Bob - I lived and worked in Germany for many years, and like many people, used mass transit for almost all my transportation needs. I had a light rail stop right outside my house, and I could go from there to within easy walking distance of almost any destination on a clean, comfortable transport.
I also spent a lot of time in the bay area. A Caltrans bus could pick me up at the corner, take me to the BART station, and allow me to skip the commute down I680, now certified as the world's ugliest commute. But I rarely took BART - the ability to talk on the phone in privacy, or just listen to the radio, drink coffee and smoke was worth more to me than cutting my travel time in half - especially since I could make that productive time in the car, and it was essentially waste time on the bus. BTW the BART system is clean, modern, efficient, easy to use, and not usually overloaded.
Even in Germany, the main reason I used the mass transit was because cars were impossible to use - no place to park primarily. I really came to enjoy the relaxing ride in often beautiful scenery but it was a less efficient use of my time than the "connected" transit in the bay area. |
