Don't drive!

Seriously, OCTA was recently rated the best bus company in the country. Route 43 (Harbor Blvd.) and Route 50 (Katella) both run 24 hours a day and a day pass is only three bucks, less than a gallon of gas.

Keep the car parked once in a while and let someone else do the driving.

Awesome, so when the movie lets out at 1AM, I can get a ride down Katella and get dropped off 2 miles from my house at 2 in the morning! Sign me up!

Bring a bike. Each bus has space for two bikes.

Or use the bus during the day. Just think of the money you could save.

It really isn't as bad as it sounds. It's not perfect, but in a world of $4.00+ gas, it really can help the pocket book.

I didn't mind paying for parking. Getting out was just irritating. Then again I was exhausted and amped up at 1:30am. The red lights on Harbor were irritating too. ;)

No bus routes to my place. Not that I would ride a bike 2 miles from the nearest bus stop (after spending what, close to an hour getting home) at 1am.

No bus routes to anywhere I want to go either. I looked into the train to go up to Anaheim for hockey games - they don't run at conducive times, nor is it that much cheaper than driving.

The bus line may "be the best company in the country" (do you have a source for that?) but their routes and times leave a lot to be desired.

Like I said, it's not perfect, but if you live in Orange County, near a major intersection, and want to travel to or near another major intersection in Orange County, there's a good chance you'll be able to do it by bus for much less than the cost of driving.

Quote? It's been a couple years, but I'll see if I can find it.

My last apartment was walking/biking distance from an OCTA park and ride, with work being located next to an OCTA maintenance facility. My 30 minute driving commute would have taken 2 hours by bus each way.

Currently I live around the corner from OCTA corporate headquarters, working in the same location. Taking the bus would mean 90 minutes instead of 20 driving.

I can't sacrifice 30% of my waking life to my commute.

For shorter trips around home it might be more feasible, but those usually occur on weekends when I'd prefer not to have a bus-enforced curfew dictating my night.

I don't deny that the bus can be a good option, but there are still way too many caveats (gotta be near a main intersection, it's gotta be between certain hours, etc) to be really useful to anyone who's off a main route. I have hope that it will get better, but it's not there yet.

You're only awake 10 hours per day?

A 90 minute bus-ride twice per day is 3 hours. 3 hours is 30% of 10 hours.

Methinks there is a typo somewhere (I do not doubt your math skills).

Eh, I didn't really do the math, just threw a number out.

Plus, do the 9 hours I spend at work REALLY count as "waking life"?

OK, I'll give you that

OCTA has four lines that run 24/7. 60,57,50 and 43. Stay out all night if you want.

I know... the system is far from perfect, but things are getting better. You should have seen the system back in the early 80's. Some of the lines didn't run on weekends, or only ran every two hours until 6:00pm. I remember once being stranded on Warner Ave. on a Sunday for nearly three hours.

But consider Harbor Blvd. The 43 line runs 24/7 every 10 minutes during peak hours. If you're going from say, Newport Beach to Disneyland, there's no reason to drive.