What will it take to get/force you out of your car and into some other form of transit?

[roccostud]

I own three cars all of witch cost under 3k to buy. I have no car payment and all get over 25mpg ( not so good these days ) I live about 2 miles from work. If I do drive to work I go weeks without filling up. But I also ride my bike. I don't own and drive cars just to get to work, its a passion of mine, I love to drive. You won't see me get rid of my cars or abandon the hobby but I will use transit when it is available. I can still enjoy my car but not every morning, no big deal.

[Dreamstate]

1) high speed of transportation
2) low cost of use
3) isolation from the general public while traveling

[bomberman447]

I already take the train now driving to the station. You would have to take my legs before I would ever consider taking the bus either to the train or downtown

I am more and more considering driving to work though as it is 45 mins each way driving go the train or 25 driving straight to work, but parking is $23/day

[jettagli1991]

What will it take to get me out of my car an into some other form of transit?

This:

This. Or I end up living in some tropical wonderland somewhere sipping drinks on the beach all day. That's about what it would take for me.

[macosxuser]

I will never get rid of my car/truck, but I do use my Buell for 80% of my transportation now. Cost of gas, heavy traffic...

[BLK9GEN]

When the cost to own a car (gas, insurance, registration, maintenance) exceeds 25% of my income I will be forced to take the bus. Until then, public transit will be something I rely on when visiting other larger cities, but in a place like Reno, NV where everything is spread out and transit consists of inconvenient bus routes, you really HAVE to own a car to really get around in any sort of timely manner. Now in 10 years when we are supposed to have a light rail system in place I might change my mind, but as it stands now, I'd probably rather drive a scooter than take the bus.

Buses
(well-planned) Light rail/trains/subways

[damion16v]

Cost and income. My wife was laid off for a while and we were forced to retire one car to the garage and I took the bus downtown. Took about as long as driving downtown and was ultimately cheaper than gas, wear & tear and paying for parking. She's working now, but we still share 1 car; if the bussing system were a bit better we might take a hard look at going carless. She and I now work in differing suburbs, both close to where we live, but to take the bus I spend nearly two hours catching transfers.

[Blonde Guy]

It's not the car that gets replaced, it's trips.

I don't drive to the grocery store any more. The store decided to remodel, but there wasn't room on their lot, so they moved quite a bit closer to my house. Now it takes the same time to walk as to drive (because I'd have to park), and there is no point in bringing a lot of groceries home because it's a lot cheaper to let the store (open 24 hours) keep them and I just get what I need when I need it.

My town isn't really suburban, nor is it a city. There's an unused rail line that may get passenger service soon. Considering that the bus is so cheap that it's more cost just for the fuel for my Golf TDI, The train is going to be a sweet deal. No traffic and it goes most of the places I now drive.

I won't be getting rid of the car. It's mostly going to be for pleasure drives, though.

[Juiced6]

living close to work or a mass transit system that does not suck (here in my town it is awful)

[Air-over-water]

living close to work or a mass transit system that does not suck (here in my town it is awful)

Even then, I would still prefer to drive.
But I also do not go straight home after work and sometimes might end up in another state, which is a big deal when you are starting from the middle of Texas.
I like to drive.
20K+ miles a year is nothing.
This in not Europe, Americans will always drive.

[Aw614]

commute is 20 miles round trip and no bus routes along the way so not worth it. And even if I could walk or bike to work, I'd still keep a car for the weekends for any autocross events, car meets, etc.

[cryption]

I with I had a public transit option, but its just not available where I live. Nothing even goes remotely near my work

[Air-over-water]

I with I had a public transit option, but its just not available where I live. Nothing even goes remotely near my work

[landstuhltaylor]

I try to take the train into the city whenever I know I won't need a car. I'll never go without a car but I'll take public transit when it makes sense.

[retro_rocket]

I could get to work using public transit if I had to, but it would entail the following:

5 minute walk to the bus stop
25 minute ride into town, to the transfer station
Switch to a different line
Ride 20 minutes to the stop closest to work
5 minute walk from bus stop to work

Total time = almost a full hour
Total distance traveled = around 20 miles
Cost = $5.25 (based on buying an unlimited ride monthly pass)

Or...I can drive my car.

Get in
Drive 7.9 miles (per Google maps)
Arrive at work

Total time = around 15 minutes
Cost = A little over $1 in gas, plus ??? when you factor in deprecation, wear and tear, etc.

Not a hard decision for me If I absolutely had to give up my car, I would rather get a bicycle or motorcycle.

[dubjager]

Cost of parking, and traffic got me out of mine.

• Taking the subway to work costs me $15 and takes me an hour to get there.
• Parking at work costs me $20, and takes an hour sitting in traffic to get there.
• My left foot, wear and tear on the car, and my wallet says..... subway.

I would much rather drive my cars to work. Drinking a cup of coffee, listening to the radio, farting, picking my nose, and having a guaranteed seat..... but It's not worth it.

The only downside, I think, is dealing with the disaster that is WMATA... But I know what you mean. I moved from DC to ATL last month and went from taking public transportation or walking everywhere to driving absolutely everywhere. Crazily enough, it seems like I am actually saving money on a day to day basis. A tank of gas lasts me 2 weeks and it costs 45-50 bucks to fill up my tank. With all of WMATA's peak times, long waiting times and fare hikes, I am actually happy to be driving to and fro work. That said, going out at night is a different story all together. I suppose I just need to find places to crash at the end of the night

[Sporin]

I live in rural America. Our local bus system is weak and extremely limited. It would be impossible for us to do our work commute, school and soccer practice stuff using it. Impossible.

We did switch from our beloved but gas guzzling truck to the Prius in Dec. '12 though.

With our current setup, even $10/gal. would be manageable. We set ourselves up for rising fuel costs as best as we could given our local and needs.

[Chris Stack]

They'd have to replace all the smelly poor people on the bus/train/subway with strippers that serve bourbon. And that's a lot of strippers. And then I'm still keeping the S2000.

[Provocyclist]

Better bike and PT infrastructure. But I suppose thats a but of a "chicken vs. egg" scenario. Ive been using PT fairly regularly since I live downtown, plus its nice my partner gets free bus passes through his work. For longer trips though (like to Provo or Ogden), thats when ill choose the car every time.

[turbinepowered]

I would LOVE to take public transit to my job. One small problem stands in the way: I drive for the local public transit agency, first shift.

[Merc-MarkO]

I've put <41k miles on my Mazda since July '07 and that includes two trips to Central WA, a few trips to Central OR, once to Vancouver, BC and several trips to Seattle. I don't use my car that much anymore and only as needed but I can't stand Trimet out here and wouldn't rely on them.

I have cycled to work on occasion but it's not that appealing on either end of a 12hr shift (non desk job).

[MK5golf]

It wouldn't take much. I live in a big city, but where I live, there is NO METRO. The bus system in this part of town is sub par as well. In highschool, if I walked home, it would take me about an hour. If I took the bus it would take about an hour as well. The bus was thus only taken when there was a severe snow or rain storm.

There is a train that brings you to the center of the city, but that is about a 45 minute walk from my house. A lot of my friends take this, but they take their cars to the train station. So a car is still needed.

Moral of the story? If I had decent public transportation available to me, I would not own a car right now. I would maybe own something fun that I could drive occasionally (Ill be honest, I love driving too much to give it up outright) but the cost of gas, parking, insurance, etc is really getting to me and all of us.

[johnny_p]

If I lived in the center of the city and also worked there, I wouldn't have a car. Or if I did have a car it would be a complete POS to be used for ski and bicycling trips.

But unfortunately even in Philadelphia, the public transit just isn't good enough. I just got back from touring Germany and holy crap, its so cheap and easy to use the public transit that there really is no reason to own a car. And many people in the cities don't.... its evident in the air quality. I never realized just how much the city smelled like car exhaust until I got off the airplane yesterday. Didn't get that at all in downtown Munich, Zurich, Frankfurt, etc.

[lawdogg]

It took me a move to Chicago and not being able to afford a parking space where I live.

[alfafan]

Poverty

[Terandyne]

forcing you into some form of transit

These folks are hired to do it

[garageless]

As a rural American I'd have to return to urban living. That won't happen any time soon. Out in BFE my 17 mile commute takes less than 20 minutes and is stress free.

[leaftye]

• Cost of gas?
• Cost of parking?
• Cost of insurance?
• Committment to being energy conscious?
• Never get rid of your car, regardless?

Time. I value time.

[TM87]

I just don't think It would happen. Just don't see it.
Maybe to work, but def wouldn't give up my car .

[seadoo2006]

I spend roughly $8,000 on fuel a year currently ... I think the average price for a gallon of gas would have to rise from $3.80ish (what I'm paying now) to over $16.00/gallon (quadrupling) in order to force me out of driving. Even then, I'd probably just move closer to work rather than give up my car.

[PsyberVW]

i have a family and taking mass transit to do shopping for the kids is out of the question. i can't imagine trying to haul $400.00 worth of costco stuff home on a bus... my God....

The problem I see is CostCo, not the bus

Not that it's your fault, but that is the way we've been developing suburbia. If you had a small corner market within a couple blocks of your home, it would be a part of the lifestyle. You could buy fresh food daily or every other day, and not have to live the big box/frozen food lifestyle.

It's ironic that we have to live like pioneers at the edge of civilization with our monthly treks to town for goods.

I keep nothing in my fridge but a few condiments and fluids. I don't use my microwave. I go to the market daily. I cook all meals from scratch or near to, but never with frozen food - always fresh meats, veggies, fruits, etc.. But my market is 2 miles away - just far enough to mean I have to drive. A scooter or even bicycle would be ideal, but the risk at this point is pretty high. The streets have 55mph speed limits, and every time I drive, I see cars weaving into the occasional bike lanes.

Public transportation here is not very robust, either. One bus, every 1-3 hours, and it doesn't go to that shopping center with the supermarket???

Maybe $8 /gallon gas will make us re-think this ill strategy of putting up miles of walled boulevards and forcing us into the big box culture.

[PsyberVW]

I do not think anything would be able to force me out of a car and into another form of transit.
Partly because the next 'big' city is ~150-200 miles away but mostly because I enjoy driving too much to give it up.

I don't see these as mutually exclusive. I could be happy riding a bus to work as long as I have the freedom to drive my car whenever I want (for fun). I'd wager that I even prefer it. When I've been on the road for work, it was always nice to be in a place where I didn't have to drive to work, but could still get into a car and drive for fun after work / weekends.

[nairmac]

I've used public transportation here before. Turns out I hate the public. And being unnecessarily early for work.

[WolfGTI]

Not an option for me.. What is generally a 25 minute drive would be an hour to 1.5 hour commute via bus / train.... so definitely not an option for me.

[King]

A shotgun.

Besides the fact that our public transit systems basically suck in Toronto, I also can't stomach having to wait around, and having to deal with people. Lastly, my job requires me to be all over the place on a moments notice, so I'm a car guy until they take my license away.


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