I'm going to stop using public transportation for my commute.

[Squatch]

Well, after riding the VRE for the past few months, I decided to take stock of the benefits I have gained in doing so.

I leave my house for the train station at 6:10 each morning. I take the 6:43 from Rippon to Crystal City which arrives at 7:20. I then take a shuttle from Crystal City to George Mason & Rte 50, which gets me to work at 7:50.

That trip costs me $5.60 and 1 hour and 40 minutes.

This morning I drove in to work. I left the house at 6:00 and arrived at work at 7:00. I have a 1998 Honda Civic that is all paid for and gets about 24 miles to the gallon in the city.

With today's gas prices, that cost me $2.69 and 1 hour.

It's very clear that my public transportation options are over twice as expensive in terms of dollars-and-cents and nearly twice as expensive in terms of time.

The break even point in $ comes when gas is $5.60 a gallon

(note, I did not include insurance or maintenance: my insurance premiums are about $30 a month for this car and I change my oil every $5000 miles.)

[originalpckelly]

1. Do they have some sort of transit pass?

Usually there are discounted rates for people who use transit frequently enough to reap the benefits of the pass.

[Squatch]

3. Only for seniors, disabled persons, "utes", and groups.

[originalpckelly]

8. OK that really sucks. That's just plain old stupid administration!

Do many people ride it? If not, then it should fail, because for trains to be economical/environmentally better a bunch of people have to ride them for the mpg per passenger to be better than a car or even a bus.

[Squatch]

9. The 4:58PM train is usually standing-room only when it gets to

Crystal City.

[originalpckelly]

15. Well, then that's good.

Who knows, maybe they'll catch wise and expand the service if it's that popular?

[northzax]

2. VRE sucks, what can you say? nt

[graywarrior]

4. It's the time factor that prevents me from using public transport.

Buses here stop at every out of the way strip mall and go through some strange neighborhoods where no one gets on the bus...ever. A 30 minute drive takes and hour and a half.

[Malikshah]

7. Myself as well. Down here in South Florida, TriRail is of limited use

My commute is only 20 miles, but it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes based on traffic.

Timing the lights on the East-West roads would help many people quite a bit. (There are 6 lights in a less than 1/2 mile near my house and it can take 20 minutes alone just to get through them all on a bad day)

Tri Rail is near 95 (so it would take 1/2 hour or more to get to a station), and then hope the bus system is working...

[Edweird]

31. I tried it, too. West Palm to Miramar. Took 3 hours and I had to walk about 3 miles to my house.

Sucked ass.

[deadmessengers]

28. Me, too

There's a bus that runs from my neighborhood in suburban Atlanta to downtown. The way the bus is scheduled, it is not possible for me to use it to get to the train which would take me to my job, work a full 9 hour day, and get back downtown in time to catch the last bus back home. It's almost like they're trying to DISCOURAGE the use of public transit, rather than encourage it.

[LoZoccolo]

5. For a lot of people, public transportation sucks.

For me in Chicago, though, it's pretty decent, especially if you get a 30-day pass and take advantage of the time you spend on it to read, pay bills, plan the day, etcetera.

[Squatch]

6. But I *really* wanted it to work for me.

I have to leave at 4:30 PM to make the last shuttle back to the train station, which probably irks the hell out of my boss.

[LoZoccolo]

10. Yeah, that sounds like it sucks.

When I used to live in the suburbs, the last train back out there left past midnight.

[Bobbieo]

11. I like carpooling when possible.

[jtrockville]

12. Do you pay for parking?

[Squatch]

14. Nope.

Parking is free on the street.

[sandnsea]

13. Two more considerations

Money is money, I get that completely.

Having commuted in the past, have you considered the reduction of stress? And being out of the car fumes. I personally believe traffic and car fumes have had more to do with skyrocketing cancer rates than we've been told. Just some things to consider. Everyone has to do what's best for them, no need to feel bad about it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. I started riding the Metrolink last week and I love it!

I can't believe I didn't start doing this sooner.

5 minutes from my home to the station.
23 minute train ride with only two stops.
5 minutes from the station to work.

Overall it looks like it'll save me about $250 a month in gas and tolls.

Funny though, I find myself wishing the train ride was a little longer. I barely get to relax before I have to get off again!

[Skink]

17. How about free public transportation paid for by SUV makers.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

18. I can agree the timing is

a pain when using public tranportation. After all, the greatest benefit to a car is the convenience it gives us.
Are you aware the American Automobile Association (Triple A) says it costs, on average, .50 cents a mile to operate a vehicle? That takes into account the gas, oil, wear and tear, insurance. Not sure about parking.
You didn't say how far your commute is in miles, or at least I can't see it. But based on the Triple A formula it costs you, based on a 26 mile commute, $13.00 to drive yourself. So you are paying about $8 for the sake of saving 40 minutes........... :shrug: The cost out of pocket isn't always the real price we pay for things.
Having said that, in the interest of full disclosure, I don't own a car today, but will by the end of next week. Then I can avoid those terrible bus schedules too! But it's gonna cost me!! :)

[TwilightGardener]

19. But won't you miss the head-grease blotches on the window, and the smell of whiskey and butt-sweat

from the unwashed loser sitting next to you? Ah, fond memories of my years as a bus rider...

[Firespirit]

20. Can't say I blame you

I was extremely underimpressed with the public transportation in the DC metro area. The Metro would have some sort of massive problem about every three or four weeks, during morning rush hour, which would result in delays of an hour or an hour and a half for people trying to get to work. The buses give you no indication of where the F you are or where you're going, and if you don't know exactly what intersections precede your stop, you're pretty much hosed. The drivers were often rude, too. I was yelled at once for not getting on the bus fast enough, when I was CLEARLY carring over 20 pounds of stuff I'd had to buy. Then there was the driver who kept coming on to me, completely ignoring my brush-offs, and inviting me to eat with him... ugh, creeptastic. I never lived far enough outside the metro to take the commuter rail, but given my experience with the city transit, it doesn't surprise me that it's overpriced and poorly accommodating.

Since I moved to Boston, I've been much happier with that city's transit. The MBTA has its problems, but I haven't had to deal with an hour-and-a-half delay on the INNER CITY SUBWAY during peak hour.

[tk2kewl]

21. you should consider some maintenance cost into your calculation

what is the mileage driven to and from work as a percentage of the overall annual mileage driven?

what do you spend on oil changes, tune ups, tires and repairs?

[Squatch]

24. In the 9 years I've owned this car, I spent a grand total

of about $5000 on maintenance (excluding oil changes, which are done every 5000 miles).

I've got 125,000 miles on the odometer, which equates to $0.04 per mile in maintenance (excluding oil changes) costs.

I change the oil every 5000 miles with Mobile 1 fully synthetic 5W-30 (I do all the maintenance myself, except for major engine repair). That costs me about $35 per oil change. That means i've spent just under $900 in oil changes, whcih equates to less than a penny a mile in cost.

[HughBeaumont]

22. Public Transportation's great . . . when it works.

. . . and if you don't live in a city like Cleveland, whose public transportation system stopped progressing around the end of the Reagan administration. The train only drops you off in one place downtown, the busses in the city always arrive either late or not at all and there aren't enough routes to the suburbs that will avoid situations like yours (i.e. spending too much time and if you live outside Cuyahoga County, a dollar extra each way).

In my situation, I gotta do the half-and-half thing (i.e., drive to the train station and take that into downtown). There's a bus that pulls in down the street from where I live, but it takes forever to get to downtown (1.05 hours on a 25 minute commute) and costs a dollar extra each way because I live 3 miles outside the county.

[LiberalFighter]

23. Insurance and oil change shouldn't be included because you pay it regardless

[Squatch]

25. Good point.

[deadmessengers]

27. You pay less if you don't commute in your car

Less insurance, fewer oil changes.

[hfojvt]

26. but can you read during your commute?

one hour is still a long commute. I would not wanna do it. Also since I do not currently own a car, it seems to me that to buy one would cost at least $1,000 a year. Liability insurance alone was about $300, although it might be less now that I am over 45. I get to work in about ten minutes by bicycle, but that can suck when it is pouring rain.

[madinmaryland]

29. That's funny. I have a weekly meeting on Wednesdays in Crystal City

and take the metro from Greenbelt into Crystal City. With parking included it's about $9. Timewise in the morning its about the same, though in the afternoon, if I get out early, then driving will save about half an hour.

VRE does not have a monthly pass?

[Javaman]

30. Maybe car pooling? nt