Why don't people carpool and use public transportation?

[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.

[OneBadZeta02]

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!

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[ziasha07]

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.

[KillarneyRose]

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.

[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.

[Kevin]

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.