

Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit - robg
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/business/10transit.html?partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

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wallflower
>The final straw came when he put $100 of gas into his Pontiac over four days
a couple weeks ago. "Finally, I was able to trade my independence for the
savings," he said while waiting for the bus.

I leave my city apartment at 720, walk briskly to the train station (3/4
mile), take the 737 train, arrive in the suburbs where I work by 830ish, take
the bus, arrive at work just before 9. Why? Because I wanted to escape the
suburbs and my cube and experience life in the city and keep my decent
software job. Because I choose to outsource commuting to my local public
transportation authority.

Most people think I'm insane to spend three to four hours a day commuting. I
usually don't bother to mention it to my friends who live and work in the
city. Taking public transportation, your life is driven by the schedule -
which is fine since most workdays are pretty structured. The more I use public
transportation, the cheaper it is (unlimited use monthly pass)

I am writing this to explain that it doesn't matter how illogical your commute
is - you can always (emotionally) justify it (as with most things in life)

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Alex3917
For me personally, getting from school to home costs $22 of gas, or 45.75 via
mass transit. So while I'm sure I would save a lot of money if I didn't own a
car and only took mass transit, as long as I already have a car I have no
incentive to ever use public transportation as long as the marginal cost of
gas is cheaper than the alternatives. Especially since getting home by car
takes 4 hours, whereas getting home by a combination of bus and train takes
7.5 hours. I'd like to use mass transit more, but it just isn't realistic
unless the whole system gets a massive overhaul.

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ovi256
That four hour trip you are talking about is not you daily commute, right?
Either it is your weekly trip or you made a typo.

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Alex3917
I meant from university to where my parents live, which is a trip I make ten
or so times per year.

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fendale
The article mentions the cost of gas reaching $3.60 a gallon - here in the UK,
based on 3.78 litres per gallon, the cost is about £4.35 - thats over twice
the price! I always knew gas was cheaper in the USA, but didn't realise how
much.

I am lucky enough to commute to work in 10 minutes on a bike, but the cost of
fuel here is starting to get a bit ridiculous bearing in mind 70% or so of it
is taxes.

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daniel-cussen
In Santiago, a lot of people use public transport. There is no stigma against
using buses like there is in US; it's fairly common to see guys in suits
taking buses.

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jrockway
> it's fairly common to see guys in suits taking buses

This is common in Chicago, also, and I assume most major cities in the US.
It's only the SUV-loving suburbanites that won't ride the bus.

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martincmartin
I wonder if the Segway would have caught on if it were launched today. Or at
least died a little more slowly.

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bigtoga
Why is this here? Is this "Hacker News" or related to startups? This isn't
reddit, digg, etc.

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vlad
People like saving money.

