Yes...the Federal government pays me a $100 subsidy each month to cover commuting expenses, so why not? I save my car....and miles.....for my OWN time.

 

Well, it sucks pretty bad for me if I wanted to take it to work.
Would take me 5 times longer.

 

the NABIs in the 3000-3100 fleet fly down the road like nothing else. I was on the 72 from Del Norte BART to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, and the bus was probably going 50 in a 35

Up in my neck of the woods, WestCAT and the County Connection are the local bus services. Both of them connect at BART, WestCAT goes to Del Norte, while County Connection serves all the BART stations from North Concord to Orinda and the Dublin/Pleasanton station. I take the WestCAT JX from Hercules if I have to go on BART during commute hours. AC Transit's Transbay LA is a great alternative to BART where i live, just park my car at Richmond Parkway TC and hop on.

 

Geeze I remember when WestCat was only door to door back in the day. And A/C Transit ran the Bart Express Lines J & Q. Gillig Phantoms were the OG buses to ride in hahaha.

 

WestCAT just borrowed 4 Gillig Phantom Suburbans from WHEELS in Pleasanton to run the WestCAT Lynx from SF to Hercules. And AC Transit didn't run BART Express, Laidlaw ran BART Express, i recall seeing white Gillig Phantoms at the Laidlaw yard when in Richmond when I was a kid, by the yellow Ward and Wayne school buses.

 

Haha this is where you are limited in knowledge and you probably weren't even born yet. The original J & Q lines...as well as the other original Bart Express lines (former and some current AC Transit lines U, UL, PE, etc) were ran exclusively by AC Transit. Laidlaw picked it up around 1987-88. WestCat picked it up more recently. All the Bart Express lines were always run with 40ft. Gillig Phantoms. WestCat started with a fleet of Dodge Ram Wide Vans as they were a dial a ride only. Later around 1987 they stepped up into those Ford Econoline mini buses for the fixed routes. Not until the early 90s did they go with Thomas buses and the latest Gillig Phantoms. I may still have some old AC Transit and Laidlaw Bart Express brochures hiding somewhere. I'll have to scan them in. I still remember when Richmond Parkway was non existent, and the only way to get to Laidlaw's yard was on Atlas Road. I still recall when Hilltop Mall had an Emporium Capwells. How about you?

 

I still remember when Hilltop was a decent mall. Is that way I see AC Transit bus stop poles in Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek? WestCAT is now keeping those Thomases on contingency, they bought 5 ex-Tri Delta Transit Gilligs to replace them, they dropped in new Detroit S50 engines into them last year.

 

Nice perk from our tax dollars.

 

As can be seen from even this sample of comments, public transportation works for some, and not for others. The service, availability, convenience, and price varies widely.

Yet social utopianists keep pressing for everyone to take public transportation everywhere to get rid of the 'evil car' and these folks also think we should massively increase gasoline taxes to 'encourage' people to do this. Nevermind the fact it hasn't worked anywhere. Public transportation is more popular where cars are really impractical and expensive, like in Manhattan.

Where I was born, in England, the socialists are still plugging for public transportation and still raising taxes and fees on cars endlessly. It's still not working, and get this, public transportation became SO BAD they privatized it. And guess what? Private mass transit is EXPENSIVE, because it's really expensive to run a train or bus service. So guess what? People use their cars instead, despite the gas costs. But it's not just the costs, it's the convenience of going exactly from point a to b, and almost always, the huge time savings, and also a private space something becoming rarer and rarer.

 

Well, chief, I pay taxes, too ........a LOT more than $100 a month.

And the Federal Government is not alone. Many organizations today, public and private, give their employees a transit subsidy.

 

Yeah, MARTA is just ridiculous. I end up driving one way or the other. The fare keeps going up, $1.75 now.

 

That's cheap compared to the D.C.-area Metro Subway. Fares run between $2.15 and $3.90 one-way....and $3.50 to $4.00 a day to park. However, the transit subsidy helps somewhat.
Does your employer give you one? If not, look into the possibility of getting a group plan with your fellow employees. I'm not a lawyer, but I think if your employer offers an organized system to all of you, your organization or buisness may qualify for a Federal tax break....the government encourages this.

As car people, of course we all like to drive and spend time in our cars ( I especially love my new one) but given a choice, I would rather put the miles on my car for my own enjoyment....or necessity.....than use it as a commuting tool every day in the second-worst rush-hour traffic in the country. ( your Atlanta-area traffic, I believe, now ranks third )

 

Hmmm, thanks, I will check that out first thing Monday.

 

For us at the University of Washington, students can get a U-Pass that's $40 dollars or so added to your tuition that allows use of buses, ligth rail, and commuter trains AT NO COST! You just show them your ID card with the sticker on it and you can get on and off at your pleasure. With a deal like this, seeing as how I work more than walking distance and go home often, it's the way to do it. Over summer I took a full course load and had a 40-50 min commute each way, and figured I'll just take the bus rather than wearing out my car and burning gas. It was $2.50 each way without a pass, so I got my money's worth in 2 weeks. Excellent system.

James

 

We can't forget the famous "EL" in Chicago