every day for a very long time.

Now, if I'm going into downtown D.C., 19 times out of 20, I will take Metro. The one time out of 20 is a real anomaly.

I like it because I don't have to worry about traffic, parking, etc. I hate it because of crowding during rush hour, fucking idiots who stand on the left side of escalators and dumbasses who block the doors for shits and giggles and not because someone's rushing to catch the train.

 

I don't want to catch any Tea Party believers using public transit.

 

The Glenn Beck crowd were more than happy to ride Metro to his big rally.

 

I'm very right of center, and I'm on record here as being willing to use and support transit. I don't have the same views on transit as a lot of its other supporters (in that I'm not an environmentalist, so I view it more within its ability to move people in high-density areas efficiently than as some savior to replace the automobile). I believe that if governments are going to subsidize a transportation system (and we subsidize roads with gas taxes), that a multimodal approach that best serves an area is a better solution than pouring all of that cash into roads and airports.

However, I'm also realistic in understanding that transit really only works in certain areas where the infrastructure can't support the population (Boston, Chicago, NYC) or in super high-traffic corridors of major cities that tend to get congested (MetroLink in St. Louis is a good example of this, as it connects some areas that might otherwise get congested ... the *one* part of Indianapolis' almost-invisible bus system that has been popular is an express bus from the crowded NE suburbs to downtown). However, I also generally support forms of transportation where the end user pays at least part of the cost. Supporting user fees over straight taxes is very in line with a conservative/libertarian economic mindset (although a true libertarian would require the user to pay 100% of the cost).