In another thread…
For whatever reason, many people seem to be unwilling to consider any mode of transportation other than their own car, even if some other means is faster, cheaper, and more convenient for a particular trip. Or they use other means so rarely that they have no knowledge of how to use it, or that it even exists. Or, for moving themselves (like walking or running), a quarter mile seems unimaginably far.
I will walk anywhere. If walking is impractical I will always opt to drive.
I spent a large portion of my life using public transportation - all through high school and college in Philly and for some working years after. It just got tiresome. The weather, the weirdos, the smells , the El being down for few stops for maintenance, so having to board a bus, etc. Even then I’d walk as much as possible to avoid public transportation.
From that other thread… what if the person was elderly. They didn’t know how to use Uber (I never have either.). Maybe they weren’t capable walking to a bus stop. It could have been an orthopedic visit.
But if they hadn’t known the tires were deflated until they went out the door to get to the appointment, there might not have been time to figure something else out - especially if they had never called a taxi/Uber before.
It’s sort of like when I left to go to work after lunch and a car was blocking my driveway. I had no clue until I tried to leave. And it took over an hour to resolve. If I had been going to a doctors appointment, I might have missed it too. We don’t really have Uber/taxis here. Especially not in the 5 min I would have planned to get to the office in time.
I would love to utilize my bike more, but the infrastructure simply isn’t in place to support riding for work, errands, etc.
I love riding my bike, but too many distracted drivers.
I sold my car 5 years ago. I walk everywhere or take the train. If I need to go to the airport, we have an ex uber/lift driver who now has his own car service. We do have one car but parking is such a pain that I’d rather walk.
Going downtown: avoiding driving there as much as possible. Bus/train works OK. Not stellar, but OK.
Going to Costco: driving all the way. No way I’m carrying a weekly load of groceries on my back 
Going to the doctors’ appointments: generally driving because it is faster to do so where I live. Less time taken from my sick leave “bank.”
Going to the local grocery store to fetch something small or to dinner in our little town 2 miles or so away: always walking.
Not everyone has access to public transit. We currently don’t. We might, at some point, be able to make use of a scheduled transport service for elderly or those physically unable to drive if the low income means test is met. Doing that would require allowing a lot of extra time before and after doctor appointments, which presents its own set of problems.
The roads here barely have shoulders in some places much less anywhere for walkers or bike riders to get out of the way of cars. Then there’s the issue of physical impairments that makes walking any distance painful.
As a teenager I rode my bike anywhere within five miles of my home; beyond that was only swamp and highways until you got to the city quite a distance away. As a college student I relied on trolley and bus service. That wasn’t always safe; I was mugged one night waiting on the trolley.
I have never taken the bus in town. It doesn’t go many places and not with a good enough for me frequency. There is a stop, I think, a quarter of a mile away. I know there is one 1/2 mile away. I just looked up the time table. It comes once every 1:20-1:40. Um yeah. I don’t see me using it any time soon.
I used to bike to work in the summers when I didn’t have to Schlepp kids around. But then my old bike needed more work than the amount of gas I’d save. I work 1.75 miles away. Walking would be an option, except I REALLY like coming home for lunch and napping.
Closest restaurant is subway/McDonald’s 0.5 mile away. You get a couple more 1.75 miles away. Anything else is definitely not walkable or bikeable. We have a grocery store 0.5 mile away we sometimes walk to if we have time and just need a couple of things, but that’s it.
I heard we had an Uber a couple of years ago, but I’m not sure if we still do. Never heard of anyone using it. There is a mom/pop shop that has a couple of taxis, but that’s it too.
I should also note that I basically live in the center of my city too.
DD lives in SF with excellent public transportation but she mostly uses Waymo (free) , Uber / Lyft at night or walks for really long distances during the day. To her riding public transport in SF with some unpleasant and scary people makes no sense. I would take public transportation when we travel but the comfort of my own car is always preferable.
I have mentioned on other threads that I walk as many errands as possible. I am fortunate to be able to do this. We do own 2 vehicles and I drive mine (hybrid) for places that are too far, if the weather is unreasonable, or if I can’t carry everything (big grocery run). There is public transit here but I don’t really use it. I do use Uber occasionally, in particular when going to/coming home from the airport. It’s just under a 15 minute ride.
We live within a 5-12 minute drive from 4 different train lines into center city Philly. Barring traffic issues, the travel time is pretty much the same for car vs. train (30 minutes.) So we try to use the train as much as practical, but the schedules make it difficult, particularly for a reverse trip back home at night when the trains don’t run as frequently. For instance if we go into the city to see a week-night show, we don’t really want to wait an extra 30-45 minutes for the next train if the times don’t align right. H goes into the city several times a month for business events and dinners, and almost always takes the train and just leaves the event in time to catch the return train.
I have a grocery store 1/2 mile from home and walk there when I don’t need more than I can carry.
We could walk 3/4 of a mile to church and we should, but we rarely do - usually because we aren’t wearing walking shoes or we are rushing to get to an activity, or headed somewhere else afterwards. But we could, if we committed to it.
Our town has a busy 4 lane street as the main thoroughfare that we use to get to any retail place and church, and it’s not a terribly pleasant walking experience and biking is downright scary, so that’s a no-go.
We use Uber when it makes sense and have never had any issues.
Our D in DC/Arlington does not have a car; she travels by Metro, Uber/Lyft, and bus. She is a huge fan of public transportation, but again sometimes the schedules make it unwieldy. She also uses Amtrak quite a bit, to come home or visiting friends in NY.
I live in the land automotive created. I’m pretty sure that the metropolitan area was intentionally created to make sure people drive everywhere. I lived in a city near the urban core, with a vibrant downtown when I was growing up, and we could walk to get anything we needed. Our schools were such that no elementary kids had to take buses. All of that has since changed … the downtown area is just coffee shops & restaurants; the lack of kids led to doing away with neighborhood schools. I live a bit further out from the urban center now, and there are no sidewalks in the numerous subdivisions. Everything is spread out, with no way to walk to shops, restaurants or doctors. I would be risking my life to bike anywhere on our crowded roads, which are in awful shape. There are no buses in my area, although there are some limited opportunities for rides from a regional public transit group. I take public transit when I visit cities that have it, but it’s not a thing here.
I love to walk, but it’s unfortunately not a viable mode of transportation here. So cars it is.
I live in the DC suburbs. When we were house hunting in the mid-90s, we specifically looked for places within walking distance of the Metro for our commute to the office. We still use the Metro to go into the city more often than not.
County buses are also great and we use them regularly.
We also walk a ton-- our favorite restaurant is 1 mile away by foot.
All that being said, we still do a ton of driving. I coach and none of my fields this season are within walking distance.
I live in NYC. I gave up my car 5 years ago and never looked back. I take public transportation a lot because it is the most efficient way for me to get around. I prefer to train to JFK and EWr during rush hours because of certainty (LGA doesn’t have train services). I take train out to visit my mom and kids. When I visit friends without good public transportation I’ll rent a car. I feel a lot freer without having to take care of a car (regular maintenance, occasional flat tires). Oh,I do Uber quite a bit too.
Both of my kids live around NYC and they do not own a car. They said even if they have to rent a car every weekend it is still more efficient than owning a car. My younger daughter gets around by city bike sometimes. Her boyfriend bikes from Brooklyn to Manhattan everyday.
We live in the woods. No public transport here…and really can’t walk to anything but a beautiful lake! It’s fine for now…
When we lived in NY, we used subways and taxis but predominantly subways. We had one car, which we only used to get out of the city.
We live in the exurbs now and have two cars. Our new house is really out in the middle of no place. We both work at home so no commuting. ShawWife often rides her bicycle into our town center. There is a commuter rail station, but it only stops in places the city that are not particularly convenient. So, getting anywhere in the city would take a long time. We drive. We need a car to to shop at Costco or Trader Joe’s, visit some of our doctors, see friends, get to hikes, etc.
I think we will swap out ShawWife’s car for an electric car.
I don’t mind commuter train travel though the “ if you’re one minute late you’ve got to wait another hour” thing makes it stressful. And busses I found enervating. The frequent stops made it take MUCH longer then a car traveling the same route. And I did face unpleasantness from other passengers. Public transportation isn’t fun in my experience.
I told my husband the other day that perhaps we could try one car when my 2016 Odyssey gets put out to pasture (hopefully not for a while… just about to hit 100K). We do a lot of things together, so possibly it could work with an Uber assist now and then. I did point out that it would be realllly nice to just park one car in the middle of the garage. (As it is, I have to hop out of his car before he pulls in.)
For trips to the city, I always prefer the train. It is also much cheaper than paying the tunnel and, usually, parking costs. However, the scheduling can be challenging for things like an evening show as @Embracethemess said upthread. It can kind of ruin a show or performance worrying about leaving early to make it to the train station, either walking or on the subway.
OTOH, driving into the city for an evening performance is almost always difficult due to traffic, and even getting home can be tough because of construction causing lane closures.
My DH now has mobility issues so it is very hard on him to walk, even through the maze of the City train station.
There is no public transit option for my suburban commute. So I am in my car a lot. I would find it hard to give up the car.