Great post.

It’s also a great way to get around when on vacation, if the city you are visiting has good public transit. It saves you the cost of a rental, and also saves you the stress of driving in unfamiliar surroundings.

I used public transit on a recent trip to Washington DC, and it was a huge money and sanity saver.

Unfortunately public transportation is mostly cost prohibitive where I live. We rarely use it. (Yes, gas prices and all). I have looked into it many times.

That being said, I was thinking the same thing as scfr. We pretty much always use public transportation when we travel. I am always amazed at cheap and efficient public transportation. NY, DC, Boston, Japan. Even San Francisco is not so bad (though on the other hand much more expensive and limited than say NY). The rest of California can learn from something from these other cities.

On my NPR affiliate radio station this morning a rep from the public transit system was trying to make the case that our buses are a good place to meet dates and mates. ~~Paint me skeptical.~~ Maybe once there is a better cross section of the population that would be the case, but not right now. We are not a bus and train using city for the most part.

I’m in NYC and public transportation is my best option. It’s not always great but still better than driving in and paying for parking. It also gives me time to read. In fact most of my reading is done on the bus or train. And I also get to take morning and afternoon naps (hour-plus commute).

Don’t forget that you save yourself from doing the daily epic quest of finding a free parking lot.

Some transit systems have an online trip planner where you can enter origin and destination addresses (or even intersections and major buildings and other landmarks) and get up to three transit routes you can take (e.g. walk to this corner, take that bus, get off at this stop, walk three blocks west to your destination).

Some employers provide transit passes as a tax-preferenced benefit the same way some employers provide paid parking, (This benefit, up to a certain amount, is an allowable business expense for the employer and tax-free for the employee.)

Volunteers from the transit advocacy group will demonstrate the new website to office workers in the downtown Peachtree Center Mall. The Internet tool shows people the easiest ways to get around Atlanta on transit, bicycle and foot.

The downtown demonstration will give members of the media an opportunity to take pictures, sound or video of people trying out the Trip Planner. It will also be an opportunity for “Man on the Street� reactions.

Representatives of Citizens for Progressive Transit will be available to respond to questions about the new website.

WHAT: A-TRAIN Trip Planner PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION
DATE: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
TIME: Noon to 1:00pm
WHERE: Peachtree Center Mall; Adjacent to Peachtree Center MARTA Station

Later that evening, more than fifty people are expected to attend a Launch Party for the new website. The public and the media are invited to attend.

WHAT: A-TRAIN Trip Planner LAUNCH PARTY
DATE: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
TIME: 6:30pm to 8:00pm
WHERE: Shout Restaurant, 1197 Peachtree St NE Atlanta, GA

CfPT member Dave Emory has been working long hours and no pay to make this website happen. Other volunteers and a generous grant from Friends of the Earth also helped make A-TRAIN possible. Join us as we thank these people and organizations and hear about the new possibilities this tool holds for transit in Atlanta and beyond.

Light hors d’Å“uvres to be provided courtesy of Veolia Transportation, Inc., Flexcar, and Lanier Parking.

MARTA DIRECTIONS TO SHOUT: Take MARTA to the Arts Center Rail Station (N5). Exit the station towards Woodruff Arts Center and make a right on Arts Center Way. Take a left on 15th Street and a right on Peachtree Street. Shout will be on your left as part of the Colony Square complex.

A-TRAIN - The new way to get around Atlanta.

Citizens for Progressive Transit is bursting with pride as we launch the A-TRAIN Online Trip Planner to help Atlantans get around by transit, bicycle and on foot.

Experience it yourself at http://trip.atltransit.com

Citizens for Progressive Transit will demonstrate A-TRAIN, its new online tool to help Atlantans get out of traffic, on Wednesday, November 28, 2007.

It would work ok for people with no kids and those who can allow to spend an hour or more for commute. It would take extra time for walking because you can’t walk 30 or more miles an hour, plus bus or train goes much slower than a car. I don’t have that much time. The less time I spend traveling the more time I can work. Even if one hour of work will pay more than I would spend on gas, it’s better to use a car. Plus you don’t have to worry about rain and cold. It might cost more to drive a car only if you have to pay for parking or if you have a payment every month, but thats a different story, I don’t see a reason to finance a fast-depriciating things anyways.

Forgot your sweater? it’s ok, you will be inside of the car or inside of the building the whole time anyways.
When you use car, you can arrive to work 5 minutes before you start and don’t waste any time, when you depend on public transportation, you might get there 30 minutes or more early, and time is money.
You can also stop at the grocery store (or 2 or 3 different stores) on your way and buy the discount items you need, and if you are walking, you will have to shop in the nearest store which might not have the best price on the items you need, unless you want to carry 20 lbs or more food in your hands the whole time you are walking and waiting for the bus.

It would work ok for people with no kids and those who can allow to spend an hour or more for commute.

I live in St. Louis and take the bus and train everywhere. I see many people with a child or two on Metrolink and the bus, including kids in strollers. Many of the “cool” streets that are full of restaurants and boutiques are served by light rail and/or bus, and transit near those often are packed with families. When my friend visited from Pittsburgh, we took her family to Turtle Park via the bus. The stop was a block from our condo, the baby was in the stroller cooing, and the three-year-old was excited to ride. We walked and took transit for much of their trip.

It would take extra time for walking because you can’t walk 30 or more miles an hour, plus bus or train goes much slower than a car.

There is a light rail station 1.5 blocks from my condo, but there are two more within 7 blocks. If it’s nice, I’ll walk to one further away. I don’t see walking a bit as a bad thing.

In addition, my commute to Midtown St. Louis via light rail is only 7 minutes. Once I arrive at the station, I either walk three more blocks to work, wait for the work shuttle, or I take the bus, which usually comes within a minute or two of my arrival. My entire commute takes less than 12 minutes, MAX.

On the rare occasions I drive, it takes me at least 20 minutes, considering the traffic lights, the “brake” wave that someone mentioned, and the traffic (the parkway near my place is filling with more vehicles because the state is closing a major highway for three years and redoing it). Once I arrive at work, I have to find a place to park and then walk to the building. After work, I would have to pay $4.

Plus you don’t have to worry about rain and cold.

You do have to worry about rain and cold, since you have to perform maintenance on your heating and cooling systems, as well as your wipers. That costs money. I’d rather just wear tennis shoes, pants under my dress, and carry an umbrella.

It might cost more to drive a car only if you have to pay for parking or if you have a payment every month, but thats a different story, I don’t see a reason to finance a fast-depriciating things anyways.

My car has been paid off for four years, and I still take transit. The monthly fee for a garage at work is about $58 (the $4 I mentioned earlier is the visitor’s per-day fee). A monthly Metro pass (good for rail and bus) is $60. I don’t pay for gas. I don’t pay for parking. I don’t spend much in vehicle maintenance. In fact, I’m selling my car come spring.

When you use car, you can arrive to work 5 minutes before you start and don’t waste any time, when you depend on public transportation, you might get there 30 minutes or more early

My work begins at 8:30 a.m. I am in my chair by 8:25 each day, sometimes even earlier. Either way, you have to plan. You read the train schedule and the bus schedule, calculate how long the commute will take and how long you need to walk to a station or stop. You have to do the same thing driving. In fact, I often arrive before the drivers, because they always get stuck in traffic or don’t check the news/traffic site for road closures.

You can also stop at the grocery store (or 2 or 3 different stores) on your way and buy the discount items you need, and if you are walking, you will have to shop in the nearest store which might not have the best price on the items you need, unless you want to carry 20 lbs or more food in your hands the whole time you are walking and waiting for the bus.

Wow. Again, the key is planning. Just like you might run three errands in a car, I can run three errands via bus or rail. I bring my reusable Trader Joe’s bags to a grocery store, target, walmart and best buy in one trip. I can ride the rail there or take a bus, which makes a loop of the major shopping points in a certain area. Sometimes I spend an extra five minutes reviewing a bus schedule to determine which one is best for my time allotted. I still get in, out, and home before many folks in cars.

As for lugging things home, carring a few bags builds strength and encourages me not to buy stuff I don’t need. Make a list and stick to it. Or get one of those wheeled carts the little old ladies use, which I LOVE!

It just takes planning, that’s all. Many folks who say that transit is not viable often haven’t used it themselves or don’t want to put in the few minutes it takes to learn the system. My boyfriend and I moved last year to a condo specifically near transit options, and we’ve been using transit heavily since April. Because of it, we’ve explored more areas of the city, have eaten in memorable restaurants, enjoyed viewing the city’s great architecture during commutes, and have read oodles of books and listened to oodles of albums. Life is what you make it. Transit is similar.

I am considering selling my car. I live in Phoenix. I would definatley need the umbrella, or should I call it a sun-brella.

I am scared to be a pedistrian. I feel it will be dangerous. I bought my car 10 years ago. I have not been a bus rider since 1999.

I get irritated at red lights, I wonder how much of my time I waste waiting for it to turn green.

Certain people I tell that I want to go back to the bus life say that it would be broke mentality, that I would be regressing. It is like peer pressure.

My inspiration is being able to read and write (think) instead of haveing to be focused on not dying (driving). It is not relaxing to drive, to be constantly aware that you are speeding down a slide of concrete in a ton of metal.