Railroad Forums 

  • Would You Give Up Your Auto?

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1586264  by Gilbert B Norman
 
There's an article appearing in The Times today regarding the all- surface transit passes now proliferating in Europe

Fair Use:
Imagine an app on your smartphone where every form of transportation you could ever need can be found. Tap a button, and you have your subway, bus or train ticket in hand. Another tap activates nearby bikes, scooters and mopeds. (Even the electric ones.) And another unlocks a rental car for the weekend or hails an Uber downtown.
Over at Mr. Benton's Worldwide Forum, there is a topic relating to the Austrian pass noted within the article.

Over here, Pittsburgh has initiated such a plan, and Tempe AZ is "thinking about it".
 #1586297  by Ken W2KB
 
electricron wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:14 pm No I would not wish to give up my privately owned vehicle.
I live so far out into the country side that nobody can earn a living with public transit.
For me, 8 miles to the nearest NJ Transit rail station, 10 miles for bus and that only to NY City, and no Uber or Lyft except by advance notice. The weekday on demand jitney bus requires at least day before notice and only operates between 9 and 5 p.m.
 #1586303  by eolesen
 
For me to take public transit to work would take 90 minutes. It's a 20 minute drive.

So, no.
 #1586307  by Motorman
 
Same with me,
I have only an hourly Bus-connection (5 minutes walk to the stop) from my home to the nearest Train-station (5 Minutes journey), Trains depart every 10/20 minutes, but then it's a 35 minutes journey by train to my job. Well, I WORK for public transit here as a motorman, (you may have guessed it...) but with car or motorbike (in the summer) it's just a 16 minute ride, over an almost boring, mostly straight countryside road. And if I have "the first" or "the last", it's impossible to get there and back by train/bus.
But for shopping downtown, I use the P+R facilities. It's simply cheaper.
So, no alternative is possible for me.
In Germany, especially in big cities with good public transport, many people simply don't need cars. Friends of mine, from Berlin, gave up their car 25 years ago. The money saved for taxes or insurances or fuel goes into the Ticket. And if there is a need for a car, they use car-sharing.
 #1586318  by scratchyX1
 
Until I took at job north of Baltimore, my spouse and I got by with one small car and public transportation.
This had a commute to DC for 10+ years, and to fells point and downtown baltimore.
Sadly, The reduced service north of city meant Bus trips taking much longer than the train (no express busses),
So ended up having to get a car, as it was 45 minutes drive (hour at worse), verses 1.5 hour commute.
 #1586321  by Ken W2KB
 
eolesen wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 1:42 am For me to take public transit to work would take 90 minutes. It's a 20 minute drive.

So, no.
For me, for work, the opposite. From home 18 miles a day to and from High Bridge, NJ train station; 100 miles a day if drove to/from work in Newark, NJ a short walk from the station, so net saving of 82 driving miles a day. Taking the train was 90 minutes including drive to/from station, driving to work about 70 minutes, so only a 20 minute time savings each way. Plus I could read on the train, and not have to stay late at the office if extra work that day which I could do on the train. Big plus, if I dosed off driving on I-78 that is problematic, the train not at all. ;-) Cost wise, the train, $336 for a monthly pass, and driving, using the US Internal Revenue Service, an agency not known for generosity, rate allowable for cost of driving of 56 cents per mile, $988 per month for the extra 84 miles per day. That is a savings of $622 per month from the 100 to 16 miles per day of driving and taking into account the train fare, or about $44 per hour of the extra time the train ride took per day. This only works for M-F normal workday commutes, there was/is no NJ Transit service late night or weekends, and the car was needed to get to and from the station.
Last edited by Ken W2KB on Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #1586322  by Pensyfan19
 
My answer: YES! Fewer cars on the road, less traffic related accidents, less auto-related pollution, less reliance on the car. (Technically, I don't even have a license! Albeit I'm waiting in backlog for a road test so this way I can have it for ID purposes)

Instead of car ownership, have more services like Brightline+ which shuttle people from their houses and other places of interest directly to the train station. This brilliant approach is honestly something which other railroads should utilize (also through shuttle busses), as well as partnerships through taxi companies such as uber and lyft so this way other people can do the driving for you. And have any of you heard of an invention known as a bicycle? There's even a whole song about it! More stations are becoming bike friendly with more bike spots.
 #1586333  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Pensyfan19 wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 11:06 am . And have any of you heard of an invention known as a bicycle?
Bicycle?

Haven't been on one of those since college! I'd be scared to do so nowadays around these parts.

Those around here who know me face to face I hope will acknowledge that my weight is reasonably under control.
 #1586350  by west point
 
In our working world we had 3 reliable cars for 2 working persons. the one time a sudden broken wheel bering and a road debris smashed windshield made it difficult to both get to work. Had to stay in motel until could get a rental.
 #1586352  by Red Wing
 
If I had the option, I would gladly give up my vehicle. unfortunately that is not an option at this time. But if it becomes an option I would gladly do it. And if I was a betting man and we asked ages I bet you would see a generational split on this answer.
 #1586418  by hrsn
 
If car sharing, medium-term rentals and leases were really a thing, I would give up owning cars and order them up as needed/wanted. A sports car for a multi-hour drive on good state roads, a 4x4 if going offroad, a pickup for moving furniture and stuff, a minivan for holidays with extended family, and some basic transportation for errands and such.
 #1586439  by Literalman
 
When I moved from Spotsylvania, Va., which has little public transportation or safe places to walk, to Alexandria in 2017, I donated my 16-year-old car to charity (for scrap value) and haven't driven since.