Any of you use ground public transportation?

[shootingstar]

What, exactly, do you mean by public ground transportation? When I think of "ground transportation" I think of the shuttle van that takes you from an airport terminal to the long-term parking lot at the airport. When I think "public transportation" I think of bus, subway, light and heavy rail.
Are you saying for work commuting, or for any transportation needs?

For any personal tranportation needs., doesn't have to be work commuting. Hope the term "ground public transportation" I used meant, anything except for aircraft and watercraft. (Which the latter type, here in Vancouver can be quite real for some commuters. There is the SeaBus, a "ferry" shuttle that's under 10 min. if you can't cycle, drive or walk over the Lions Gate Bridge.)

In transportation government agencies, they use surface transportation. But let's not get into that, with the light rapid train running above our heads...

[Blueberry]

Sadly, ground transportation here is minimal, at best. We have no light rail, and have only local and regional bus services. The areas served are quite limited, and (due to the sprawl), one generally would have to combine bike and bus to make it practical (and to get anywhere in a reasonably amount of time). At my old job, I tried the "route finder." It was a 4 plus hour trip - 45 minutes by car. However, our buses are not really bike friendly. We only have 2 bike racks, and the buses run (even at peak times) not more than on the half hour. So, if you have to wait for 2 buses (which is not uncommon), you're an hour later. Doesn't seem to be much interest in changing it, either.

[NoNo]

I take the train to work, and walk to and from the stations. There is a bus that goes from the station to a stop down the street, but I've never taken it. And then there are mornings like today where I'm running just a few minutes late and have to drive to the station near my house Aside from the train (which only runs along the shore), there isn't much to get you around here. There are some buses, but I've never really looked into them.

[Duck on Wheels]

I often yield to temptation and take the bus. During regular business hours, buses from just up the hill from my place all the way to campus run 10 to the hour. Almost too tempting to resist, but I do try to walk or bike most days. To and from the airport there are trains once an hour, busses every 20 minutes, and a sharecab system that takes you door to door. I choose among those depending on timing and weather. Just now I'm headed all the way from campus to downtown. Not all that far to walk, but would take more time than I want to spend on transport just now. So I'll bus down, then walk home -- after visiting the Medieval Faire and catching a Bobby McFerrin concert in the cathedral, that is.

[GLC1968]

We use the light rail all the time. It used to be pretty much our only mode of transportation into the city because our apartment was 100 yards from the station. We'd bike to work, and take the MAX to Portland.

Now that we live in the country, we bike to work (as much as possible). The last time we went into Portland, we drove to the last stop on the light rail and then rode it into town. Once winter rolls in, we'll probably use a combo of biking and the rail to work when the weather is bad.

When I travel, I prefer to use the public transit system over renting a car if it's at all possible. It's soooo much easier than having to deal with parking and traffic in an unfamiliar city.

[baskingshark]

I live in NYC - we've never owned a car in the city. I take public transportation or walk for every journey in the city, along with occasional rentals for vacations or the occasional cab/car service for early starts or late night journeys home.

I can't even imagine owning a car here - there's nowhere to park on the street and even if you can find a spot you have to move it on a regular basis and garages are very expensive. Add to that horrid traffic and crumbling roads, it's just not worth the stress.

[shootingstar]

So I'll bus down, then walk home -- after visiting the Medieval Faire and catching a Bobby McFerrin concert in the cathedral, that is.

Another Bobby McFerrin fan.. he's cool for what he does with his voice..

Is there something different about the shared cab system in Norway from North America?

[Pax]

I take the bus once in a while. Unfortunately taking public transportation in our small city means taking a trip with many of my former clients, while I have no problem interacting with them I do find it very tiring to keep getting dragged back into that world.

[hermitclub]

I wish there was public transportation on Cape Cod, but sadly there isn't. We have something called the "B" Bus that seniors take to get to and from the grocery store, doctor's appointments, etc.

When I lived in Metro-West, I used the commuter rail and the T all the time. Now when I go to Boston, I drive to Quincy and then take the T into the city.

[Duck on Wheels]

Another Bobby McFerrin fan.. he's cool for what he does with his voice..

Is there something different about the shared cab system in Norway from North America?

The concert was great!! He's a voice magician!!

As for how cab-shares here differ from there, I wouldn't know. How it works here is: 1) only to and from the airport. 2) you order the day ahead and tell them what time your flight is. 3) they call the night before, or send an IM, letting you know what time they'll be at your door. 4) here in town it's 75 minutes (give or take a few, depending on which number of the three passengers you are) before the flight. As the alternative would be to take a bus or train at about that time, which would mean getting to the bus or train station, I get half an hour more to sleep in the morning before my 6 or 7am flight, and that does help me stay awake through a long meeting down in Oslo that day . Coming home you go to the share-cab stand, tell any driver your address, and he/she tells you which cab you're booked for or (if you haven't booked a return cab) whether there's a cab headed in that general direction that doesn't have a full load of 3.

[pardes]

I took the day off and ran errands all day. My bike and I were on five different buses. Putting a light weight bike on a bus bike carrier is a snap and only takes seconds. Delaware has drastically improved their bus system and now it's very convenient to bus/bike to work or errands.....although it's an adjustment to losing so much time waiting at bus stops. Doesn't bother me though, I just go into navel contemplation mode.

[withm]

You must be in northern DE? Here in Lower Slower the many of our busses only run in the summer. Totally useless!
Martha

[Bron]

Yup, use the buses, trams and trains all the time. It was quite nice going out to our triathlon on Sunday and seeing loads of triathletes on the S-bahn. We aren't allowed to take bikes on busses or trams here and are restricted to off-peak times on the U- and S-bahn (underground and city railways respectively), but that is understandable.

In fact, DH and I said the other day that we should go and check whether our car was still in the garage - we hadn't used it for a few weeks and we could imagine what the police would say if it got stolen: "so when did your car disappear?" us:"umm, some time in the last six weeks...."

[susiej]

Train to and from work every day. (I bike to the train station, then grab my bike and head to our son's daycare, where we park the car, then grab my husband from the train station and head home.)

Subway or trolley if I'm heading out for dinner downtown after work. Train, subway, bus and trolley for weekends spent in town.

If we're visiting our aunt in northern New Jersey, we'll ride the state-funded bus or the privately-operated jitney into New York City, and take the bus and subway there.

Vacationing, we try to take the subway and trains.