Car vs. bus

Advocates of public transportation claim that it's cheaper than owning an automobile and thus a useful tool to become debt-free. A well-maintained car is expected to have a 15 year service life, and a bus pass costs $45 per month. This means taking the bus for the life of a car might cost $8100, which in theory is cheaper than buying a new car + registration + fuel + periodic oil changes + insurance, especially with fuel price spikes like those of 2008 and 2011. Insurance alone is as expensive as a bus pass: in the fourth quarter of 2011, GEICO quoted me at least $50 per month. This is on top of an estimated $6,000 for 120 hours of driving lessons before you get your first driver's license. And teenagers can't even work a summer job to buy a first car anymore because in the 2010s, older people have been hogging all the available low-skill jobs.

But people who own a car cite a few advantages:
 * City buses have even less cargo space per passenger than a Smart Fortwo.
 * No fifteen minute walks to and from a bus stop in the weather, possibly across busy highways, possibly carrying all your groceries or other cargo. In the car-centric United States, parking is often closer than a bus stop.
 * No hour waits for the next bus once you have finished your business, and no fifteen minute waits in the weather for a bus running behind schedule.
 * Buses don't run when you need them. For example, one city's buses don't run at night, on Saturday evenings, on Sundays, or on any of six annual holidays. They don't run on Saturdays at all in some parts of town. If you're among the one-third of American workers who work on weekends, especially service jobs at establishments open to the public, the taxi fare for that day can add up close to the bus fare for the whole rest of the week.
 * Passengers are almost free as long as there is enough space in a car. Parents appreciate this.
 * Not having to deal with bigoted cabbie banter.

Some people choose to take a third option: bicycling. This too has its advantages and disadvantages. It has the weather problem to an even greater degree than the bus, but it has low waiting like a car. There are occasional problems with dead red traffic signals, especially in some states. Some fast food establishments have a policy of refusing service to a cyclist in the drive-thru lane, especially after the dining room has closed. But check your city ordinances to see how you might contest this policy. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, for example, discrimination against cyclists would appear to violate section 74.34(A) of the city code: "Every person riding a bicycle upon a street shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle."

Still others consider it practical to walk three miles (5 km) to the grocery and carry everything back in a "granny cart".