[Jesda]

I'm starting a new job on Tuesday at a company downtown. My commute would be 42 miles a day round trip, and while I've driven further for a lot less money gas was only $1.60 when I did.

At four days a week, my gasoline would cost $26-$33 a week assuming I get between 20 and 25 mpg. Not bad.

Mass transit which combines the MetroBus and MetroLink lightrail systems is $2.25 one way, which totals only $36 per month.

Here's the catch:
1. I'd have to wake up at 5:30am to get ready and eat breakfast to catch the bus at 6:27am.
2. I'd have to walk .19 miles to the bus stop.
3. I'd have to walk half a mile after getting off the train to get to my office. That would take 15 minutes.

If I drove, it would take 45 minutes one way (would be 25-30 minutes if not for the interstate being shut down for construction). I'd leave the house at 7:30, so I'd have to wake up at 6:30.

For the ride home, driving would save 35 minutes.

Mass transit total savings: $96/mo
Mass transit time lost: 32 hours per month from waking up early and getting home late.
Savings per hour of time lost: $3/hr. My time is worth much more than $3 per hour. Therefore, its still better to drive to work at $3.80 a gallon.

^A bit nicer than the bus.

EDIT: Actually, looking at it again (correcting my errors), and taking discounts into consideration:
It would be about $50 per month to take the bus and train.

 

[E. Haskell]

An extra hour of sleep = priceless

 

[SirRaven]

Is there not some pass for a monthly rate that would be cheaper a month than that? Usually I think around here there is a pass for something like $50 a month that lets you use it unlimited amount of times. And I am positive there is something like that in the Minneapolis, MN because my brother uses that all the time for school.

 

[member12]

Mass transit sucks in this country. The stops are usually placed where they are for political reasons and cost.


Once you leave the north east cities, Chicago, and SF...then you are stuck driving.

St. Louis doesn't have a very far reaching system anyways.

 

[Family Man]

Looks like your transit system does not serve all places well. Are there no buses that leave the station and go near your work?

Also, you didn't mention it, but what are the costs associated with parking your car downtown? Normally, parking downtown is not free, and it could double your costs of driving.

Finally, nice car. If I had your car, I wouldn't want to take public transit either, but if I worked downtown, I'd be leaving my car at home (not only is gas almost $5.20 a gallon here, but traffic to downtown Montreal is awful).

 

[ksr]

Mass transit here in Pittsburgh is pretty horrible.

For me, gas would have to get really expensive, maybe hitting that nightmare $15/gallon prediction, for me to consider mass transit. Or even car pooling.

I put a high value on the freedom to come and go as I please and not be dependent on either public transportation or a group of co-workers. And I love the privacy of my car.

It's a quality of life issue, and driving is one of the pleasures of life to me. It's worth a lot.

 

[NfamousZ24]

Actually at the end of my street ( 4 houses down) is a bus stop. That bus actually goes in front of the plant I work at which it does have a stop. My drive to work is only 20 minutes, The bus trip takes about an hour. I see no reason to take the bus unless if my car is broke down.

 

[PA Dweller]

Jesda I couldn't agree more, you think just like me. I take the bus into New York to get to college and would kill for a car so I can drive in. But thanks to college I can't afford a car and I have to:

1) Wake up at 4 AM.
2) Be jammed into a seat that is meant for someone 3/4 my size. (I got wide shoulders)
3) The seat feels like sitting on a concrete block.
4) The leg room is non-existent.
5) You have to share the seat next to you with someone just as big or bigger.
6) People in front of you who recline the chair onto your knees.
7) A long and indirect trip. Instead of point A to point B, its point A, then B, then C, then D, then E, etc, etc, etc, before you get to where you need to be.
8) People who want to start a fist fight because you ask them to un-recline their seat, or think your taking up part of their seat on purpose.
9) Plus all of this for 5 hours a day because the bus can't go faster than 65 MPH. (Speed Governor)
10) Being a slave to the bus schedule, last term I had to wait a few hours for the next bus home.

I envy you Jesda, that’s why I can't wait until college is over I will be able to afford a car and I will probably never see another bus or train from the inside again. It really sucks to be young. I can deal with traffic, I can afford gas since I am a college educated single man, and I can afford a car. So why am I going to deal with the stress of public transportation, especially for that many hours a day? I can sit in traffic and be happy, put up the A/C, turn on the XM radio, and relax in my seat. I might have to leave earlier and lose some sleep but anything is better than taking public transportation. Anyway I really enjoy driving, for better or worse.

 

[mgescuro]

Mass transit which combines the MetroBus and MetroLink lightrail systems is $2.25 one way, which totals only $36 per month.

:blink: Am i missing something??
$2.25 one way = $4.50 daily = $18 4-days a week = $72 monthly
I guess you won't go into work 5 days a week then? That would be $90 monthly.

Buy a monthly pass. They're $60/month.

http://www.metrostlouis.org/Fares/FareChart.asp

Also, ask your company if they give you commuter passes or something. That should significantly decrease the amount of money for commuting.

Also, does your company have a parking lot or something? Otherwise, you're going to have to pay a parking fee.

THen of course, there's the wear and tear on your car, maintenance, etc etc.

Convenience is certainly a factor. Plus if the area around your work is in the middle of BFE, then you might need a car to go grab lunch or something.
However, a half mile walk is certainly good exercise, and time you can get a cup of coffee or whatever. Plus the bus/train ride is good for a quick nap, or read a book or paper or get some work done, especially if the bus or train has WiFi.

My commute is..... 8 minute drive from my driveway to the parking garage at the train station + 27 minute train ride into the city + 5 minute walk from the station to work. That's a good 40 minute commute. $3.35 each way on the train. No parking fee at my train station, though others charge a $2 fee.

If I drove, it would be 15-25 minutes into the City, depending on freeway and street traffic. Then an 8 minute walk from the parking structure to work. On a good day that, that's 17 minutes faster than the train. BUT... that's also $18.50 to park + gas. BUT... coming home, I need to fight City traffic. It's a frustrating 15 minutes just to get to the Freeway entrace. And if the Giants are in town?? Tack on another 10 minutes because the entrance is 2 blocks from AT&T Park. Then another 12-15 minutes from the freeway entrance to my driveway. And forget it if the Niners are playing on a Monday night. Tack on another 20 minutes or another 10 minutes if I bypass the freeway running by Candlestick.

Oh yeah... my company gives me $100 in commuter checks per month to take mass transit. So my actual out of pocket costs for transit every quarter is about $50, give or take. And since I work from home every now and then, my actual costs are essentially non existent.

Why would I ever drive to work?

Definitely check with your work and figure out if they have a commuter program.

 

[Jesda]

With discounts it ends up being $50 a month. And no, I dont work all five days of the week.

 

[HoosierRon]

How much is your BMW depreciating every time you drive it 42 miles? That's almost 9,000 per year. Plus, how much more service and maintenance will you have to purchase because you are putting those extra miles on? (I'm not saying I would take mass transit, but you do have to count all of the costs.)

 

[mgescuro]

With discounts it ends up being $50 a month. And no, I dont work all five days of the week.

Well, I'd say try the train/bus for a while and see if it pans out; otherwise, just drive until your car breaks down or the gas is truly expensive.

In either case, I'd still take the bus and take a nap along the way to work.

 

[roteague]

I've lived in cities where riding the bus made no sense, and places where it does.

Fortunately, I now live in a place where it doesn't take much more time to ride the bus than it does to drive. However, if I need to stay late, or arrive early, then I need to drive. After 5:30pm the bus only runs once an hour until 9:00pm when it stops running. The earliest bus is 5:30am (taking about an hour to get to town).

The stops are usually placed where they are for political reasons and cost.

That is the way it is here in the "People's Republic of Hawaii".

 

[Jesda]

In either case, I'd still take the bus and take a nap along the way to work.

THAT would be nice, but I think I'd end up missing my stop lol. Last thing I need is to end up on the east side. *gasp*

 

[Rick 2000]

Mass transit = bad neigborhood on wheels

 

[AmericanRevolution]

The walking isn't bad... but the time issue kills it lol

 

[mgescuro]

THAT would be nice, but I think I'd end up missing my stop lol. Last thing I need is to end up on the east side. *gasp*

haha
Well, I do it day in... day out...
I have my earphones in my ears, and I close my eyes. 99.9% of the time, I time it in such a way that I "wake up" 1-2 stops before I have to get off.
I've never missed my stop. However, I have "woken up" with the train already at my stop, and I had to run out like a complete fool before the door closes; otherwise, I'd be stuck on the train as it goes under the Bay. And that's a 5 minute ride.
I have stupidly exited the train 1 stop too early. LOL

Other than that, the seats are comfy. I have enough leg room (I'm 6'3".) The only major complaint is that the trains are a bit noisy at times -- though I find it not as noisy as some of the other trains around the country. But that's what sound isolating earphones are for, right?

 

[mbukukanyau]

Mass transit is Utopian concept that suck your tax dollars and empowers driver unions, to get government retirement and benefits, and elect their own reps into the government, then they conspire aganist all hard working honest people who just want to drive their car home safely

 

[iamwin]

Where in St Louis are you? You obviously live in the county based on your roundtrip distance, almost every metrolink stop has a park and ride. I would at least do that much with the 40 being shutdown with that mess. Granted when I lived in St Louis I lived downtown which made life real easy.

 

[mgescuro]

Mass transit is Utopian concept that suck your tax dollars and empowers driver unions, to get government retirement and benefits, and elect their own reps into the government, then they conspire aganist all hard working honest people who just want to drive their car home safely

LOL
well... some systems in this country have fully automated systems. The drivers are there just for show. Or to call out the stops and close the doors... and for emergency purposes.

I know in a couple years, when the BART system undergoes the next phase of the modernization.... the computer will announce each stop, and there will be active displays of where the train is in the system. Then the driver will really have nothing to do but sit there and read the paper. But by that time, the entire system will be on WiFi and they can just surf the net while speeding underneath the Bay at 80mph. LOL