Do you take public transportation regularly?

[iMacZealot]

Do you take public transportation regularly?

I don't. Denver has the Light Rail (or "theRide" as it's officially called, but nobody calls it that), which is really cool and I think it will be one of the primary modes of transport in the city in the next few decades as Denver continues to grow constantly, but right now, unless if you live and work/go to school by a station or are willing to take the bus to get to it, it's not convenient. There's a station kind of by my school, but the closest station by my house is about four or five miles away.

[it5five]

Do you take public transportation regularly?

I don't. Denver has the Light Rail (or "theRide" as it's officially called, but nobody calls it that), which is really cool and I think it will be one of the primary modes of transport in the city in the next few decades as Denver continues to grow constantly, but right now, unless if you live and work/go to school by a station or are willing to take the bus to get to it, it's not convenient. There's a station kind of by my school, but the closest station by my house is about four or five miles away.

Four to five miles is nothing. When Phoenix's Light Rail opens this December, the closest stop will be 10 miles from my apartment, and plan on taking it to school. Four to five miles can easily be done on a bike or an extremely short bus ride.

Meanwhile, while I'm waiting for that to open up, I take ASU's inter-campus shuttle system. It's free, but it only leaves every hour, so it can be a bit inconvenient and leave me with a bunch of time waiting around before or after class. It's much better than driving for an hour, paying $700 for a parking spot, paying for gas, etc...

What's great is that my university has a deal with Phoenix Metro that gives students and faculty free bus passes. So when I start taking the city bus/light rail, I'll still be able to do that for free. And since the light rail and busses run on a 10-15 minute schedule, I'll be able to reduce my commute time/waiting around time. As of right now, I need to leave my house by 6:45 to catch the shuttle that gets me to school on time for my 8:40 class. When the light rail opens up I'll be able to leave my house about an hour later.

You should really give the Denver light rail a try. You will see that four to five miles is easily doable. Try biking it or taking the bus.

[.Andy]

Yep I do. I've travel 90 minutes each way every day to work and uni and back. I buy a weekly unlimited rail, bus, and ferry pass which gets me around sydney. Been doing it for the last five years and I really like it. Passive travel is the way to go. I can work on my laptop, read, sleep, eat, play DS whatever. Bonus is being able to use the ticket on weekends to get wherever I want :).

[it5five]

I can work on my laptop, read, sleep, eat, play DS whatever.

I forgot about that part. I took an hour long nap today on my way back home. It was wonderful. :)

[ctt1wbw]

The last time I took public transit of any kind was back in 1989, I reported to my first duty station in Pearl Harbor and my car hadn't made it to me yet. I took the bus a few times. Ever since then, I vowed to never take public transit again.

[creator2456]

4-5 days a week I make a1.5 mile drive to the train followed by a 45 minute train ride downtown. Then a nice 10 minute bus ride to get to class. Another 10 minute bus ride and 60 minute train back plus the 1.5 mile drive gets me back home.

The time is useful for getting caught up on class reading or the last minute project.

Other than school, I will use public transportation as much as possible, during the fall/spring semester since I get an unlimited pass through school, to get to Cubs games, any number of museums, or one of the store I like going to. During the summer I try to walk as much as I can to save some money or take my bike down depending on the time of day. I try not to have to go downtown over winter break...to many shoppers, its cold, and it costs me money.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have public transportation

[iBlue]

Yes but never before I moved to London. It's just the easier thing to do here; driving is a hassle in the city.

[yoyo5280]

Do you take public transportation regularly?

I don't. Denver has the Light Rail (or "theRide" as it's officially called, but nobody calls it that), which is really cool and I think it will be one of the primary modes of transport in the city in the next few decades as Denver continues to grow constantly, but right now, unless if you live and work/go to school by a station or are willing to take the bus to get to it, it's not convenient. There's a station kind of by my school, but the closest station by my house is about four or five miles away.

Denvers public transport is the worst. Absolutely terrible. Sorry. Why would you drive somewhere just to take the monorail. I never did take it. We would drive to the Apple Store and tell myself I will someday I will use it. never did. It is just not convenient at all. Also the bus system by my house there goes in a loop and thats it. Just a loop!

When I am in Tokyo though I take public transport everyday (however I have become much more lazy since we got our Honda Stream)

Bus/Train to school
Train to the main city to hang out/shop
etc

[JNB]

The big news in Phoenix was Sunday bus service ten years ago. Actually the busses here excel at only one thing, blocking traffic at intersections. The light rail boondoggle is just that. If we had been bold enough to kick off the personal pod/monorail system, we might have had something worthwhile in a metro region as large as the Valley is. The rail here is like Houston's or Salt Lake's: a solution in search of a problem.

Blame San Diego. When we started the Red Rocket there, it worked quite well after the first few years, and now covers a large portion of the county. Other cities saw it and just figured that they could "build it, and they will come." Same thing in PHX.

If we had a decent saturation/coverage with realistic scheduling, I'd use it in a heartbeat, but basically, it sucks here. I do use public transit in other cities when I'm staying/working in the metro area though. Chicago, NY, DC, Philadelphia, Toronto, even Atlanta sometimes.

[arkitect]

Do you take public transportation regularly?

Yes, I do.
I usually cycle down to the station… depending on where I am going during the day I'll either lock my bike at the station or take it with me on the train.
In, say London, I'll cycle around. Down side is I have to make sure I am on board the train with my bike before the 4:00pm rush-hour ban on cycles on Southwestern trains…
Cycle back home.

I'll take a bus if I really have to — or if there is a tube strike. :o

Only time I use a car is if there is a heavy load to be moved — or bulky plants. :)

[j26]

When it's available and convenient I take it. At the moment I have a 110 mile commute for college each way every day. I use the train for that.
For my normal travel I use my motorbike.

[Eraserhead]

Yes, running for buses is excellent exercise, especially with an iBrick MacBook.

[bhsu21]

Well when I am in Jacksonville, FL, I never take public transportation. We have a bus system but I have never met one person that has taken the bus, besides on football game days when they park-and-ride to the stadium.

Now that I am in Taipei, I always take public transportation here. The MRT system is amazing and so clean. So easy to understand. I love it. The buses lines are a bit more confusing but goes everywhere. Driving and parking here is a pain in the butt. Then I also walk a lot more. To me a 30 mins walk somewhere does not seem like a long time.

[Counterfit]

When I was at school in Boston, I took it everywhere (except classes, that was across the street). I also used the commuter rail to go home. Now to get to Boston, I usually drive to a closer station on the CR, which is cheaper to ride from, only slightly more expensive to park at ($2 vs $3-ish) and has quite a few more trains. I don't really go to Boston all that much now though.

[tobefirst]

I actually took the train/bus to work last week for the first time ever. My car was in the shop and I'm trying to save up my vacation days. My commute is about 35-40 by car (dang the Hwy 40 shutdown), and took me about an hour and 40 minutes to do it via public transportation. If I had had to have taken it home, it would have taken more than 2 hours.

Sadly, I get carsick when I read in a car, so I don't know that I'd be able to get much of anything done on the bus. ):

[bowens]

When I was in college I rode the bus 5 days a week. It pretty much sucked but it was cheaper than parking on campus.

[iMacZealot]

Denvers public transport is the worst. Absolutely terrible. Sorry. Why would you drive somewhere just to take the monorail. I never did take it. We would drive to the Apple Store and tell myself I will someday I will use it. never did. It is just not convenient at all. Also the bus system by my house there goes in a loop and thats it. Just a loop!

When I am in Tokyo though I take public transport everyday (however I have become much more lazy since we got our Honda Stream)

Bus/Train to school
Train to the main city to hang out/shop
etc

It's a light rail, not a monorail. It's actually a great system, but there are some missing links in it. There is not access to it from Cherry Creek (where an Apple Store is and the biggest tourist attraction), the airport (which is a good 15 miles out of town, but they're working on it), or a line down Broadway. However, it's very convenient downtown or along Interstate 25. I'm surprised you didn't go to Sixteenth Street Mall, where all the tourists go downtown. It is perhaps the most accessible place to get to in Denver.

[joepunk]

As much as possible. But, I avoid as much as possible the Metro busses in Seattle. Mostly because they are to big and can take forever during heavy peak traffik hours. Seattle needs more smaller busses.

In Florida I take the Disney Housing busses to work and to the parks all the time.

Wish I had a bike.

[psychofreak]

All the time, on average more than once a day I guess.

[skunk]

Almost never. I'm always carrying tools and/or materials and/or visiting several work sites, besides which public transport is not too hot around here.

[ejb190]

No public transportation to be had where I am.

When I head to Chicago, I'll drive a bit over an hour to catch the South Shore and take the train into the city rather then try and find a place to park.

[nbs2]

Of course.

When I'm working in DC or Baltimore, I walk the 5 blocks to the train station and take the train to the respective downtown. Then I take the Metro or Light Rail, if need be. When traveling to DC for pleasure on weekends, I drive to Metro and take that in. Baltimore doesn't work for me on the weekends, as the cost/benefit of driving versus public transport leans extremely heavily in favor of driving.

I've been to all the older major stadiums/arenas in the two cities via public transport, and I look forward to using Metro to visit Nationals Park this summer.

[quigleybc]

i take the bus twice a day everyday


public transportation in vancouver, bc is outstanding for the most part...

[foidulus]

I live in the middle of cowtown Bavaria, so I mostly ride my bike or walk(or bum a ride if the weather is really crappy) as I only live 5k from work. However, for longer trips I either bike the 20k to the nearest train station or hop on the (infrequent) buses, or if I'm desperate or have lots of baggage, call a cab, but the fare is 20 euro:eek:

The trains in Germany are MUCH better than in the states, but their promptness, esp. compared to the train in Japan, leaves something to be desired.

The German trains also aren't all that cheap, but if you are a good bargain hunter you can get some pretty good deals. I recently got 50 euro roundtrip to Salzburg from Regensburg on the ICE.

[Gelfin]

All the time. I never drive in town if I can help it. When my job was downtown I didn't own a car at all. Working outside the city meant a 25 minute car trip would turn into a 2-hour multi-segment train ordeal each way with no guarantee of seating, so then I got a car. I love my car, but I still kind of regret having to have one. When you've gotten by without for a while it becomes more obvious just how much the darn thing costs you.

[edesignuk]

Every single (working) day. To and from work on the London Underground. For the most part, surprisingly, it's actually fine. Over crowded, but fine.

[Silencio]

Pretty often, depending on my work schedule.

I go across the bay to Berkeley for work at least once a week. I usually drive, as taking the bus downtown, BART across the bay, and walking the 3/4 mile from the BART station to the client site really adds up to a lot of extra time.

Getting to my clients in downtown SF by bus is pretty easy, for the most part. The MUNI can get you pretty much anywhere in the city with a minimum of connections, but the system is generally a big mess: bloated and overpaid management, surly drivers with no accountability, rude passengers, filthy and crowded busses, not nearly enough light rail and underground lines to bypass all the traffic.

On the bright side, I can use a web browser (or my iPhone) to figure out when the next bus is due to arrive so I don't have to stand stupidly outside at the bus stop for 20 minutes.

I almost never take the bus on weekends. Maybe only if I'm just going downtown to do a little shopping.

[Eraserhead]

The trains in Germany are MUCH better than in the states, but their promptness, esp. compared to the train in Japan, leaves something to be desired.

Well since the Japanese trains have an average lateness of 6 seconds (INCLUDING natural disasters) I'm not surprised.

Compared to our trains I'm sure they are fine though.

[yeroen]

I live in downtown Boston, work one subway stop over in Cambridge, so I take the subway every day. I don't own a car, and haven't since I moved here a decade ago.

When I first moved here, I lived in the Brookline neighboorhood (technically a separate town), which is on the absolutely wretched trolly-car 'Green Line'. During the summer months, the Green Line often becomes unrideable due to the fact that it services all the traffic going to Fenway park for Red Sox games. But for chickens and other livestock on the roof, it could easily pass for a trolley train in Bombay or Calcutta. Of course, during the weekdays Red Sox traffic coincides with evening rush hour traffic. I often found myself staying late at work to avoid it, or just walking the 4 miles home.

Needless to say, I'm in a much better mood when I get home these days.

[leekohler]

It's all I take. I live Chicago and it's really the only practical thing. Owning a car here is ridiculously difficult (no parking, taxes, etc.). Plus, not owning a car is actually liberating- no gas, insurance, car payments. If I need to go out of town, I just rent one.

[heehee]

I usually take the train to work, that's what most people do living in the suburbs working downtown. If I drive to work, it'll take me 1.5 hours and as much as 3 hours when snowing. I haven't been on a bus or the subway in years though, I dont like those. :p

[KingYaba]

Regularly? How about not at all. No buses here and DART is a failure.

[dsnort]

^^^ What he said.

When I used to live in a city, I used mass transit regularly. Live rural now, only MT is trying to catch a herd of cows headed in the right direction. :o

[PlaceofDis]

i don't currently. shame on me though, but the plan is to not use the car much at all this summer and continue that trend once summer is over. so yes i'll be using public transportation a lot, along with my bike.

[foidulus]

Well since the Japanese trains have an average lateness of 6 seconds (INCLUDING natural disasters) I'm not surprised.

Compared to our trains I'm sure they are fine though.

Yeah, I've heard that UK trains aren't known for their promptness(worst in western Europe according to some people). During my unfortunately brief visit to the UK, I never left London so I never rode on anything approaching long distance, but I did find out the hard way that trains to the airport don't operate early Sunday morning. Ended up missing my flight, though BA was merciful and only charged me 50 euros to be put on the next flight to Munich, which I then missed because there was no way I could get all the way across Heathrow in time for the flight they bumped me to, but then they finally put me on the 3pm flight for no additional charge and did manage to make it out of London!:eek:

[Jaffa Cake]

I don't drive, so it's the bus every day for me.

Don't get me started on the buses. :mad:

[Eraserhead]

but I did find out the hard way that trains to the airport don't operate early Sunday morning.

Yeah the trains seem to be run by students on Sundays :p.

[dingster1]

Not Regularly. I live next door to my work, and only drive to church and longer trips. I live in the DC MEtro area so I take the metro to the airport since it drops me off right there on the rare occasions I fly. I NEVER drive in DC itself so metro is my friend there too.

[bananaquit]

Whenever possible. I have much more freedom without the car.

[Mikey-]

Yes when I'm going to school and going into the city center to do some shopping.

[Macmaniac]

In my hometown I never use public transport, my town is too small and there is no good service to nearby towns. At school I use the bus system somewhat regularly since I dont have a car. I also use Amtrak when I need to get home from school which is fairly convenient, but it could be faster. In London I use public transport all the time, the Tube and the Bus network here are top notch. I love London's network.

[dsnort]

Not Regularly. I live next door to my work, and only drive to church and longer trips. I live in the DC MEtro area so I take the metro to the airport since it drops me off right there on the rare occasions I fly. I NEVER drive in DC itself so metro is my friend there too.

The DC Metro is awesome!

[Antares]

There is not access to it from Cherry Creek (where an Apple Store is and the biggest tourist attraction)

An Apple Store is the biggest tourist attraction in Denver? I'm really sorry about that. :confused:

I drive everywhere I go, even though Chicago has a great public transportaiton system. I work in the nothern suburbs and don't wan't to drive out of my way just to get to a Metra station to get to work. Driving, it takes me 20 minutes...car to the train to a shuttle to work, about and hour and 20 minutes.

Even when I'm doing stuff in the city, I prefer to drive wherever I go...or park and cab it. Public transportation is a hassle. I would rather spend a half hour driving around to get a parking space than deal with a subway/el and bus. Heck, it's not unusual for me to spend 45 minutes driving around a neighborhood, downtown, just to find a parking space (and avoid having to pay the ridiculous $25/$35 parking garage prices). With public transportation, I feel like I'm in chains. When I drive, I'm free to go wherever I want, whenever I want. Give me a greener car and I'll feel even better....

[cycocelica]

At school, never. Almost everything is in walking distance and I have a car.

At home, rarely. First I have to drive to a bus station, then figure out what bus I need to take. Finally ride the bus to the city. I live too far away to make it convenient. The only time I take the bus is when going to a baseball game.

I really wish Seattle, and the surrounding major areas had a good public transportation system.

[aethelbert]

I use mass transit while when I'm in Europe, which is about six months out of a year. But here in Indianapolis, their idea of public transportation is an inefficent monorail that connects a college and a hospital for a few hours each day. It's always breaking down or crashing into one the parking garages where it stops. Needless to say, I don't use it.

[iMacZealot]

An Apple Store is the biggest tourist attraction in Denver? I'm really sorry about that. :confused:

Oh, no. :p The mall it's in once was, though I'm doubtful that Cherry Creek Shopping Centre is still the "biggest" tourist attraction in Denver.

[yoyo5280]

It's a light rail, not a monorail. It's actually a great system, but there are some missing links in it. There is not access to it from Cherry Creek (where an Apple Store is and the biggest tourist attraction), the airport (which is a good 15 miles out of town, but they're working on it), or a line down Broadway. However, it's very convenient downtown or along Interstate 25. I'm surprised you didn't go to Sixteenth Street Mall, where all the tourists go downtown. It is perhaps the most accessible place to get to in Denver.

I wasnt much of a tourist. Lived there 11 years :D

[iMacZealot]

I wasnt much of a tourist. Lived there 11 years :D

When did you move away?

[yoyo5280]

Only about 1 1/2 years ago i think...

[iMacZealot]

Hmm....they're still actively expanding it, but like you pointed out, there are a lot of missing links. It's useful to many people, though others, such as you and me, don't really have a use for it. It's also not like the traffic in Denver is that bad, either.

[yoyo5280]

Yea. Driving in Denver is just much more convenient for us. Easy to find your way, traffics okay, parking ain't to hard.

I am surprised though that I did not walk anywhere. Nobody does!

[iMacZealot]

Yea. Driving in Denver is just much more convenient for us. Easy to find your way, traffics okay, parking ain't to hard.

I am surprised though that I did not walk anywhere. Nobody does!

Downtown, I guess, but nobody's going to walk down Colorado Boulevard to the suburbs.

[amanda kathryn]

public transportation where i am i pretty useless. the metro north station is about a mile from my house, so i walk up there (or get dropped off if it's cold or rainy, or i'm going out in shoes too fabulous to walk in) and i take the train sometimes. it's only good for going to a handful of places, usually i just take it a few towns over and get picked up by a friend at another station, it's just to avoid sitting in rush hour traffic, and since it only costs about $2-3 to get somewhere fairly local, it really works out to be the same as what it would cost me in gas sitting in traffic. other than that, i've never taken the bus here, it would be ridiculously inconvenient as opposed to just taking my car.

let's compare:

walking a mile to post road, waiting for a bus, probably needing to go to bridgeport and get on a different bus.

vs...

getting in my car and being where i need to be in 15 minutes, less than it would take me to walk to the bus stop.

i just don't live somewhere where i deal with a ton of traffic or anything, the bus here is just for people who don't have a car, it takes five times as long to get anywhere.

[jaw04005]

The DC Metro is awesome!

I visited D.C. a few summers ago and took the Metro everywhere. I had a great experience. Several of the people that sat by me worked at the White House and congressional office buildings.

They were all extremely friendly and unusually chatty. One lady worked as a secretary/assistant at the White House. She was telling me how laid back it was that week (middle of the Summer) because President Bush was on vacation in Crawford.

Haha.

[CalBoy]

I take public transit everyday.

Since I mostly travel during commute hours, I save at least 15-30 minutes each way, and 50 cents per trip in gas despite my very fuel efficient car.

Plus I can do work while riding the train, so it's a great way to get ready for the day, or conversely wind-down on the way home.
I never drive in town if I can help it.

Yeah, SF is best done via public transit. Even Berkeley isn't so nice in a car, what with parking and the crazy pedestrians. :p

<snip>
When you've gotten by without for a while it becomes more obvious just how much the darn thing costs you.

Indeed. I hope I can go for a few years without one, but I know that I'll eventually have to settle and buy one just because the Bay Area is too spread out. :o

[Eidorian]

It's free for me so why not? :D

Yay University staff!

[yg17]

I actually took the train/bus to work last week for the first time ever. My car was in the shop and I'm trying to save up my vacation days. My commute is about 35-40 by car (dang the Hwy 40 shutdown), and took me about an hour and 40 minutes to do it via public transportation. If I had had to have taken it home, it would have taken more than 2 hours.

Sadly, I get carsick when I read in a car, so I don't know that I'd be able to get much of anything done on the bus. ):

Ahhh...you must live and/or work out in the city. Public transportation is nearly nonexistant out here in Chesterfield.

[Martin C]

Absolutely. NYC has the most extensive subway system in the U.S. Really convenient for getting around.

As you can see, the subway lines cover pretty much the entire city...

http://mta.info/nyct/maps/sub1a.gif
http://mta.info/nyct/maps/sub2a.gif

[yoyo5280]

http://www.mkc-properties.com/images/livinginjapan/tokyometromapbig.jpg;)

[edesignuk]

No thread with pics of subway systems is complete without the tube :D

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/downloads/tube_map.gif

[.Andy]

tokyo metro map ;)
That is a thing of beauty yoyo. I'm Jealous. It really reinforces how spread out Sydney is and how rudimentary its rail transport (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/CityRail_Sydney_2006.png).

[riscy]

Yes, I get public buses here regularly and they are quite good - very cheap (30 cents for any journey).

If I am in a hurry I catch a cab, which is pretty much any car on the road - peeople will take you to where you want to go for a small fee, if it is on their way or they have time to kill.

[nikopolidis]

Me not. Not so often.
I usually move by my own car. But if a need to get Moscow center especially on workdays I use Tube as there are huge traffic jams in Moscow.
On weekends I also take tube if I go at the party on in the club/bar and going to drink some alco with my friends. :) Or I take a taxi if there is too late. Tube closes at 01.00 AM in Moscow. Here is the map, by the way:

http://www.go2metro.ru/moscow-karta-metro2.gif

[Marble]

Very nice.

[Iscariot]

Yes, but I don't like it.

It really, really gets to me that the backbone of Canada has such an abysmal transit system.

[shikimo]

We've got this cool gig in Lyon where you can take these sturdy bikes around and just re-insert them at the nearest station to your destination, which are everywhere. It's pretty cool, and I don't drive too much in the city anymore.

[iBlue]

We've got this cool gig in Lyon where you can take these sturdy bikes around and just re-insert them at the nearest station to your destination, which are everywhere. It's pretty cool, and I don't drive too much in the city anymore.
that's a really good idea! how is it paid for? (so idiots don't steal them) do you swipe a card to release them and swipe again when you return, or what? <curious>

[iMacZealot]

Here's the RTD map for Denver:
http://www.rtd-denver.com/LightRail/images/lightrailmap.gif
Now that I look at it, it would make absolutely no sense for me to take it because my school is too far west and my home is due east from it.

[riscy]

That's really good - I lived there 20 years ago and there was nothing like that, but the bus system was pretty good anyway - the metro was a bit basic however.We've got this cool gig in Lyon where you can take these sturdy bikes around and just re-insert them at the nearest station to your destination, which are everywhere. It's pretty cool, and I don't drive too much in the city anymore.

[LethalWolfe]

Pretty much never. If LA's public transportation system was better I'd use it though. When I studied in London I loved not having to worry about a car or parking. The closest I get to public transpo is riding my bike to work 2-3 days a week.


Lethal

[shikimo]

that's a really good idea! how is it paid for? (so idiots don't steal them) do you swipe a card to release them and swipe again when you return, or what? <curious>

Yeah, that's pretty much how it works; you get a card, either short-term or long-term, that involves either giving a bank card number (short term) or check (long-term) for 150EU as a caution (they don't cash it unless you take a bike and don't return it), and then you beep the card to take a bike out. When you return it you don't have to do anything; the little gizmo you hook the bike up to beeps to acknowledge that you gave the bike back.

They are paid for and installed by a private company (JC Decaux, the multi-national advertising giant) in exchange for access to 1000s of extremely valuable advertising sites at bus stops in the city. They also travel around and fix the bikes as they become damaged, move them when there are too many in one place and not enough in another (as happens regularly in hilly parts of town), etc. The bikes are really heavy, but solid and functional, with most of the moving parts hidden to deter theft.

As mentioned in this article in le Monde about some of the troubles Paris is having with their velo arrangement, a similar system is coming to London in 2010 (it's only in French, sorry):

http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2008/04/02/velib-en-liberte-sous-caution_1030300_651865.html#ens_id=1021389

We are very proud of our "Velo'v" here, which is slightly different than the "Velibre" in Paris. Even if Parisiens won't admit it, Lyon was the first city in Europe to do this on such a large scale, and it's been a huge success; there are enough stations and enough bike lanes now to pretty much go anywhere in the city quickly and safely. Combined with a good subway, an above-ground tramway and a huge bus network, you can get anywhere in the Lyon urban area (about the size of Baltimore or Tampa in the US or Leeds in the UK) without a car quite easily. My wife and I have a car, but it's for vacations and moving heavy things only.

[wait, did i just say 'we' in reference to a city full of french people? have i lived here long enough to start BECOMING french?? WHO AM I?!?!?!?]

[yoyo5280]

Here's the RTD map for Denver:
denver light rail
Now that I look at it, it would make absolutely no sense for me to take it because my school is too far west and my home is due east from it.

Thats bigger then I remembered

[arkitect]

We've got this cool gig in Lyon where you can take these sturdy bikes around and just re-insert them at the nearest station to your destination, which are everywhere. It's pretty cool, and I don't drive too much in the city anymore.

that's a really good idea! how is it paid for? (so idiots don't steal them) do you swipe a card to release them and swipe again when you return, or what? <curious>

It is an excellent idea — I used the one in Paris (http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/) a while back. The bikes are a bit "sit-up-and-beg" while the basket in front feels a tad twee. But gets the job done. :D:D

I see Ken Livingstone is proposing it for London… hummmmmmmm. I wonder if it will translate well into the UK. :rolleyes:

Link (http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=15612)
“The cycle hire scheme in Paris has proved a huge success, and I have now instructed Transport for London to work with the London boroughs and interested parties to develop and implement a bike hire scheme in central London, accessible to all Londoners.
· A Central London bike hire scheme, similar to the recently launched Paris scheme, with up to 6,000 bikes located across docking stations every 300m so Londoners and visitors have quick and easy access to a bike. This will be supported by a series of easily navigable routes so that people can enjoy London’s sights by bike.

[iBlue]

Here's the RTD map for Denver:
denver light rail
.
Just from seeing it like that it looks horribly inefficient. What a dumb layout. (granted, I don't know the area but it doesn't take a genius to know that more lines going in more directions is better than several all doing the same thing with very few stops) <shrug>

It is an excellent idea — I used the one in Paris (http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/) a while back. The bikes are a bit "sit-up-and-beg" while the basket in front feels a tad twee. But gets the job done. :D:D

I see Ken Livingstone is proposing it for London… hummmmmmmm. I wonder if it will translate well into the UK. :rolleyes:

Link (http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=15612)
I do think it's a good idea and I imagine it would go over fairly well in london... enough that it would be worth a shot.

[sushi]

tokyo metro map ;)
Just to add, here is the JR East railway lines around Tokyo proper.

http://www.jref.com/images/content/TokyoJRMap.gif

Sorry for the large image.

To get your bearings, Tokyo proper is located between the Shinjuku and Tokyo stations -- basically what is inside the Yamanote line (green on the map and circles Tokyo).

Unfortunately, this map does not show the private railways and subways that surround Tokyo. Usually there are various ways to get to your location depending on which is important to you: speed, cost, train type, etc.

Heck even if you wanted to go skiing, you can go by train. Convenient.

Bottom line, is we are connected here with mass transit. :)

[Flowero4ka]

Yes, I do it often! I like having the possibility to read there :) And rollers are my transport too...

[dsl4c]

I take it everyday, but then again, portland boasts an easy to use, excellent public transportation system.. TriMet (http://www.trimet.org) "bus, light rail, streetcar, commuter rail" darn us green west coast liberals!!

[Kernow]

Every single (working) day. To and from work on the London Underground. For the most part, surprisingly, it's actually fine. Over crowded, but fine.

What he said, plus overland train into the centre of London.

I have a car, but it only really gets used for long distance journeys (visiting parents and stuff). Even then, I still sometimes use the train.

[blackfox]

I take it everyday, but then again, portland boasts an easy to use, excellent public transportation system.. TriMet (http://www.trimet.org) "bus, light rail, streetcar, commuter rail" darn us green west coast liberals!!

As someone who also lives in Portland (need to update sig) - We are blessed with pretty awesome public transit for a city our size. Not that it isn't occasionally a hassle...

The free-zone of Public Transit in the downtown district is pretty awesome, if you are just out and about and want to catch a ride...

Also, we have the FlexCar service here in town (fleet of shared vehicles subscribers can use and drop off around the city), and we are going to have one of the first bike programs in the US similar to those European programs mentioned previously in the thread - so it's nice to have options.

That said - in the winter/colder months, I still usually drive. In the warmer months I usually bike when I can, or sometimes walk - we're a pretty, and relatively small city.

[pilotError]

Every Day!

Long Island Railroad and then the NYC Subway system...

Subway is pretty convenient for most of NYC.

I have a 2000 Mercedes Benz with 32,000 miles on it... What a waste... :(

[PlaceofDis]

here is chicago's map. could use some N/S out west, to link them together, but for the most part it works very well:

http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/fwebmaptrain.gif

[sushi]

here is chicago's map. could use some N/S out west, to link them together, but for the most part it works very well:
Looks like it. :)

[leekohler]

here is chicago's map. could use some N/S out west, to link them together, but for the most part it works very well:

http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/fwebmaptrain.gif

They're still debating the Circle Line which would link all the lines out west FYI.

[PlaceofDis]

They're still debating the Circle Line which would link all the lines out west FYI.

oh i know, and i think we could surely use it at this point. :p

[leekohler]

oh i know, and i think we could surely use it at this point. :p

How about it? Especially with the construction on the brown and red lines.

[Z.Beeblebrox]

Twice a day, five days a week. I live in NJ and commute to NYC. I take NJ Transit (which is the innermost ring of hell) and then I hop on the subway. My commute varies, but it's around an hour each way. I don't complain, it's a quiet ride an I have a huge apartment on the beach for 1/4 the price of a Manhattan matchbox.

[Tom B.]

I use public transport a lot, as my college is in central London.

It takes me about an hour to get to college (Norbiton > Clapham Junction > Victoria > South Kensington), and 45 minutes to get home (South Kensington > Victoria > Vauxhall > Norbiton).

Only £20 a week, too.

[CalBoy]

Are we posting maps now?

http://www.bart.gov/images/map500.gif

It really is more of a commuter train, but hey, it works. :p

[shikimo]

I use public transport a lot, as my college is in central London.

It takes me about an hour to get to college (Norbiton > Clapham Junction > Victoria > South Kensington), and 45 minutes to get home (South Kensington > Victoria > Vauxhall > Norbiton).

Only £20 a week, too.

Did you just say 'only £20 a week'?? I hope there's some healthy sarcasm involved there:). On average, that's more than I spend on my car.

[Tom B.]

Did you just say 'only £20 a week'?? I hope there's some healthy sarcasm involved there:). On average, that's more than I spend on my car.

Well I thought £20 was cheap for unlimited travel within zones 1 - 5 in London for a whole week anyway. And it normally would be £40, but I get it half price because I'm a student.

[steveza]

I take the train every working day into Birmingham city centre 35 minutes each way non-stop - it would take about twice the time to drive and parking is insanely expensive, in the region of £250 a month. Season ticket costs £175 a month.

[shikimo]

Well I thought £20 was cheap for unlimited travel within zones 1 - 5 in London for a whole week anyway. And it normally would be £40, but I get it half price because I'm a student.

I take the train every working day into Birmingham city centre 35 minutes each way non-stop - it would take about twice the time to drive and parking is insanely expensive, in the region of £250 a month. Season ticket costs £175 a month.

Great googly-moogly...I have heard that England has become a bit spendy, but I had no idea...do you guys get paid enough to deal with it? Salaries in France are dreadfully low compared to the US, but my expenses are so much lower here that it works out pretty good.