How did I manage the Bus for 15 Years

[tomalak301]

My car was in the shop for a few days because of an alignment issue so for the first time since I started Driving (something like 3 years ago), I had to take public transportation, which is the bus system which stops at every single block. Not only that, but when you're going quite a ways (Takes me 20 minutes to get home via the freeway) down south from work, the commute tends to be a little long, and today it was like an hour and a half. It made me wonder, how did I manage the Bus for all the years that I did. It was nice to dose off though after a hard strenuous day, but I still really appreciate the convenience of Driving and not having to rely on someone(thing) else. Still like the Trains though, but the Bus system is pretty bad.

 

[Iasius]

It depends on where I'm going in my case. Driving to the university takes 10 minutes, taking the bus takes 30.

On the other hand I can take the train to the city center and be there in less than 10 minutes including the walk to the station. There's no way I could do that with a car and find a parking spot.

 

[Naira]

I have felt that. I live in a not-so-big city (around 100,000 people). Even though the city is not that big (I can drive anywhere in 15-20 min tops) the bus system is not good at all. Basically, all you can do in a reasonable time is go from the city center to the University, all the other lines take more than an hour to take you where it would have taken 10 min by car.

Anyway, I used to take the bus to the University all the time. At some point I got a car. And I've never looked back. I had to take the bus once or twice since then an I felt pretty much like you.

Now, if I only had a parking spot at home and did not have to spend all this extra time searching for one every time I get home.... (in some way though, searching for parking is better than being in the bus!)

 

[Miss Chicken]

It only takes 20 minutes to get into the city centre by bus. It takes about 10 minutes by car but if you add to that the time it takes to get a park I don't think there is much difference.

It is a 20 minute trip from the city centre to my Mum's. The biggest drawback is there is about a 30 minute wait between my bus arriving in the city and my Mum's bus departing but I spend that time doing a little shopping, or else I sit at the bus-stop reading. Either way the time isn't wasted.

The best thing is it only costs me $3.00 for the return visit to my Mum's as long as I board the first bus after 9.00am. If I board before 9.00am the fares will end up being $3.60.

I couldn't afford to run a car.

 

[Kirby]

When my office was in downtown I would take the bus all the time. We had an express bus run down the turnpike and highway in the HOV lane and we could be downtown in about 18 minutes. Considering the time it takes to get to the park-n-ride and then walk to work it took about an hour. My office also supplied me with an Eco pass, which allowed for free bus rides.
I could drive it in about 30 minutes, but then had to pay at least $5 to park.

Since they moved my office to the far southeast side of the city, it's far easier to drive. Typically 45 - 60 minutes drive time depending on the traffic. The bus route is horrible. I have to take the same bus downtown as before. Cross downtown, take a train to a park-n-ride and then either walk the 1/2 mile to the office or wait for a local bus to take me there. That takes about 2 hours.

 

[Canadave]

Here in Ottawa, we have bus rapid transit, which runs beside the highway in a few places. So when I used to live in a suburban part of town and bussed into university, it was always fantastic to go in during rush hour, when my bus would whizz by all the folks stuck in traffic on the highway.

However, it is true that the bus can get pretty slow when it has to travel on surface roads.

 

[Amaris]

I wish there was solid mass transit where I live. There are 4 cities within 10 miles of each other. Being able to zip to each one by train without having to drive would be fantastic, and a lot less expensive than maintaining a car. Our bus system though, is terrible. I never take the bus because I actually want to get to my destination while it's still open.

 

[1001001]

The last time I was in the city we took the bus from nearby Amoeba Records/Golden Gate Park back to our hotel on Taylor Street. It was a bizarre experience.

"One-Sock Jerry" was the mental health-related entertainment for the day, followed closely by the old magician performing one trick each stop before we started moving and he had to sit down again.

Next time, a cab will do nicely....

 

[clint g]

For the most part it is far more convenient to use mass transit in NYC than public transportation. Even late at night it is pretty reliable, though traffic at those times are light enough that it may be easier to just use a car.

 

[Canadave]

For the most part it is far more convenient to use mass transit in NYC than public transportation.

*blink*

Mass transit is public transportation.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I think mass transit can and is very useful in some cities, but sadly, not enough of them in the US. I think it is very useful in NYC, Chicago, and a handful of other cities, but those cities are the exceptions to the rule. I know that here in Atlanta, there are large portions of the metro area that are not covered very well, to the point where most commutes - especially from the suburbs - by mass transit would be ridiculously long.

Europe is much better at useful mass transit. As are certain Asian countries like Japan.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

I wish it could better here in Newcastle, but I'm quite happy with it where I live. I can get to the city in 15 minutes on the bus. But I can walk for 30 minutes and catch the free bus, which I do a few times a week.

 

[enlisted person]

My car was in the shop for a few days because of an alignment issue so for the first time since I started Driving (something like 3 years ago), I had to take public transportation, which is the bus system which stops at every single block. Not only that, but when you're going quite a ways (Takes me 20 minutes to get home via the freeway) down south from work, the commute tends to be a little long, and today it was like an hour and a half. It made me wonder, how did I manage the Bus for all the years that I did. It was nice to dose off though after a hard strenuous day, but I still really appreciate the convenience of Driving and not having to rely on someone(thing) else. Still like the Trains though, but the Bus system is pretty bad.

To me, driving is a basic freedom to go where you want, when you want. America seems to be the only large western country that appreciates that freedom. Others want to heavily tax or somehow punish you for that freedom and that is socialism plain and simple. The people should get what the want, not what the government allows them to have.

 

[SVD]

For me, living 10 miles outside of the nearest town it's a 15 minute drive just to get to a bus stop. That proved a little cumbersome early in my college career, as I had no drivers licence. The first year that I went to college I was learning to drive, taking a back roads commute to Chico that took 45 minutes the first semester, since a rout involving the bus would be impossible.

The next semester, I took classes at the Butte College main campus 20 miles south of Chico. Reason being, despite being further away time and distance-wise, the bus routing was actualy more reasonable, taking an hour and 20 minutes from home to campus with a bus switch in between. After getting my license, it still paid in gas savings to take the bus part of the way. The 10 minutes to the first bus stop or the 30 minutes to the parking lot where the college bus stopped plus the 40 minutes it took to complete the rest of its route were reasonable, untill I had to take an 8:00 AM class.

I would have had to get up at 5:30 or earlier to catch that bus, which was not happening. Sleeping till 6-6:30 was worth the gas, plus I liked that the commute now lasted 50 minutes.

 

[Miss Chicken]

To me, driving is a basic freedom to go where you want, when you want. America seems to be the only large western country that appreciates that freedom. Others want to heavily tax or somehow punish you for that freedom and that is socialism plain and simple. The people should get what the want, not what the government allows them to have.

Can you tell me in what way Australians are punished for owning a car?

 

[enlisted person]

To me, driving is a basic freedom to go where you want, when you want. America seems to be the only large western country that appreciates that freedom. Others want to heavily tax or somehow punish you for that freedom and that is socialism plain and simple. The people should get what the want, not what the government allows them to have.

Can you tell me in what way Australians are punished for owning a car?

What is the amount of tax on fuel in Australia? I have never been there so I don't know. Oz doesn't have a large population. I was mostly talking about Europe where gas is 8 bucks a gallon or more compared to 2.50 here in the US(3.78litres). There are outrageous prices for parking and things too in Europe.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Riding the bus sucks. I think I realized that as soon as I got my driver's license and didn't have to take the school bus anymore. It hasn't gotten any better.

The only times buses are fine are when it's a distance that is physically walkable, but you don't feel like doing it. Generally, because of stops, a 20 minute walk still takes 15 minutes on the bus. So, yeah, at best, you have to plan to devote a lot of time if you take the bus.

 

[Miss Chicken]

To me, driving is a basic freedom to go where you want, when you want. America seems to be the only large western country that appreciates that freedom. Others want to heavily tax or somehow punish you for that freedom and that is socialism plain and simple. The people should get what the want, not what the government allows them to have.

Can you tell me in what way Australians are punished for owning a car?

What is the amount of tax on fuel in Australia? I have never been there so I don't know. Oz doesn't have a large population. I was mostly talking about Europe where gas is 8 bucks a gallon or more compared to 2.50 here in the US(3.78litres). There are outrageous prices for parking and things too in Europe.

The cheapest rate I found for petrol in Australia today was $AUD1.12 per litre in Sydney (which is about $AUD4.27, or about $US3.80 a gallon gallon). In other places it is dearer. In Hobart it is $AUD1.31 per litre which ends up being around about $US4.41 litre. As far as states go, Tasmania has the highest petrol prices though some remote areas of Australia probably have higher prices.

Parking in a council car park in Hobart (these figures are for the two car parks closest to the city centre)

first 90 minutes - free
next 30 minutes - $1
up to 3 hours - $3
up to 4 hours - $5
up to 5hours - $9
up to 6 hours - $12
up to 7 hours - $14
up to 8 hours $16
up to 9 hours - $18
up to 10 hours - $21

Overnight fee - $3

 

[Canadave]

To me, driving is a basic freedom to go where you want, when you want. America seems to be the only large western country that appreciates that freedom. Others want to heavily tax or somehow punish you for that freedom and that is socialism plain and simple. The people should get what the want, not what the government allows them to have.

Can you tell me in what way Australians are punished for owning a car?

Or Canadians?

Really, though, while I love cars and I enjoy driving, I think it's unfortunate that we've become so reliant on them. Cars are at their best when used for going long distances (especially to places with relatively low back-and-forth traffic), or for hauling a bunch of stuff. Unfortunately, we mostly use them for daily urban transportation, for which they're terribly ill-suited.

Again, I have nothing against cars, I just wish we would use them more intelligently.

 

[enlisted person]

Can you tell me in what way Australians are punished for owning a car?

What is the amount of tax on fuel in Australia? I have never been there so I don't know. Oz doesn't have a large population. I was mostly talking about Europe where gas is 8 bucks a gallon or more compared to 2.50 here in the US(3.78litres). There are outrageous prices for parking and things too in Europe.

The cheapest rate I found for petrol in Australia today was $AUD1.12 per litre in Sydney (which is about $AUD4.27, or about $US3.80 a gallon gallon). In other places it is dearer. In Hobart it is $AUD1.31 per litre which ends up being around about $US4.41 litre. As far as states go, Tasmania has the highest petrol prices though some remote areas of Australia probably have higher prices.

Parking in a council car park in Hobart (these figures are for the two car parks closest to the city centre)

first 90 minutes - free
next 30 minutes - $1
up to 3 hours - $3
up to 4 hours - $5
up to 5hours - $9
up to 6 hours - $12
up to 7 hours - $14
up to 8 hours $16
up to 9 hours - $18
up to 10 hours - $21

Overnight fee - $3

That sounds not too bad and we have to pay when we go downtown if we park in a parking garage, or we have to feed the parking meter. Most of the places I park it never costs a penny. I hate the idea of paying for parking unless that money goes to create more parking.