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Worse, the times I have lived where there was public transportation available and I tried to use it, the cost was actually MORE than driving my car cost me, plus the commute time was a lot higher.
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Alas it's similar here in Germany:
While the rail system & public transport is (still) quite good, due to the large influence of the German car industry it's been neglected for several decades in favour for building a better road network.
The talk nowadays is 'we've got too much traffic on the road, we have to get it on the rail' but as upkeep of the (shabby) rail system skyrocketed over the years, train rides ain't 'cheap & affordable' anymore
I started to commute by train about two years ago. It's kind of 'OK' as I've subscribed to a 'commuter's ticket'; that way the cost is down to about the same as for the car ride, but with the luxurity of having time to read instead of watching traffic jams close up