Public Transit--Convenience and Reliability?

Taking the subway to work, school, or wherever one needs to go is fairly common in big metropolitan areas. Yet, all too common, there are delays due to things like maintenance issues, etc. So, while public transit certainly keeps motorists off the roads and highways which helps the environment in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S., one issue often mentioned as particularly problematic happens to be the convenience and reliability of taking public transit. In other words, even if something is good for the environment, is it convenient and reliable whereby it can get the individual to their destination on time?

Then again, however, taking a car or truck to work on the open highway would in all likelihood be less reliable or convenient than public transit. "Each American motorist traveling during peak periods wastes an average of 62 hours a year—nearly eight full working days—in traffic congestion. In 2000, congestion cost America's motorists $68 billion." The figure from the year 200o, however, is probably much higher given the population increase and the number of motorists on the road currently.  Consequently, it is clear that traffic congestion and taking a car, SUV, or truck to and from work, school, or even to run errands is very much less convenient and reliable than it might have been in previous generations.  The fact is too many people are on the roads making driving a car less convenient and less reliable in terms of getting to one's destination in a timely and efficient manner.

Clearly, therefore, while there are often delays in public transit due to maintenance of the tracks and other issues like potentially accidents, it appears the benefits of public transit may outweigh some of its drawbacks. There are times when waiting for a subway to come can be aggravating, but the aggravation with being stuck in traffic and having a degree of uncertainty as to when the situation will clear is far worse. In essence, when answering the question of whether public transit is convenient and reliable, it is important to frame it in the context of what one is comparing it to. Therefore, when we compare the delays associated with sitting in traffic which are unpredictable to the predictable delays associated with waiting for the subway train to come, the answer to the question of whether public transit is convenient and reliable seems quite obvious. Public transit is convenient and reliable because one can know in general when the subway train is going to pick them up and drop them off at their destination. The same cannot be said for sitting in traffic in one's car, SUV, or truck.

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