Any practical reasons to use public transport instead of a car?

[Az]

depends on the car. from a falling-appart washing machine on wheels costing around 1000 USD, to the 100k USD for the the expensive ones. mine costs around 4500USD. But it's a 3rd hand Subaru Legacy 91'.

Generally, cars here are expensive, as you see.

How much would a... new Mazda 6 2.0 engine cost in Panama, or in the US? Here it costs 32k USD.

[RGBVideo]

For the love of gud I don't know why would anyone drive an SUV:
they're not safe.
They're expensive.
They're far from being the most bang for the buck.
they're polluting.
they're wasting lots of fuel.

MY CAR IS BIGGER THAN YOUR CAR! HA HA HA HA HA! NOW MY PENIS IS ALSO BIGGER THAN YOURS! HA HA HA HA!

The fact that they sell at the US markets is one of those things which makes me want to destroy the whole human race due to it's stupidity.

[GePap]

I have no clue. I don;t know the relative prices of cars in the US and Panama: my guess is that most inexpensive brands cost a little less in Panama, btut hat high quality cars cost more. The thing is, in Panama you see all types of cars, form everywhere, being sold. Only place I ever rode in a Samsung car.

[DanS]

The cost issue is very large, especially for those who are living week-to-week. Here's why.

(1) With public transportation, you can buy very small units of transportation to be used immediately. With a car, you have to purchase the car in advance of using it. You also have to prepay on routine maintenance like oil changes, tune ups, tires, etc. Even gasoline is prepaid. And insurance is prepaid monthly in some case, quarterly or yearly in others.

(2) The variability of costs for public transportation are extremely low. You can tell almost exactly how much you will have to pay tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. With a car, you don't know whether the car will break down and you have to spend some or a lot of dough fixing it. Also,in countries with low gasoline taxes, the variability of costs is more than you might think.

[Shi Huangdi]

For my home in suburban Maryland, I have a car here and drive it. There is a bus system here that I used to take before I had a car, but it's still not that good of a way of getting around and is completely unfeasible for any long-distance driving. I think for suburbs in order to get to where you want to go when you want to go there a car is pretty much nessecary. The only time I use publican transit is when I use the Metro System to get into DC, as driving into DC is a nightmare.

In Pittsburgh I do not have a car, primarily because Student Parking is VERY expensive, and driving isn't so nice there, and I'd also have to pay more in insurance. However I understand is cutting back on bus service, so next year I might just try to find an apartment with parking.

[Az]

Yes, but your freedom of operation dramatically increases.

[Dis]

to save money

is that not practical enough?

True, it is cheaper in gas for me to drive to work. But when you factor in the cost of the vehicle, maintenance, and insurance it is more expensive for me to drive to work.

[Odin]

If more LAers used mass transit there wouldent be so much traffic and smog. It isn't as bad in Minneapolis, but it still sucks. America has too much of a car-driving culture, a fancy car is a sign of status.

[Dis]

I forgot to mention a few things.

It would be more expensive for me to own a vehicle and use public tranportation at the same time. That's a waste of money. You only save money if you don't own a vehicle whatsoever.

The main reason I own a vehicle is freedom of travel. You can't get to the mountains outside my city by bus. Personal vehicle is the only way to get up there. And I have a 4 X 4 with good ground clearance, so I can take any of the dirt roads and really get places. Until buses can do that, I will always have a vehicle.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It depends on where you are, frankly.

Relying on public transportation in Atlanta, frankly, is not very smart . You need a car to go just about everywhere. Even if you are going to take the trains, you'll need to drive to the station, because taking the bus will add a whole lot of time to your trip.

[Az]

Originally posted by Odin
If more LAers used mass transit there wouldent be so much traffic and smog. It isn't as bad in Minneapolis, but it still sucks. America has too much of a car-driving culture, a fancy car is a sign of status.

There is nothing wrong with this. The wrongness is the fact that they pollute.

[Buck Birdseed]

No, the wrongness lies in the fact that they're wasteful, they're conductive to bad city environments, they make my life as a pedestrian a hassle, they're ugly, they're smelly, they're noisy and they're horrible. Boo cars.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Car rock, loser !

Go Cars!

[Az]

Yes, buck, cars as a concept, are really good. They need to be improved, tho.

[Timexwatch]

I go 100% PT when I'm in DC, although the distance to most places that i need to go is walkable (40 minutes one way can get me to upper Adams Morgan). Now that I'm home, I use a car 100% of the time. When I go to NYC, I always park at Poughkipsie and take the Metro North in. It saves on money, time and aggravation.