POLL: Public Transportation, What Form Do You Use?

What form of pubic transportation do you regularly use?

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I drive everywhere all the time, just about. If I needed a lift in an emergency or something and could not get a ride from a friend, I'd call a cab and pay with cash or credit. I'm more used to cabs but did use an Uber once and it was ok but cabs quicker.
 

SeaBreeze said:
I have the same concerns about Uber and Lyft, I think it's just like taking a ride from a stranger in their personal car.....but, I may just be too old school and overly cautious, don't know. I used to hitchhike as a teen, and I was lucky nothing bad happened, now I'm older and somewhat wiser, lol.

My husband has a good friend who lives out of state. He always uses Uber and has had them pick him up at our house numerous times. He's completely comfortable with them.

When I was in the doctor's office for cataract surgery, I was talking to this woman our age and she was contacting an Uber on her phone, because her husband was about to come out of surgery. She said they drove them there and will take them home after they stop at a restaurant across the street for lunch. She was happy with Lyft, and much more comfortable using her smart phone than I am.

I imagine I may need to use them someday, but I prefer to use a regular Taxi, like a Yellow Cab. Truth is, I don't see too many of those around, maybe more noticeable at the airport and downtown, don't know.

Interesting to know what other folks here are using. Thanks to all who have shared their experiences on this thread. :)
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I hitch hiked when I was a teen too. I can't even imagine myself doing it now šŸ˜ƒ. I think I may have become overly cautious these days. I think of Uber and Lyft as some stranger we know nothing about. As you mentioned lots of people take them. My brother does and doesn't worry at all about it.
 
Bus stop is about 400 ft. from our house. Took the bus at that stop back in the late 40's when in high school. Never use it now and haven't for years. Buses still run on a daily schedule but I only use my car and have for all of my adult life.

Can't drive after dark now-a-days but if there's a real need to get somewhere, our daughter or one of the grandkids will take us.
 

Ruthanne said:
I hitch hiked when I was a teen too. I can't even imagine myself doing it now šŸ˜ƒ. I think I may have become overly cautious these days. I think of Uber and Lyft as some stranger we know nothing about. As you mentioned lots of people take them. My brother does and doesn't worry at all about it.
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I think things were much different back then, you may come across a guy who thought he could get away with something, but if you put him in his place, the incident was over.....at least that is what I experienced.

I think that guys who take them feel more comfortable than women, that's my take, and I can understand why. My husband has said he'd rather see me take a taxi cab than an uber or lyft. He's not that paranoid, just wants safety for me.
 
I dont drive so I use the Bus when i need to go to town, its free cause I have a senior bus pass,I can go all over the country with this but only on a Bus.
I do get chauffered into the countryside by my son and daughter, which im grateful for,
 
IKE said:
It's been many moons since I've used any sort of public transportation.....hopefully I'll still be able to drive myself for several more years.
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I thought that also, until this year when I couldn't renew my license due to the DMV eye chart exam. First time I ever had an issue passing it.

My husband is able to drive me to stores, etc., but there will be times in the future where I have to get a ride elsewhere. I can walk very well, but not many stores or businesses in walking distance of my home.

Times have changed, just thinking about how different things are these days in regards to getting a ride and the form of payment, etc..

I hope you have many more years of independence and driving Ike, it's not a good feeling to lose that.
 
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Sorry SB.

Is having to take an eye exam to renew something new ?......I just renewed my license in Jan. (good now till 1-31-2031) and no eye exam was required nor has it ever been in Okla.

It was free to folks over 65 so I went ahead and got one of those new style 'Real ID' drivers licenses.
 
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IKE said:
Sorry SB.

Is having to take an eye exam to renew something new ?......I just renewed my license in Jan. (good now till 1-31-2031) and no eye exam was required nor has it ever been in Okla.

It was free to folks over 65 so I went ahead and got one of those new style 'Real ID' drivers licenses.
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Every time I had to renew my license in Co., there was a mandatory eye exam. They always used a little viewer on the counter, which was never a problem. This year, they had a standard eye chart behind the counter, that was I believe twenty feet from the line where you had to stand. That did not work for me.
 
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When I lived in rural Nebraska it was 100% car travel, but I love it here in Maryland where I can just take a bus and/or metro train, it is so much less stressful than driving, plus I can read and do puzzles when I'm on the public transit.

I use a senior fare card (had to fill out an application at the library when I moved here, and for that matter when I was traveling last year I signed up and got senior fare cards in Chicago and in Boston), the senior card automatically gives a senior discount.

Knight said:
Ridership isn't great more often than not the buses I see have only a few riders. But that doesn't deter politicians from spending tax money.
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That might depend on time of day, lots of times when I take the bus or train there are only a scattering of people, but during rush hour the trains are packed.
I doubt if the money the politicians spend on public transportation is anything compared to what they pay for roads and road maintenance. And roads also have light use at various times of day and night (and then a lot of use during rush hour).
Of course sometimes there are toll roads, I hate tolls.
 
I used to take taxis frequently when I was traveling on business, mostly to/from the airports. Then I started taking Uber to local places like restaurants. I used Lyft last year when my car was in the shop to take me home from the shop and back.

When we travel on vacation and don't rent a car we take Uber or Lyft. I do find that sometimes the Uber app doesn't direct the driver right to where we are (like a hotel) and we have to walk a block to find the driver. It's annoying, but there are more Uber drivers than there are Lyft drivers... especially since Lyft is planning on laying off 1000 drivers if they haven't already.
 
When in major cities, I take Uber/Lyft and am not worried about the crazy stories. Many of these people also drive for the taxi companies.

If thereā€™s a subway/skytrain for long routes, thatā€™s what I take if itā€™s efficient. Iā€™m a big believer in reducing excess road traffic.
 
Me...None regularly.

However the 9 San Francisco Bay Area counties have much interconnected public transportation systems. The city of San Francisco has an especially massive unique system like many old world dense cities. A reason many world tourist visit is they don't need to rent a vehicle say like in Los Angeles and other modern automobile oriented Western cities.

And I know how to use it and sometimes do like yesterday while my car was at an automobile dealer's shop for maintenance. Used bus and light rail to go home 6 miles and then later in the day, return. As a senior, have significant discounts using a Clipper Card that I keep a balance within which has a smartcard proximity detector to pay fares. Same technology common today at hotel lodging for room entry.
 
I haven't needed to use Uber yet, but just saw that you can now order a ride without an app, by just calling an 800 number, and putting the credit card you want to use in your account file. Using the app, it seems there is an option to pay with cash. I'd rather pay with cash, but would prefer talking on the phone as opposed to typing info on my small smartphone. Anyway, an FYI for anyone interested.

https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/call-to-ride/#:~:text=You can now prebook a,to pay for your trip.
 
Note, a revived dated thread. Will also add though not a POLL option and somewhat limited in scope, I walk urban streets a lot for miles that is great exercise, especially for we senior folk.
 
It's a 50-minute drive to the largest town (can be an hour, if there's road work or a slushy winter highway). Usually, we drive. I find myself using the bus service to town maybe five times a year. Cost is $2.50Cdn. It saves fuel costs & searching for a parking spot. But also, I can look off at the countryside & homesites when someone else is driving. When I drive on our snaking mountain highways (where deer or even an elk could decide to cross) I keep my eyes strictly on the road.
 
David777 said:
Note, a revived dated thread. Will also add though not a POLL option and somewhat limited in scope, I walk urban streets a lot for miles that is great exercise, especially for we senior folk.
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You're very observant David, it is a revived dated thread, the owner of the forum encourages that, and it's a continuation of the topic at hand. The poll options were not limited in scope at all, since this is about public transportation, not walking. Other was offered as an option for those who felt the need.

I also walk for miles for exercise and pleasure, whether on city streets, hiking trails, or in the backwoods. But, if someone needs to go to a destination whether to shop for items or to meet an appointment, it's not very realistic to think they could walk there in a timely fashion and walk back afterwards. But you keep up the good work, we all should stay active.
 
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JBR said:
It's a 50-minute drive to the largest town (can be an hour, if there's road work or a slushy winter highway). Usually, we drive. I find myself using the bus service to town maybe five times a year. Cost is $2.50Cdn. It saves fuel costs & searching for a parking spot. But also, I can look off at the countryside & homesites when someone else is driving. When I drive on our snaking mountain highways (where deer or even an elk could decide to cross) I keep my eyes strictly on the road.
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All good points, thanks. That is a long drive to town, you're wise to take the bus service sometimes, all good reasons to. I'm in Colorado, so I know about the snaking highways and passes, with the wildlife and other sometimes careless drivers, you really do have to pay close attention. My husband was always the main driver, so I had the luxury of looking at the countryside and homesites. We don't live far from town, but in winter sometimes, walking is prohibitive, and some sidewalks next to multiple lane roads are not always cleared, and many times have a mound of icy snow pushed up along the curbs of the street.
 
JBR said:
It's a 50-minute drive to the largest town (can be an hour, if there's road work or a slushy winter highway). Usually, we drive. I find myself using the bus service to town maybe five times a year. Cost is $2.50Cdn. It saves fuel costs & searching for a parking spot. But also, I can look off at the countryside & homesites when someone else is driving. When I drive on our snaking mountain highways (where deer or even an elk could decide to cross) I keep my eyes strictly on the road.
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the buses are free here for anyone over 60....been very useful for me this last few days when I had to leave my car at the garage for repairs
 
The free to user bus system in the area is huge help in reducing traffic congestion and drunk driving. The buses are electric so they're not unpleasant to have around, except they're mostly full of tourists traveling from their accommodations to the ski lifts/bars/town.

Some inter-city(small towns in reality) buses are carrying essential employees and that also reduces traffic on the highways at rush hours. The buses are supported by a locally self-imposed sales tax.
 
Bread and circuses for the big cities, while everyone funds the shebang. Aggravating. Maybe they should ban cars in those cities and subsidize car fuel for the others some time.
 

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