Why don't people carpool and use public transportation?
 

I've read several threads about high gas prices here on GC and on other boards. Money for parking lots/garages/permits are also big complaints. I'm curious why many people do not take advantage of carpooling or public transportation.

I know some people do not live in big cities, so PT is out the question. And some people live very far from friends and co-workers. But, I know several people who refuse to take the metro-link (subway-like train) downtown even though they live close to a stop. Then there's those who live by people they know, but won't carpool to work or to a baseball game or whatever.

You give up autonomy if you car pool. If you drive yourself and you want to stay late, no problem. But if you car pool, you've got to work it out.

And in some big cities, the PT isn't reliable unless you are willing to leave hours before you need to be at work. Otherwise, you might be really late because the published schedule and the actual schedule don't line up that much.

I think you see an interest in PT and car pooling when the commute takes a long time, HOV lanes give a real advantage, and it's really expensive to park at work. Otherwise, it's worth an increase in cost to maintain your independence.

(I'll admit I have no first hand experience with this; it's what I've observed with others.)

The City and County of Honolulu has one of the best bus systems in the country and for $40/month bus pass (unlimited rides), it's quite the deal, especially since I'm paying $3.40/gallon to fill up my tank every 5 days. Monthly parking at my office is $40/month, but I'm not complaining too much because my downtown colleagues spend anywhere between $100-$200/month for the ONE parking stall.

Still, because work's about 15 minutes away (no traffic), catching the bus would also mean I'd have to leave 30-45 minutes than normal to get to work in the morning and I'd also get home later. Because I tend to stay late at work in addition to meeting friends for dinner/drinks after work, riding the bus at night is not something I'd want to do.

In Columbus, public transport is pretty useless unless you live directly in town or on campus. Living out in the 'burbs sucks for public transport. The buses run at horrible times.

In Pittsburgh, public transport used to be *great*. When I was in high school and had to take Port Authority to get to school, it was pretty good. But then they raised prices and cut services. And then they did it again. And then they did it again. Now it is just so inconvenient, unpleasant and expensive that people don't want to take it, they'd rather drive.

In the UK, public transport is a way of life, and people get CRANKY if things don't work right with it. Gas and cars carry heavy taxes as well, and most employers subsidize/assist with bus passes, so most people do that. I'm really excited to be moving to a town with a pretty great bus system and an underground, and trains, and travel buses (Glasgow to Edinburgh and back for 5 pound!).

I, however, prefer to bike commute. I've been fortunate to have employers that have showers/lockers and are willing to let me do that. Exercise, commute, and save some $$. I just wish people respected the bike more.

The only place I've lived with half decent public transport was St. Louis, and the metrolink there was really not useful. The stops were generally in bad neighborhoods and never actually went from those neighborhoods to places where people would work. Downtown is alright, but if you didn't need to go there, you didn't need to take the metro. They're getting a bit better, but not enough.

In DC, the WMATA Metro system seems to be pretty reliable and safe. My D took it during rush hour times from suburbia to downtown DC when she interned starting at age 16 and we never felt cause for alarm. GEN Alum uses it for the Pentagon commute.

In addition to Metro, VRE, Maryland rail, there are HOV lanes and the resultant slugging behavior. http://www.slug-lines.com/

I have lived in Florida almost my entire life, and I can tell you from personal experince that the public transporation systems in most of the state aren't that great. Mainly because there is not a huge urban hub like there would be in a major city. So for the most part PT is not worth it in much of the state. I am not sure about Miami's system though...

I don't think most parts of the country are well-equipped for public transit. If it exists, it's either unreliable, unsafe, or inconvenient. Sometimes, PT isn't very convenient if you don't live right in the center of the city. Not every subway or bus system runs 24 hours a day.

Plus, having your own car--whether it's going to work or going to dinner with friends--gives you a little bit more freedom or autonomy.

I am all about taking the subway, since gas is stupid expensive now and parking is a snitch in this town, but I live in one of the maybe 10 American metro areas where you can get away with not owning a car.

I have thought about car pooling with a 25 mile each way commute to work. There are a few women in my department who live within a couple miles of me. The problem becomes this: I have two school age kids. It does happen that, several times a year, I get a call from the school saying that I need to pick one of them up due to illness. If I carpooled, what would happen? If I drove, either my coworker would have to leave with me or she'd be stuck there. If my coworker drove, then how would I leave to get my kid? If I could figure this one out, I would definitely carpool. I did carpool with someone once , before I had kids, and I enjoyed it. I liked having someone to chit chat with on the way to work. It made the drive go by faster. I felt safer going through some scary neighborhoods. And, we both saved money. It was nice. If we had decent public transportation (trains or subways), I would take those. I think Detroit will be the last major city to ever adopt a mass transit system because, after all, we are the Motor City.

at first, i was like, "you really dont want to take PT - you will be miserable and become bitter towards everyone."

while riding the NYC PT should be an Olympic sport (hustling for a seat, mapping out your trip, the stopping and going, etc), i realize that it is a freaking godsend. i REALLY hate it when i go out of town and i have to depend on getting a ride from whoever i'm staying with. and while i enjoy the comfort of the backseat of a lincoln towncar, it gets pricey and i get all antsy.

the bus and train is still a form of dependency, but anywhere i need to get to i can get there. and its pretty awesome when youre buzzed or way over the BAC to get behind the wheel.

i mean gas + tolls (as high as $9/bridge) + insurance + car note + added worries of theft, vandalism, accidents versus $2 and the patience to wait it out sometimes in sometimes grungy stations... you be the judge.


then again i dont have a family of my own, or any dependents.

I don't because my job takes me all over the county I live in, and it doesn't make sense to do it. :(

I'm in a county right outside of DC, and use public transportation a couple of times a month - whenever I have meetings or conferences in DC. My apartment complex teamed up with a few others, and does a free shuttle to the metro in the mornings, and then I can take the metro into the city...I love being able to relax and read the paper.

But for the rest of the time, I drive. There isn't a metro within a few miles of my office, and my commute time would double. As for riding with a friend, I can work five hours one day and twelve the next...I just can't plan ahead for my workload, so it wouldn't be fair to someone else.

I use pt everyday since I'm not riding my motorcycle everyday. In the San Francisco bay area, you can get around 24-7. I've carpooled into the city when I was staying in the East bay. We have Vanpool and Casual carpool. For pt there's:

• BART -- subway that goes between counties of San Francisco, Alemeda, Contra Costa, San Mateo
• Muni -- buses, trolly cars, Metro trains and cable cars. In San Francisco only
• SamTrans -- SanMateo County Transit. Buses only
• Caltrain -- Comuter train that runs from San Francisco to Santa Clara County
• Amtrack -- all over the US. Best way to commute from Sacramento into the bay.
• AC Transit -- Alemeda County transit
• Golden Gate Transit-- from Marin and Sonoma counties--busses and ferries
• Bay Link Ferry
• Blue and Gold (mostly tourists) Ferry
• Red and White Ferry
  City Car share--A car sharing service where you pay only for the gas.

There are more but I think you guys get the idea. You really dont need a car here but it can be helpful.

I would love to carpool- in fact my next-door neighbor works a building away from me-however I have to be at work by 8am and he doesn't usually even wake up until 8am. So we have carpooled when the weather is bad (he has a 4wheel drive) but other than that, no. Plus I have to pick up my kids from daycare, so I either have to be the driver or the driver has to be willing to stop to get my kids AND have car seats.

I take the bus around my hometown to get to work and such, but it's only because at 23 yrs. old I still can't drive. The times are sometimes inconvienent, but my bosses have been willing to work around it. I also have the "luck" of a bus from my rural school into the nearest port of civilization, but I don't know anyone who really uses it due to a lot of robberies/stabbings/etc that happen on that route.

I think that public transportation is going to become more popular as the gas prices continue to rise. I live in Virginia <Hampton Roads area> and there is very limited public transportation here so you have to rely on your vehicle. I used to make a joke that if gas prices continue to rise that I was going to trade my car in for a bike...well the way that gas prices are looking along with the fact that they are predicting gas to hit $4 a gallon by the summer here...I just might look into that!

They recently added an additional route starting from Clayton, I think. I don't find the passengers very threatening during the day. But at night, I've seen more fights there than at the clubs. I will ride the ML at night, only if I'm with someone else, never alone.

Did your employers know that you take the bus before they hired you? Sometimes, when I interview for jobs, they clearly let me know that they wouldn't want to hire me if I used public transportation. :rolleyes:

Really? Or are you kidding?

I could imagine this question coming from the manager of a fast food restaurant hiring kids or something as a indication of reliability, maybe, but I haven't ever interviewed as an adult where my method of transportation came up.

Am I missing something in this conversation?

If an employer even ASKED you that question, they need reported to the EEOC. They can ask if you have reliable transportation, but it's absolutely none of their business what that transportation is - you can ride a camel to work if you want to.

I am not kidding, this happened all the time when I applied for retail and restaurant jobs in undergrad. It has happened once or twice when I applied for "big kid" jobs.

I've been asked so many off the wall questions during interviews, so that one just kind of slipped below the radar. I had a car, so it didn't bother me that much. I didn't think anything about it until I got older.

Way to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer...and being very blunt about it all. :rolleyes: That question is just so wrong in other ways too...

Yeah, the new stops help a lot as far as convenience, and though I've never really had a problem with the passengers, SLU students got robbed either at the station or on their way to and from the station nearest to campus. It made it really far down on my list of transportation.

I've never mention it until AFTER I've been hired. I have depth perception issues with my eyes, and am currently not allowed by the state to drive. If I was denied a job/fired for using the bus, I'd sue in a heartbeat.

I think that this is what prevents a lot of people from carpooling or taking public transportation.

1) OKC public transportation is horrible -- bus only.
2) I live about 1 mile from work and about 3 from school. Gas could be double what it is now and I'd still be fine with that.

MARTA doesn't go anywhere, and its also not very realistic for the young professional crowd.

I've gotten that quite a few times. A few firms in Minneapolis require that you have your own car - WTF for I don't know since they are within walking distance of the light rail and about 1000 bus routes.

Are you sure? I work for a Big 4 accounting firm, and having a car is a requirement of the job. I guess it would be alright if you got a ride to work everyday, but outside of NY relying 100% on public transportation wouldn't be acceptable/feasible.

eh, if I didn't have my own car I wouldn't be able to do my job. I wouldn't be able to get to magistrate offices in my own country, and I wouldn't be able to get to the surrounding counties where I do work. I also wouldn't be able to do site visits to investigate problems or visit clients.

I used to take the bus (Pitt and CMU students can use their Pitt ID to ride public transportation for "free"- it comes out of our fees) until my ID expired. I would still take it now, but the nature of my job is such that my schedule is so unpredictable and I often need to leave the office to go somewhere. So unfortunately I have to have a lease, which costs me friggin $250 per month. There is only one cheaper garage with a reasonable distance - that's $220 a month, but has a one year waiting list.

I wish I could take public transportation... it would be soooo much cheaper.

A lot of people just don't have the kind of jobs anymore that you have very strict hours. Public transportation and carpools don't allow for that flexibility

Yeah, whether or not you have a car is not a recognized form of discrimination, to my knowledge. The EEOC is there to deal with racist/sexist/age related discrimination.

The PT System in my city is completly ridiculous. It takes 15 minutes to get to my school in a car. I rode the bus there because I was desperate one day... TWO HOURS! No no, I don't think so.

I used to take the T in Boston all the time when I was living there; my wife and I had a car, but parking is tough/extremely expensive if your office doesn't provide a spot. My wife ended up driving because her office provided one. If I end up working in the Boston area after law school, though, I'll likely have to get a car.

In CT, there's really no way to take public transport. Hartford has a bus line, but, I'm more than hesitant to try it. Parking isn't expensive at all, and you usually can find somewhere to park within walking distance, whether it be a lot, garage, or meter. My job has free parking, and the law school has plenty of parking on campus.

At a previous employer I did carpool with another employee for a while (we lived in the same apartment complex), however the company had a "nonfraternization policy" that employees could not date or even live with one another (as platonic roomates). So one day an HR rep saw us getting out of the same car and told us that we were not allowed to do that because the perception that we might be dating. :eek: So there went the carpool. It was actually pretty funny considering I was actually dating a different co-worker (who I ended up marrying a few years later).:D

outside of the city proper, PT is very difficult for me but that's because I choose to work out in the burbs.

I'm cool where I am but I am starting to look at options closer to my home. I beleive there has got to be something fufilling within 15 minutes of the house.

I use PT... because it would cost me about 285 a month to park near my office. :eek: I would LOOVVE to drive though as my part of the city it takes freakin 45 minutes to commute like 5 miles or so (20 minute drive). :rolleyes:

I've seen it flat out say in job ads that having your own car is a requirement for the position. I'm not sure that an even remotely savvy company would put that right out in an advertisement if it were an EEOC issue.

Conversely, I've also seen job ads specifically say that the location is "convenient to bus stops." (Of course, as I recall, the positions didn't appear to be terribly high paying or prestigious...)

RE: the bolded,

i think private companies are more likely to get away with telling you they wouldnt hire you if you didn't have a car... because theyre private.

my last job was in NJ and i didn't drive at the time i started the job. they directly said to me "there really isnt public transportation out these parts so you need to get a car ASAP." mind you, at the time, i only had a permit, anf if you know anything about NYC Tri-State traffic, especially NJ, its no day in the park. plus the drive from my house to the office, according to mapquest is like 2 hours, not accounting for rush hour traffic.

so i said, "im a city girl i can tough it out." found out the bus that went there from Port Authority stopped maybe a 10 minute walk from the office and ran every hour. fine, thats doable.

but as the days got shorter and the weather got colder, it got unbearable. sometimes the "hour ride" would take 2 hours. i'd get to work at 9, sometimes as late as 10am (hours were 8-6). and i could easily get home at like 10pm if i left my desk at 6. so i literally spent just as much time AT work as i did GETTING TO work.

sure i couldve moved to NJ, but it was an entry-level job in an industry i didnt care fore... no thanks.

there were others at the bank who took the bus, but theyd been with the company for years and had flexibility with their bosses to get in late/leave early because they understood. MY boss, OTOH, had a "i don't care how you get to work, it cant be that bad, you chose it" and complained how bad it looked to give me leneincy (sp?) on being late to work when everyone else made the effort to be there on time.

like i was PURPOSELY arriving late and leaving early.

anyway, when i announced my resignation to my boss and her boss, she pretty much played dumb to my situation and said "well we wouldve thought twice about making you an offer here - its one thing if you don't have a car, but you don't even drive."

sorry that was long, but it made a really uncomfortable environment being "the girl that didnt drive" because no one would offer me a ride to the bus stop or train station and then always to make smalltalk about "oh man your commute mustve been rough this morning." GTFOOHWTBS.


with all that said, im pretty sure after i left the company put a "must drive and have a car" clause in their contracts without any legal repurcussions. this happened to be their top reason for their high turnover.

I'd have to get up 2-2.5 hours earlier if I wanted to take the HRT to work (and I only live 10 minutes away by car). At least I don't commute so far that I have to fill up weekly, unless my son is at grandma's for the day. Now my husband has to drive nearly an hour each way every day and it takes its toll. Of course, gas prices really aren't skyrocketing if you compare to the past few decades. Taking inflation into account, prices are no higher than they were back in the 80s when they spiked. It still sucks, though.

Philly has pretty decent PT. I take a regional rail to a downtown station and then either walk or take the El to the office. Door to door, it's about 45 minutes and it takes almost that long to drive into the city. I don't encounter tolls on the way in, but the cheapest parking I can find is $6/day.

I know the El/regional rail/trolly system doesn't cover all of Philly and there is a bus system, but it kind of scares me. I've only taken it once.

I would be all for carpooling or public transportation for myself if it were feasible, but it's not. There isn't any public transportation to speak of near me and even if I did leave near any coworkers, I never know when I'm going to finish most nights and I wouldn't like the feeling of being trapped without my own ride home.

My husband, however, is a different story. He works in D.C. so he drives to BWI airport (about 8 miles) and takes the Amtrak train then the D.C. metro and it deposits him underneath his building. Painless and cheap, he says.