Do you use public transport?

I currently live in Munich, Germany. We have a really good, well integrated public transport system, with buses, trams, subway and above ground suburban trains. I don’t drive here. I walk or I take public transport. I can get to two different bus stops within 10 minutes walk from home and both take me to a station with both subway and above ground trains to the city. The buses and trains run every 10 minutes, except late at night and on Sundays. I have a subscription for a monthly ticket - it’s cheaper that way - and definitely get my money’s worth from it.

I commuted for 16 years by train to Boston. I grew up in a suburb of Boston so routinely used buses/trains to get around. I took 2 public busses to get to high school. Where I live now there is very little public transportation.

we have no public transport.

There is no public transportation in my city.

I do not like or use public transportation.

I love having a car. We visited DC, Boston, and NYC this summer and never once used pubic transportation.

I want to walk from my air conditioned house to my air conditioned car, drive to my destination, park directly at my destination, and walk into my air conditioned destination. I do not want to live in a walking town. I don’t want to be in a confined area with other people. I don’t want to smell their smells and hear their sounds and feel their movements. I want to be in my own bubble (my car) with a physical barrier between me and other people.

I’ve mentioned on other threads that public transportation is actually a political issue here. Suburbs fight buses being able to come into their city and city council members and mayors actually run on whether they support or oppose bus service for the city. I remember when I was a kid bus service was trying to expand into the suburb I lived in then and it was a huge fight and my parents and all my friends’ parents were vehemently against it to the point that we all participated in protests against it. So, it’s a deep rooted prejudice against public transportation for me.

I do understand the need for public transportation in a big city like NYC where there just isn’t parking and isn’t enough room for everyone to have a car. But here, 100% buses are for poor people and there is a stigma that goes with it.

There is extremely limited rail service. If I were going to a concert in Dallas I could drive a few suburbs over, park, and ride the rail into Dallas. But I would rather drive. There is no amount of traffic or high price of parking that would make me want to ride the rail instead of driving.

Public transportation in my city, the 4th largest in the US, is a joke. This is the land of big cars and even larger freeways, with more lanes being added all the time. For example, I live 10 min. from downtown which is considered very close in. If I were to take the bus, it would require 3 buses and take an hour, with very infrequent runs. There are no other options. What improvements they have made are aimed at those who live out in the far suburbs. We've lived in Paris and loved the public transportation there and took it everywhere. Same for our time in San Francisco. I'd love to see more options developed here, but doubt seriously I'll ever see it.

In the past, I used train, bus, trolley, and even a ferry to go to work. The ferry was an experimental business venture that did not last long. But, my coworkers that lived near me and I decided to try it once. I also used to belong to a vanpool. When I went to Junior and Senior high school, I rode the public bus. As a kid, I used to go shopping downtown with my mom and we took the bus.

Now, it is too difficult to get to my current work location using public transportation. It would take a couple of hours, vs less than an hour by car. In the area I live there is public transportation, but it is not convenient for doing errands and shopping.

I have no problems with using public transportation. Sometimes I even wished I lived in a city where a car was not needed. I do love the convenience of a car of course, but if there was good public transportation around, I would use it.

ETA - For the poll, I voted for what I have used in the past, not what I use now.

Oh, just remembered, if we are going to Petco Park for a game, or the convention center for something like Comic Con, we take the train and transfer to the trolley, which stops right outside these venues. So convenient and the parking at the train stations is free.

I take Bart frequently. I used to commute to work every day on it…
As a kid I took the public bus and Bart everywhere.

I just don't think to get the bus although I could sometimes...it's a reasonable service where I am semi-rurally and pretty cheap.

We often look at going places by train but it's SO expensive that mostly it's cheaper to drive and pay for the petrol and parking.

No, I live suburban/rural. The only public transport we have is a branch of the county bus service for the elderly/disabled. The slightly larger town next door utilizes that bus service for the same reason and also has I think twice daily bus service to a couple of larger nearby towns for workers.

But really in my state, for the most part bus service is all there is for regular daily commuters.

I was amazed recently when we visited Italy. The train system is so easy to use and while I'm sure it has it's faults/doesn't go everywhere, it sure does seem to be great for commuters.

Here either. Used public transport when I’ve gone to other cities such as New York or Chicago or Atlanta, etc. But where I live here we do not have public transport, so that’s why I chose only plane

I live in a car city. I just do. If you want to live here, it’s expected that you have a car. If you don’t have a car, choose a more walkable city or a city with buses.

I get that that is a privileged and entitled statement. I get that it’s not fair. I get that it’s classist and elitist and whatever else. BUT I also get that it is what keeps my suburb the way it is compared to the way the suburbs with bus service are.

I am the complete opposite- my goal is to live where I can walk, bike or Uber everywhere. I love to go days without even getting in my car.

I have never ridden a city bus in the US.
I have on my travels to Europe.

In Dallas I have ridden the light rail to the state Fair for several years. I can park (free) in a station about 2 miles from home. The train stops at the front gate to the fair.
I qualify for senior discount. Cheap and convenient.

Lately there has been some youth causing trouble on the train, but I have not seen it.


Public transportation in Dallas is so impractical that I would have never been able to use it for work. Unless it has changed in recent years, all routes go downtown. From there, one can transfer to another route.
The routes are like spokes on a wheel, going to the hub.

If I had wanted to use it, I would have had to leave my home, go downtown, change to another bus, transfer again and go to the school. The school where I worked for 10 years has no public transportation anywhere near the town, let alone the school.

For all purposes, Dallas doesn't have a convenient public transportation system.