Public transit: is it worth the time & money?
I’m writing this post on my way to work. With 25 miles between my bed and my office, I don’t have the frugal options of walking to work or riding a bike. If I drive and the highway conditions are good, my commute is roughly an hour per day, which is twice as long as the average American’s time on the road. Many days the highway conditions aren’t that great: accidents happen, the weather changes, and of course sporting events and concerts bring a mob of drivers to slow down traffic.
Since I love where I live and I’m happy where I work, my commute is just a part of life. Instead of spending that time behind the wheel, though, I’ve been spending the past three years riding the bus and taking light rail. There are so many perks to using public transportation, though it isn’t for everyone. Where you live, whether you have a car, how flexible your schedule is, and your region’s fare structure will ultimately determine whether it is a viable option for you.
To help decide whether it’s worth your time, money, and effort, I’ve put together a list of Pros and Cons that I’ve noticed while riding with the crowds:
The Pros
- No stress from road rage. No more worries about people tailgating you to speed up, people cutting you off, or dealing with angry drivers who are running late. It wasn’t until I had been taking the bus for a few weeks and then drove to work again that I realized how tense I am while driving in traffic. Stress makes us sick and being sick costs us money. I can’t put a dollar amount on this, but I’m sure being relaxed on my commute has saved me money in medical bills.
- Safety. Some people argue that they need an SUV because it’s safer to be in a bigger vehicle. Well my bus is much bigger than your SUV! It’s probably inspected more often and has better traction in rain and snow too. One of my friends had two accidents this winter while driving to work and sliding on icy roads. That probably cost him a few hundred dollars to fix and his insurance has likely increased. When you take the bus or train, you’re letting someone else worry about winter tires, bad weather, and the like.
- Time to yourself. Without having to pay attention to the road, there are so many things you can do with your time, especially when it comes to personal finance. A good part of my financial rebound occurred while riding the bus – that’s when I read Your Money or Your Life, figured out a budget that works for me, checked out finance blogs like Queercents and The Simple Dollar, listened to podcasts, and brainstormed different ways to cut expenses and reduce my debt. If you have a laptop, you can even make money while traveling. You can do offline tasks like writing or, with wireless broadband, you can check your e-mail, do research, and work on collaborative projects. I installed a bunch of music software on my laptop so I can continue working on new songs and remixes during my commute. So even though your travel time does increase, it can be spent much more productively.
- Traffic. This is where buses and trains are very different. When traffic gets bad, everyone on the highway is delayed. It’s much less stressful to be riding a bus than driving a car in traffic. If you’re on the train, chances are you won’t be delayed at all. In a major snow storm a few years ago, my bus ride home took 9 hours (many drivers gave up and abandoned their cars on the highway). Jonathan (my husband) took the train as usual and was home in 30 minutes.
- Lower auto insurance and maintenance. If you have a car, you can lower your auto insurance since it’s no longer a commuter vehicle. Jonathan actually sold his last year and we get along fine with just one. The wear & tear on it is also reduced, making it last longer.
- Fresh air and exercise. Taking the bus & train gives me at least 30 minutes a day of walking outside. I love it. If I don’t feel like taking the train, I can walk another 15-20 minutes. That walking really helps bring up my energy. It’s a nice little boost and another health benefit. If I want to be productive during that time, I can listen to podcasts or continue brainstorming ideas.
- Student, senior, and employer benefits. If you’re a student or senior citizen, your fares are discounted. If you’re taking college courses, your student ID card may act as a free pass during the semester (I’m currently taking advantage of this). Also, many companies see the benefits of public transportation and either provide free passes or allow pre-tax purchases of passes as an employee incentive. Maybe the only thing between you and a free commute is a talk with your employer!
- No need to park. One of my friends used to pay $20 a day just to park because his company didn’t offer free parking for its employees. Depending how far away you live, you could save at least half of those costs. Same goes for airport parking. Some airports charge you $12-18 per day to park there. If you’ll be gone for a week, try leaving your car at home.
- Go to major events (and drink). If you’re going to a major event that draws a few thousand people, there’s often a special shuttle that will drop you off at the venue. This saves you the hassle of getting there, parking, getting out, and you can even have a few drinks and not worry about it.
- Rejuvenate. When I’m juggling work, music, school, finances, chores, and all that… I get very sleep-deprived. Taking the bus helps me juggle some of those things, but it can also be my time to relax and recover. Whether I fall asleep for a few minutes at a time or listen to a guided meditation on my iPod, the world is probably a better place without me behind the wheel.
- Environmental benefits. This one is obvious: you’ve reduced your carbon footprint. Good job!
The Cons
- More time spent overall. Unless you’re flying past heavy traffic on a commuter train, you’ll most likely be spending more time in transit than you would be driving. For me, it means three hours a day instead of one, and my alarm goes off earlier in the morning.
- Exposure to weather. Depending where you live, you’ll need some more rugged outerwear to handle the elements. I always keep a compact umbrella in my work bag and I make use of my ski mask and long underwear on cold winter days. It’s also good to keep a set of tissues handy when the wind makes your eyes water and your nose run.
- Less flexibility. The transit system here in Denver has a Call-n-Ride bus that allows you to call an hour ahead for custom pick-ups and drop-offs in certain areas. Other than that, you’re limited to the standard stops and you’re on foot or bike to finish your trip. You’re also limited to their schedules, which are different on the weekends versus during the week, and you may have to wait a while to transfer from one route to another.
- Limited access to the suburbs. The meandering roads, cul-de-sacs, and gated communities of the suburbs are designed to have less traffic and more privacy. If you’re lucky enough to have a bus stop near the entrance of your community, you might have to walk a while to get there and the bus probably doesn’t show up very often. You’d be better off driving to a Park-n-Ride near a major highway and riding from there.
- Cost. Last year when gas was $4 a gallon, many people were switching to public transit. Fares increased in 2009 to cover the expensive ’08 prices, but now gas is much cheaper. If the cost of gas is your only concern and you won’t appreciate the other perks, then transit probably isn’t for you.
- Car payments. If you have a relatively new car with large monthly payments, riding the bus will be an added expense. Take the time to figure out what the savings would be and then weigh your options.
- Annoying people. In the past three years, I’ve only had a handful of days when people were loud and disrespectful to the point that it irritated me. All the same, you are out in public and you will find people that rub you the wrong way. For the most part, though, people keep to themselves.
- Transporting packages. My 30 minutes of walking can become an intense workout if I’m carrying a 50 lb. package. Consider buying a collapsible shopping cart or finding a different way to transport your heavier items.
- No bathrooms. Major transit hubs have restrooms but that’s about it, so be careful how much coffee or water you drink before boarding!
- No morning workouts. Taking the bus requires leaving home at 6:30 am to get to work by 8. There is no way I will get up any earlier to hit the gym. I’m fine going after work, though.
That’s about all I can think of – feel free to add other Pros and Cons to the comments section. Do you take public transit? Have you tried? What was your experience?
More Queercents posts on commuting: Nina talks about congestion pricing, Melissa talks about taking the metro, Paula talks about working from home, and Martinique talks about giving up on your car.
In addition to writing about finance, James Roy also likes to work on his fun music career while riding public transit.
Photo credit: stock.xchng
When you mentioned that you were writing this post on the train, you illustrated another perk of public transit! Working while commuting. My mom used to wake up at 5 to commute from our home in New Hope PA (outside of Philly) to Wilmington, DE, a train ride of 3 hours each way. She was able to recoup some of the expenses of the commute from the company, but more importantly she was able to devote the 3 hours of train time to working rather than waste 3 hours in transit.
I take Capital Metro in Austin, Texas and have for most of the last 10 years. For a few years there I worked a 10-6 so the bus wasn’t an option but now I’m back to a 7:30 – 4:00. I find the bus an absolute godsend. My cost to ride is $2.40 a day which is probably about what gas would cost (now, not this summer). But I have virtually no stress in riding. For me, it takes about 10 extra minutes in the morning (leaving at 6:40 rather than 6:50 to get to work at 7:30) to catch the bus and another 10-15 in the afternoon. Most days I go to the gym to workout, then drive the very short distance to the park n’ ride, then take the bus to work. I also have a pretty good idea of where the major bus routes go in town so if the family calls and says how about dinner in town, I just ride and then walk to the restaurant or tell them where to pick me up and when. And starting this month all express busses have free Wi-fi.
In Washington DC where I used to live it actually took LESS time to take public transit than to drive (the metro went under the streets and was more direct.)
Also, I always felt that public transit offered a bit of built-in downtime. I used it to read a book or listen to music; either preparing for a day at the office or unwinding before I got home and started to cook dinner, do chores, etc.
“Annoying people” is probably my biggest complaint, especially people who don;t care how loudly they speak on a cell or how loud their music plays (even through earphones!)
But then I think about how much more upset I’d be if I were driving, with people cutting you off and pedestrians leaping in front of you, and I decide that public transit is the way to go.
I’m in Denver too, riding RTD buses or light rail every day to get from deep in the suburbs to downtown for school and work.
Certainly you lose some scheduling freedom when you rely on public transport, but the upside of that is that it can give structure to your day. I’ve found it helps me a lot with time-management: I do have that hour where I’m stuck on a bus, but I get things done and it helps me plan. Instead of rushing out of the house at 7:55 for an 8:00 meeting, I’m forced to leave earlier and plan. It’s not much, but it’s helped me quite a bit.
A con though, in addition to rising fares, is uncertain service. When the economy goes bad and the public transport authorities lose money, fares increase and service gets cut. If you rely on several routes or a lightly-traveled one, there’s always a chance that even minor service reductions can throw your commute off. Denver’s been going through a lot of this lately- whole bus routes have been eliminated, including some call and ride services.
Interesting. I took a job in downtown Chicago last year after working in the burbs because I was able to take public transport. I was able to justify taking a small pay cut to do so and break even. But, I could not do what you do and spend 2 hrs more. That’s huge.
i take public transportation in los angeles and spend at least 3 hours a day commuting.
on top of “annoying people” there are also smelly people and dirty people who sit right next to you and you wonder how much of that just rubbed off on to you.
another con is the discomfort. not only are the seats painfully uncomfortable, i’m pretty sure i have some form of whiplash from all that stop and start day after day, throwing me forward and backward.
and you can’t control the temperature. there are days when the air conditioning has been literally painful. and anyone who rides a train regularly knows that they can get very hot.
I’m glad to hear that public transit in other cities can actually be faster and / or cheaper than driving. Definitely agree with the downtime comments as well as the added structure in one’s day. I tend to feel better prepared for work when I arrive and I don’t feel like I need time to unwind or de-stress when I get home.
If people are too loud, I pull out my iPod to drown them out. It’s true, though, that not much can be done if someone smells.
Sounds like transit in L.A. could use some improvements. In terms of heat, I’m much better off riding because the A/C in my black car went out years ago.
Morgan – you bring up a good point about service being cut with economic instability. RTD also has had a few strikes in the past few years that make it difficult to get anywhere.
Thanks for the feedback, guys!
Where I live, I don’t have the public transportation option. Some days I think it would be nice to sit back, work on my blog, and let someone else do the driving!
I am a huge fan of public transit. When I lived in LA I would take the train into work every day. It was an hour commute, but since I wasn’t driving I could enjoy a latte and the paper while somebody else did the work of getting me where I needed to go. If Arizona would get on board with mass transit, this would be awesome. I think the state government should undertake a massive public works project to upgrade our woefully outdated bus system in order to kick start the state’s economy. All those construction jobs that are gone because the housing market has dried up could be channeled into building new rail lines. But I’m a dirty hippie, so what do I know?
Hey Serena – have you ever considered contacting the AZ state government? Or the district that runs the outdated bus system? There’s always hope!