Why don't people carpool and use public transportation?

[AGDee]

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.

[tld221]

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.

[EagleChick19]

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

[Cardinal026]

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.

[NinjaPoodle]

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.

[ForeverRoses]

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.

[KatieKate1244]

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.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

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