I work in consulting, and this week my client is within walking distance of a light rail station. I ride my bike to the station, mount my bike on the wall, and I'm on my merry way.

My destination is only 12.5 miles away, so at 25 miles round trip and 45 mpg my total gasoline cost is about $2.00. If I take the light rail, each round trip is $4.00 ($2.00 x 2). I still prefer light rail, because I can nap, talk on the phone, read a book, etc on my way to the destination.

So, given the choice, would you rather drive or take mass transit, even if transit is slightly more expensive out of pocket?

 

I ride the LR any chance I can! Can't wait for it to expand and it will drop you right in front of the new Twins stadium in 2010.

 

If they would expand the LR to have a station every 2 miles along I-94, 694, 494 etc, I think everyone would be taking LR to work. But this is just my utopian vision for the Twin Cities...

 

I don't have the option of mass transit where I live but if I did and it was convenient I would use it. There are a few more variables in your vehicle driving than the price of gas. Parking, insurance, wear & tear, emissions, saving gas thereby giving less money to foreign countries, many that don't like us.

 

I have the choice of mass transit, and it is conveniently located to me, but after a decade of it I couldn't stand it anymore. Public transit could be great if it was appropriately subsidized with government funds, but unfortunately the only glimmer of improvement seems to come when the economy is booming. The rest of the time its budget is cut, cut, cut.

The freedom to move and go anywhere without restriction is an advantage to the car.

 

Not to mention that you don't have to wait for your car, you don't have to fight for a seat in your car, you don't have to worry about any weirdos sitting next to you in your car (aside from the occasional bad date), and you don't have to fight the weather on your bike to get to your car.

BTW, how would you get to the rail station in February? Certainly not on a bicycle.

Of course, mass transit is ALWAYS cheaper than owning a car. So if saving money is your primary motivation, then bikes and trains are the way to go.

 

I doubt the economic question is really the controlling factor. There are many other factors in operation here. A few of them might be: How does the transit schedule compare with the normal work schedule? Is the frequency-of-service or reliability-of-service going to cause long waiting times? If you need to work an extra couple hours in the evening, will that make you wait an extra several hours for the next train? Does it sometimes rain at the time-of-day when you are going home? Are there any safety concerns (either on the street with the bicycle, or as a pedestrian near the office, or in the train system itself)? Is there any issue with "image" in the office? Are you really just looking for an excuse to drive your cool new car?

If any of those answers is "yes", you have a good enough excuse to drive your cool new car.

 

An extra $2/day is not going to make or break your financial future. The answer is how you value your time. Sure it may cost $2/more per day on mass transit. But it sounds like your mass transit option offers some pretty good amenities to justify it.

Don't feel you need to drive your new car and utilize it to get more bang for your buck: at this point its a sunk cost. Think instead is it worth it an extra $2/day to sleep/read/do whatever on the light rail and + or - time it takes from your commute.

For me I take public transit to work and its NOT a great experience during rush hour periods (think standing up on an overcrowded train that moves on avg 8mph for 4 miles), especially during the winter and mornings, but the cost of parking makes driving cost prohibitive.