Financial Hack

Comment from FrugalTexan75
Time: December 18, 2008, 5:35 am

In the year between the end of my last year of teaching and starting with my current company, I completed a temp survey job for a bus company. Part of what I did was to ride various busses anywhere from an hour all the way up to 8 hours, counting how many people got on and off at each stop along the way. Before that experience I had ridden a bus maybe twice before in my life.

My biggest tip is to make friends with the bus drivers. They will look out for you.

Comment from disneysteve
Time: December 18, 2008, 6:58 am

I’m of two minds with public transit. At home, I virtually never use it. I’m not replacing my 10 minute drive to work with a 45 minute bus trip with 2 transfers – just ain’t gonna happen.

The only time I ride public transit is when we occasionally go into Philly and ride the High Speed Line. It is quicker and easier than driving in and it works out to be the same price or less when you factor in gas, tolls and parking. We have also taken the train to Atlantic City a couple of times.

When we travel, however, we often use public transit. In New York City, Boston and Washington, DC, we’ve used trains and subways extensively.

What’s the difference? A few things, I think. On vacation, generally, we aren’t tied to a schedule. If we get to a museum at 9:15 instead of 9:00, no big deal. If the trip back to our hotel takes 45 minutes instead of 30, who cares? We’re on vacation. At home, we’re more time conscious. I need to be at work at a certain time. If a bus is late or I miss a connection, that would be a big problem. If the same thing happens on vacation, we look at it as an adventure to add to the travel log of stories.

Of course, some cities (like NYC, Boston and DC) have much better public transit than other cities, so that’s a factor, too.

Comment from MonkeyMama
Time: December 18, 2008, 7:16 am

I’d do it if it were free. The public transport sucks here and is pretty darn expensive. With gas prices as they are now I’d argue it’s cheaper to maintain my car – hehe. But for free, I’d be there in a second! That’s a nice perk; take advantage. Depends where you live I guess, but it shouldn’t be that scary!

Comment from Pretty Cheap Jewelry
Time: December 18, 2008, 7:34 am

When gas hit $4.50 I hit the bus. Why didn’t I do it before *slaps forehead*! It is convenient, decent and the PRICE! For my 35 mile one way commute it costs $2. (yes, two dollars). The bus company was nuts not to raise fare, but most likely have a zillion regulatory hoops to jump through before being allowed.

Anyway, I now ride one hour each way. Two bucks up, two bucks back. Although gas has plummeted and it doesn’t save cash in the immediate time, you wouldn’t believe the YEARS and YEARS I am adding to my car’s life. The odometer is stuck, STUCK, at 130,000.

Go for it. Free. Come one, at least try.

Comment from Caoineag
Time: December 18, 2008, 8:07 am

I actually currently take advantage of that perk. Saves the company money (they don’t have to pay for my parking as a result) and saves me a ton of money.

Comment from Ashleigh
Time: December 18, 2008, 9:38 am

I’d do it. Get to read or nap on route.

Comment from Nika
Time: December 18, 2008, 11:11 am

Terrified of what, exactly?
Yes, you get an occasional weirdo, but not that common, really, not even in NYC.

I watch tv episodes and free news video podcasts on ipod touch, listen to a lot of audio podcasts (wsj, npr, nyt all for free). So I keep myself entertained and informed during my 2.5-3 hour DAILY commute on public transportation. Is it fun? Convenient? Reliable? Nope, it can just stops and stand there for 20 minutes and you are stuck, it re-routs trains over other lines, etc…

Could I add $30 daily for parking to my budget and drive in? Yes. I just don’t think that it is the best solution for everyone — our family, the city that is gridlocked already, environment…

And frankly, I find the “I would never take public transportation” comments snobby. To me it often implies “I don’t want to give up my private space”, “I don’t want to be around “lesser” people” ” and “I shouldn’t have to walk for 10 minutes – what if the weather is bad?”.

Reminds me of a time when me and DH were students and hitchhiked across Tibet into Nepal. Local villagers, workers, truck drivers would pick us up (in transporting trucks that have 30 people in the back). They would pick up each other and strangers no matter how cramped – very often for free. But American tourists in Jeeps never picked up anyone. They came to seek spiritual enlightenment, Buddhism immersion, whatever… but didn’t think they should sacrifice their legroom in order to find it.

I don’t know if they were “terrified” or did not want to be inconvenienced… The tourists were so vocally sympathetic with the Tibetan people against Chinese oppression and admired them for their spirituality… they just did not want them in their cars, they did not want to eat at local cheap restaurants. They stayed at “foreigner” hotels, ate at “foreigner” restaurants, heard the stories they expected to from their guides, went to monasteries on a tour and found their “foreigner” enlightenment. I don’t think they ever even knew how they came across. And I don’t think I can even blame the local population along the tourist route that came to view them as cash cows – it is not only due to poverty.

Comment from baselle
Time: December 18, 2008, 11:30 am

I pay about 10$/month, so nearly free. Try it out. Most verbal annoyances are solved by an MP3 player. Bring something to read and try it out. Where are you blogging from?

Comment from Daniel Massicotte
Time: December 19, 2008, 4:51 am

I have a friend, how has a friend who got a job at Banana Republic for the summer as a student job. By the end of the summer however, he ended up owing the company money.

Comment from baselle
Time: December 19, 2008, 10:30 pm

San Diego appears to have some nice transit programs esp the Guaranteed Ride Home. Definitely worth getting those services!

http://www.511sd.com/

And remember that every bus and train has its own culture. At least up in Seattle, most commuter buses don’t really attract the homeless (you just don’t want to be caught in a far-flung neighborhood without money). If they show, they’ll come on the trolley downtown or will pick a very long all-night route downtown and back.

Comment from Nicole
Time: December 19, 2008, 10:47 pm

Good luck with that:) I wish I were that brave!