Comments by "Javier Flores" (@JJFlores197) on "Why Public Transportation Sucks in the US" video.

  1. I go to school which is 40 miles away 4 days a week. Not having a car, in my case, would equal no freedom. We don't have public transportation that goes that far. I don't know about you, but biking 80 miles daily while carrying a backpack with books and a laptop and nearly 100 degree weather during the summer is not appealing to me at all. Subways (except for the restaurant) don't exist where I live in California.
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  2. That works great for you, awesome. Now in my case, I go to school in a town 64 km away 4 days a week. Public transportation doesn't go that far so my only option is to drive. Yes, owning a car is an expense, but for me it is a necessary one since I don't have any other viable option. And the local bus system is very inefficient where I live. It takes 45 minutes to go to our local Target which is about 3 km away whereas with my own car, I can get there in 15 minutes tops.
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  3. Yeah good luck with that Robert. Public transport has its uses and clear advantages but still I prefer driving because I can go specifically where I want and when I want.
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  4. I live in YC and go to Butte and completely understand what you're talking about. I took the bus to Yuba College a couple of years ago and it was bad. Took way too long to get there and it's only 7 miles away. In my own car, it takes me a maximum of 25 minutes depending on traffic.
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  5. I don't let the lack of decent public transportation affect me. I have my own car and leave whenever I want and to wherever I want. Taking the bus where I live takes significantly longer than driving. Our local Target is about 2 miles away. By bus, it would take 45 minutes. With my own car, it takes me a maximum of 10-15 minutes. Also, we don't have bus service on Sundays so without a car, you're pretty much out of luck.
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  6. Where I live, driving a car is significantly faster than waiting for the horrifically inefficient bus system. The distance from my house to Target is 2 miles. It takes about 45 minutes by bus to get there. In my car I can get there in 15 minutes tops. So in my case, public transportation is definitely not better.
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  7. But who says you have to buy a new car? I bought my car used. It is a 2001 Ford Taurus for $1,750 and it is decent.
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  8. @Mary Rosser You have some valid points. Sure, paying nearly $40 to fill up my car is not appealing. Paying $100/year for tags isn't appealing. Paying $169 for a starter motor, $200 for tires, etc isn't fun. I would rather pay for bus fare which is $1/way. However, the bus system where I live is very inneficient. It takes an hour and 25 mintues to get to the old college I used to go to and it is only 7 miles away! In my own car, it takes me a maximum of 25 minutes depending on traffic. I'm writing this comment on a Sunday. There is no bus service on Sundays where I live. The added bonus with having my own car is that I can go pretty much wherever I want whenever I want. Taking the bus means I have to figure out first if there is a bus route to where I want to go, and see what times the route is. With all of this, I would rather have my own car instead of relying on shoddy bus service.
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  9. Where I live in California, we haven't had trains for 25+ years and even then they weren't passenger trains. I would rather have my own car and go wherever I want whenever I want without having to wait for the horrifically slow bus, assuming they even have a bus route to where I want to go. Seriously it takes an hour and 10 minutes to go to the school that is a couple of towns over and it is only 7 miles away! In my car, it takes a maximum of 25 minutes.
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  10. Where I live the bus system is horrifically inefficient. It is faster to drive my own car than waiting for the bus to get to the stop and waiting to get to the destination. Seriously, it takes an average of an hour and 10 minutes to go to the old college I used to attended and it is only 7 miles away and a couple of towns over! It takes me 25 minutes tops to get there with my car. And I don't live in a gigantic city with hour long traffic jams.
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  11. Interesting. I live in a city of around 65,000 people and there used to be trains, over 20 years ago. But the train tracks have been long removed. And even then, it wasn't for passengers, rather for freight. Passenger trains don't exist where I live in California.
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  12. Where I live in California, we don't have Amtrak. The nearest one is in Sacramento and that's about an hour away from where i live. Sure paying for the upkeep of a car isn't appealing at all, but compared to the amount of time wasted waiting for the bus to get to the stop (we don't have a station where I live) and going through all the different stops, I'd rather have my own car and get to my destination significantly faster. The old college I used to go to is about 7 miles away from where I live. With the bus, It would take almost an hour and a half to get to the main campus which is extremely absurd. In my own car, it takes me a maximum of 25 minutes depending on traffic. Also forgot to mention that the town in which the main campus is located isn't all that safe. Way too many druggies there so I wouldn't feel comfortable walking or biking there.
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  13. Yeah... no... I'd rather have my own bike than sharing it.
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