Hooniverse Asks: Could You Ever Give Up Your Daily Driver?

buspass
Having a car for weekend fun is unquestionably one of life’s greatest pleasures, right up there with the discovery of bacon ice cream. Having a daily driver however is another thing. Perhaps you use it for a slog to work, and then have to pay for it to sit idle all day while you sit – possibly also idle – at your job, only to then do the reverse slog at the end of the day.
You can see it in the same way that you see your weekend attire compared to your work clothes. One group is fun and comfortable, while the other… well, they don’t call it a tie for nothing. Perhaps you don’t wear a tie to work, and maybe you don’t have to pay for parking there either. Still, if you’re taking a car to get there, then you’re wearing that ride out… for the MAN!
It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, and in fact at one point in my career I gave up driving to work for Public Transportation. At $5 a day for a Metro Pass, it was even cheaper than the gas it took to drive. Today that’s not quite possible, but I do pine for it to be so. What about you, if Public transportation were available, would you give up the joy of traffic, wear and tear, and parking lot dings? What would it take to get you to give up your daily driver?
Image: Neatorama

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49 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Could You Ever Give Up Your Daily Driver?”

  1. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    If I lived in a city where the mass transit was convenient to use for my daily commute I’d do it in a heartbeat. Not having to deal with traffic and Prius drivers every day, and save driving for fun would be awesome.
    Plus, I find that I’m much better about reading and such when I don’t have to drive to and fro the workplace. I read a book in less than a week commuting by train in Munich. Normally it takes me months to finish a book.

  2. GTXcellent Avatar
    GTXcellent

    HELL NO!
    Even back when I lived in “The Cities” (that’s Minnesota talk for the metro area of Minneapolis and St Paul) I distinctly remember a discussion I had with a co-worker: Even if a bus or light rail train stopped directly at my front door and drove without stopping to my office, I wouldn’t use it.
    To me, it’s all about the freedom that a personal vehicle brings. I can take a different route home if I want. I can make a trip to a store, or a park, or wherever. I can listen to my choice of radio station and I do not have to talk or hear other people talk.
    (and now since I live a very rural existence, I don’t even have the option. Thank goodness)

  3. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    What would it take? It would take a train station less than a mile from my house and a non-stop train to work that ran every 5 minutes with a train station less than a block from work. I’m all about sleeping as late as possible and spending as little time on the road as possible. Buses are slow and inconvenient, I don’t think I have ever been on a public transit bus. The schedules can be confusing and I want to be sure I got on the right one. Subways/trains on the other hand can be great. We visited London and used The Tube almost exclusively to get around, with the exception of a taxi to and from the airport and a train to Hampton Court.

  4. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    Slogged a Civic for over 100K miles in the commuting routine. Sold it and procured a 2014 Mustang GT. I am wearing it out, but certainly not for The Man. I’m wearing it out because when I get to merge in to the freeway in third gear north of 4K RPM, The Man doesn’t even exist.

  5. smalleyxb122 Avatar
    smalleyxb122

    Two things would have to happen for public transportation to become an attractive proposition.
    1: Public transportation would need to be available and convenient. I think I’d have to drive just as far to get to a bus station as I have to drive to get to work, and the convenience of having my car wherever I am is tough to put a value on. If I need to leave work early, or if I need to stay late – no problem.
    2: My commute would have to get considerably more onerous. With the exception of one construction zone merge, where no one seems to know what to do, there is very little stress.

  6. Pauly WallNutz Avatar
    Pauly WallNutz

    this might just end up being a discussion of whether or not you live in a city with good public transit or in the suburbs to the sticks where you have to drive no matter what.

    1. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      FWIW, I used to have a place a half a block away from a bus barn. The employee parkinglot was always full of private cars. Dunno if bus drivers live where they can get door-to-door ttransportation to work, but certainly they at least have the to-door part of it.

  7. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    There’s a bus going to work at a pretty neat time for me (I start at 8, it’s an 18-20 minute drive). But I have to drop the kids off at kindergarten half way out, so there goes the bus. There’s trains here, too, but with live at a fjord with very steep mountains; thus reducing all other infrastructure to one busy road. So in order to get to the train, we need to drive first – which my wife does, but in the opposite direction.
    So, basically, we keep two daily drivers because of the inconvenience we’d have to put up with else. When the kids go to school, they will be picked up by a bus. My house council leader and I agree that this is the point where we’ll talk about going back to one daily + one classic again.
    On a related note, due to landslide danger I went to “the city” by train today. It’s old, rumbling machinery from the 60s – unappreciated if you don’t drive yourself – upgraded in the late 90s or so. Crammed. Few departures. Shouting kids, farting guys. Not a dream commuting scenario.

    1. neight428 Avatar
      neight428

      Certain things are universal. I think shouting kids and farting guys come installed from the factory in any public transportation vehicle. Around here a favorite is the tuberculosis patient that looks to find a confined place with as many people as possible. If you feel like coughing out what sounds like your painful death rattle for forty minutes at a go, Houston Metro is apparently taking applications.

      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Dig a little deeper and you’ll find they’re all on the GM payroll…

  8. quattrovalvole Avatar
    quattrovalvole

    Public transit around here is not that reliable (major delays or shutdowns occur more often than I’m comfortable with), so I can’t let go of the peace of mind that my daily driver provides me – even when it gets to sit at home when I take the subway downtown.

    1. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      Aren’t you in the GTA as well? I was more than a little surprised when, with the subway shutdown earlier this week, all of my coworkers were no more than 15 minutes late.

      1. quattrovalvole Avatar
        quattrovalvole

        Yes I am. The shutdown on Monday was over by 7:40, so that’s probably why most people managed to get to work on time. Nevertheless, it could’ve happened at worse time and it’s not the first time TTC let us down either.

  9. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    DD: yes – public transportation, cycability (and our inclination to do so), plus laughably high fringe costs for owning a car make it feasible, and we consider it seriously when the DD dies of rust in two, three years.
    Project car: nope, I need something to lie under when cursing and chafing my knuckles.

  10. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Depending on the price of gas, I pay about $9/day to operate my car, according to my expense app. I don’t think knocking 4 or 6 or even 9 bucks off that cost is worth the inconvenience. The round trip I make from work to get to lunch at the nearest Chilis or Olive Garden or burger joint is longer by time and about the same by miles as my one-way trip from home to work. Public transportation would make every day a two hour lunch.
    On the other hand, give me a limo assigned to me 24-7 and charge not more than $9/day, and I’ll be happy to park the DD.

  11. onrails Avatar
    onrails

    I’ve got a pretty decent (35 mins, but through country roads) commute that I really enjoy, especially on the good days. But that being said, I worked for a few months in a city with great public transportation and didn’t miss the commute at all. So if I could live somewhere with that option for commuting and errands? No sweat. I’ll take it in a heartbeat. Then I could put miles on the car only when I’m having fun or traveling out of town.

  12. Citric Avatar
    Citric

    Nope, my job requires having a car so I have no choice in the matter, I must drive to work, even though the office is very nearby and sometimes on a lovely spring day walking seems fun. No public transit worth a darn here either.

  13. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    Hmmmm. Many people are saying that the decision depends on the quality of the public transportation system. Well, I lived in Tokyo for almost 10 years, and Tokyo has arguably the best and most efficient public transportation system in the world. Based on my experiences, given the choice, it is pretty clear.
    Want to be guaranteed a seat every time you travel? Take your car.
    Want to leave work 5 minutes late but not 30 minutes or an hour late? Take your car.
    Late leaving the house cause the dog won’t come inside? Car please. You might not even be late for work that morning.
    Have a package to carry? It’s easy in your car… On the train or bus?
    Raining hard? Car. Raining hard on a day you have to carry a package? Car!
    Short- notice-guest visiting the house after work, and you need to buy booze and the makings of dinner? It gets quite involved using public transportation, particularly if your booze shop and food shop of preference are at different stations. Note- you are not buying booze, dinner, AND flowers for her. Can’t carry em.
    The comfort, freedom, and flexibility of having your own vehicle is pretty hard to beat.

  14. rickbradner Avatar
    rickbradner

    ’88 Volvo, 400K clicks; make me an offer….

  15. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    As long as I can keep hobby cars, I would give up a modern dd if I could bicycle to work. That’s not practical where I live today but when I was in Seattle I biked regularly.

    1. mdharrell Avatar

      Oh, wait, a modern daily driver? Yeah, I could theoretically give up one of those.

  16. Hatchtopia Avatar

    Absolutely. And I have. Commuting had taken the fun out of driving and it sucked. 13 miles each way, even going against the flow of traffic is mind-numbing.
    Now I live in a small town and have a 1.5 mile commute with 2 stoplights and a 35 mph speed limit. I’ve taken to riding a bicycle on nice days. Exercise and fresh air and less cold-starting and cold-engine driving are good for both me and the DD.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      1.5 mile commute? That’s a contender for shortest commute I know of – and walking territory.

      1. Hatchtopia Avatar

        My first job out of college was in an even smaller town. I had a 1/4 mile commute that I never ever drove. It took longer to get in the car, drive, find a parking space and walk in than it did to just walk.

        1. mdharrell Avatar

          So you’re saying someone should look into methods for making a car travel 1/4 of a mile as quickly as possible?

          1. Hatchtopia Avatar

            Well I did have a Geo Prizm at the time, so…
            It wasn’t the 1/4 mile time that was the problem, it was finding a parking space, then walking a block to the building. A network of one-way streets and the fact that I had to drive a block in the opposite direction going out of my apartment didn’t help matters.

          2. Vairship Avatar
            Vairship

            Or cut down on the “find a parking space and walk in” bit. Hence, he should use either an NHRA drag racer, or a Peel P50. Both are equally valid.

          3. Rover 1 Avatar
            Rover 1

            I can’t see the concept catching on either. It’d be like racing against the clock.

  17. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Taking the bus to school: 45 minutes, one way.
    Taking a car to school: 15 minutes, one way.

    What do you think?

  18. Volvo_Nut Avatar

    I’ve done the opposite, ditching the bus for my car. It’s actually cheaper for me to drive and park than take the bus.
    Nothing will make you loathe your fellow man faster than public transportation.

  19. PotbellyJoe★★★★★ Avatar
    PotbellyJoe★★★★★

    For two years I paid NJT $360/mo. for the privilege of walking .25 miles from my house to a train and riding it to .7 miles from my job in Manhattan. Catching the express trains I would leave my front doorstep at 7:00 AM and step on it again at 7:15 PM.
    Last year I took a job with a company in Princeton. If I drive, I can drop my son off at 8 AM, and be home before 6 PM. That’s an extra 11 hours of ‘Dad’ time per week, with no less hours in the office.
    In the warmer months, I will ride my bike to and from work which has me leaving at 6:30 AM and returning at 6 PM (I leave earlier since I am usually in earlier) so i really only miss out on the morning scurry, but still get dinner at the table with my kids.
    So what would it take for me to give up my daily driver?
    Well when I accepted the offer in Princeton, I had another offer in NYC at the same time. It was for $30k more per year. Easy decision. Divorces and child-support are expensive.

  20. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    My daily driver is a bicycle, the GMC only gets used for trips to the grocery store or camping trips. Now, allow me to vent:
    I #^)*&><} HATE commuting! The streetcar drives me bats with it's plodding pace, I end up walking the last 6 blocks; driving in the city gives me the fantods; my bicycle route is full of shitheel joggers coming the wrong way at me in the roadway… the motorcycle… the motorcycle, well, the motorcycle actually isn't that bad. I commuted on Free Ninja this week and I hate the way that bike rides but I wasn't steamed when I arrived; the DRZ400 has knobbies on it that I'd rather not round over, but it's a much more pleasant bike to ride.
    So there's nothing I can give my DD up for that isn't going to suck in some different way. At least until I can get the Ninja's valves and carbs sorted (still shifts like an old Mack truck) or get a spare pair of wheels for the DRZ. The bicycle gives me exercise and I can park it at my workbench, so I use that and just spit at the joggers.

    1. jeepjeff Avatar
      jeepjeff

      I do not understand why jogging in the road is a thing around here. I see people in the bike lane when there is a perfectly good, completely empty sidewalk right next to them. The road isn’t in any better repair (this is California, there are pot holes in the pot holes). Again, the sidewalk is not crowded, they won’t need to dodge anyone or what have you. And rather than be vulnerable to a careless swerve, a car has to jump the curb to hit you on the sidewalk. So the margin of safety is ever so slightly higher.
      Whereas in the bike lane you are liable to get run down by either cars or cyclists. I know I tear-ass along at 15-20mph. The jogger and I would both regret it, but I’m the one wearing a helmet.

  21. Cameron Vanderhorst Avatar
    Cameron Vanderhorst

    If I lived in a more temperate climate, I would just daily drive my fun cars.

  22. mdharrell Avatar

    Never say never.
    Having said that: Never.

  23. Tanshanomi Avatar

    HELL NO! According to the KCATA’s online route planner, making my 12 mile commute via public transportation would require me to walk a total of 3.5 miles to and from bus stations and ride the bus 25 miles out of my way. My morning and evening commute would each take 2-1/2 hours.
    As it is, my commute is 20 minutes each way by car.

    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      I looked into it …. once. 4 transfers and 3.5 hours each way. In Seattle I had a 16 mile reverse commute – lived in the city, worked in the suburbs. A bus ran every half hour with stops two blocks from the office and house.
      Kansas City is far to spread out for public transit to be viable for a lot of people.

      1. Tanshanomi Avatar

        To be fair, when I worked just north of the Plaza on Madison and lived in Quality Hill, I could take the bus fairly easily. The only problem is that I was always catching the last bus home, so I had to take a cab if I worked late (which I was required to do somewhat often).

  24. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    I did give up my daily driver. I get to work by riding my bicycle to the train station, which saves me money since it costs me less than the 2 gallons of gas I used to need, plus the car costs. I also get to read on the train and get some exercise.
    I do occasionally borrow the remaining car from my wife for specific errands and ride my motorcycle every week or so in the good weather.

  25. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I’m fairly lucky with my current setup – my boss is my next-door neighbour (not that I knew that until the interview), so we carpool in his company car in the morning. The odd night I can catch a ride home, but barring that, transit’s a pretty reasonable option. Less than 3 bucks a day, the bus stops right in front of work, and at the other end, home is a five minute walk from the subway station. On one hand, it’s usually an hour to an hour and ten minutes (versus a 45 minute drive), on the other, I just sit back, half-nap, and listen to podcasts (if none of my coworkers are on the same bus or train). Unfortunately, this arrangement ends by October when my contract ends, but I’m not aggressively anti-transit.

  26. njhoon Avatar
    njhoon

    I all but have. The culmination of an aggravating drive 2.8 miles in 30 minutes, the gas and my garage at work charged $225 a month caused me to say “Enough!”. I now take Public Transportation, either the subway or bus. Total time went up about 10 minutes each way but I don’t drive it and the total cost went down $120 a month. Now I rarely drive during the week and I’m starting to seriously consider a Hooniverse worthy vehicle after I get the Mrs a car. All of which makes my decision to get rid of my 70 Chevelle all the more painful.

  27. jeepjeff Avatar
    jeepjeff

    I’ve already done it. I’ve got a Jeep, a motorcycle and a bicycle. I ride the bicycle to work, as there is really good bike parking at my office, and parking for cars and motorcycles is expensive. That and it’s a 15-20 minute bike ride.
    I’m also allergic to practicality, so the compromises involved in purchasing a daily driver already rub me wrong. I use my Jeep and motorcycle for errands around town. Which I take depends on where I’m going and how much I’ll need in the way of passenger and cargo space. I call the Jeep my daily driver/semi-project car, but I don’t commute with it.
    Would I give up all of my motorized vehicles? Of course not.

  28. Frank T. Cat Avatar
    Frank T. Cat

    Where I live, there’s basically zero public transport outside of the summer months when tourists come in, and even then I have to drive long distances to get to it. So my shitty old Swedish cars and I are inseparable for the foreseeable future, especially because I plan on moving somewhere even more remote* soonish.
    *the ad for the place I’m looking at explicitly says “car capable of handling the winter and mud seasons is a MUST”, and lists major cities that’re all at least 20 minute drives away.

  29. tonyola Avatar
    tonyola

    Miami has a fairly decent bus system with plenty of routes and clean, air-conditioned buses, and a couple of them stop right in front of my apartment comlex. I am eligible for something called a Golden Passport which allows me to ride the buses and Metrorail unlimited for free, so I use public transportation fairly often. I still have my car but it doesn’t get used as much as it used to.

  30. Krautwursten Avatar
    Krautwursten

    A bicycle would turn my work commute from ten minutes into just under twenty minutes which is still absolutely acceptable (ignoring the weather), but until then that’s still ten minutes I can sleep longer. Also I’d have to get to schooling seminars by train every now and then, but that’s not a major issue unless the rail personnel decides to strike again. In short it’d be alright, but a car makes it even more alright.

  31. Eric Rucker Avatar

    In a heartbeat, if I could. In my area, I can cycle but it’s an annoying route (have to go 1 mile out of my way to access the cycling infrastructure) and I often need the speed of a car to get to work anything resembling on time (not a morning person typically, and a job that wants me in at 07:00), and mass transit is basically nonexistent. If I move, I’m moving somewhere where I can cycle or use mass transit to get to work.
    I’m probably weird in that I’m a car enthusiast that thinks that the idea of a “daily driver” is massively misguided. There’s some things where you need a car because you’re dealing with amounts of cargo impractical for cycling or destinations where mass transit isn’t practical (due to distance or just an under-served area), but IMO those shouldn’t be the normal case, and the infrastructure should reflect that. Unfortunately, it doesn’t…
    If things were such that you could reasonably not have a daily driver, just think how many Priuses and Camries and crossovers driven by people who shouldn’t have a license could be off the roads, too.

  32. faberferrum Avatar
    faberferrum

    Well, considering I live a hundred meters from work, and I DD a John Deere Gator… I’d say no, I really couldn’t. Too much fun driving the green machine around. Sometimes I drive to work in reverse, just because I don’t feel like turning around

  33. sporty88 Avatar
    sporty88

    I currently don’t use my DD to get to work (it’s about a 12-15 minute walk away, actually quicker to walk with peak-hour traffic), but wouldn’t give it up as I need it or my ‘Tuesday answer’ for everything else. Local buses here only run every half-hour on weekdays, hourly on weekends and at night, so a trip to the local shops (about a 5 minute drive) changes from taking maybe an hour to a minimum 2-3 hours without personal transport. Add in an elderly family member who has required 4 emergency room visits in the last year, and a DD becomes a necessity.