Ok, so what is a reasonable expectation? Twice the time? Including the amount of time it takes to get to the stop/station, or any transfers needed?

Every time I've had occasion to compare the drive time to the time it would take for public transit, it's ALWAYS been more than twice the time it would take to drive. Like GD said, we lived down the street from a Park and Ride, and right now we live a short bike ride from a train stop. I have always wished to use public transit and check it every once in a while, hoping things have improved. And as I said, it's always, always more than twice the time it would take to drive. That is impractical, unreasonable, inconvenient and so annoying there is no way you'd get to your destination happy.

One thing I have found in commuting by public transit (MTA not OC) is that the additional time spent commuting - and it does add significant time to mt commute - is actually productive time for me. When I drive I drive and maybe listen to NPR. When I commute I have time to read, write in my journal, catch up on email correspondence, reads web pages, or even just nap. I spend more time on the move, but I've transformed that time into something rathe positive for me. Sure the days I drive I get to work and home quicker, but it's more exhausting to me and causes me to add the commute time to my work day, so it feels like I'm working longer.

But that's personal annectdote,

Wow, I knew getting out of the Garden Walk parking structure was inconvienant, but I didn't know it was this bad!

;)

I don't know if you guys have considered this but you should take the bus!

So I guess what one has to do is turn "commute" into some other productivity. My biking commute is very short - about 12 minutes - but because I have to get there and get changed, I have to leave about 30 min before work. I've made my peace with that, as there are plenty of bonuses that balance it out - fresh air, exercise, lovely neighborhood, save on gas and car maintenance, doing the good environmental thing, etc.

My experience is much the same as Euro's.

If I drive, most days it takes me about 40-50 minutes each way.
When I use public transportation (walk 1 mile to BART, two BART trains, then Emeryville free shuttle) it takes 90 minutes each way (and can be closer to 2 hours in the evening when connections are iffier).

Most of the time I still prefer public transportation for the reasons Chris gives. I can read (it had been years since I actually read through a full newspaper before I started riding BART), I can get a movie review written, if I feel like it I can bring my portable DVD player and watch a movie. Many times it is actually a respite.

Not dealing with either the distractions of home or the obligations of work (though if I have something pressing from work I can actually work on it). In a weird way it has become my "alone time."

But when it sucks, it really sucks. Way more than bad traffic driving home sucks. At least in bad traffic I am never crammed into the armpit of some smelly drunk on an overcrowded train with an AC that can't keep up with the communal stink of 200 people in the car.

But as said above all the factors have to be weighed and I don't really fault anybody who decides that the time multiple isn't worth it.

See, that's a ratio I'd start to consider, that's less than a 300% increase in commute time for you. In my situation, it would mean about a 500% increase.

And then there's the other issue, which is not having a car during the day. I could pack my lunch and not have to deal with getting food, but it would preclude me from my chosen forms of lunch time exercise, rollerblading and soccer, both of which require a drive to the park.

It's frustrating because I've looked for solutions to the shortcomings. I really would like to leave the car at home if I could. But the system just isn't in place yet to fit my needs, or even to come close enough to fitting my needs that I could easily adjust my needs to fit.

I for one am extremely grateful that there is a public transit system in Orange County.

You wouldn't want to see me behind the wheel. Trust me on this. It would be a disaster.

If it works for you, awesome. And I have no doubt that there is a large segment of the population for whom it's an excellent option. There must be, judging from the lines of people filing onto the buses that get in my way on my drive to work. But it's lightyears from being the solution to all of our transportation needs.

It's far from perfect, but it can be made better.

Imagine this scenario. Every major street in Orange County would have two bus routes that would run the entire length of the street.

Local buses would run every five minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with stops on every block.

Express buses would have exclusive use of the left most lane, with stations in the middle of the streets, on islands (similar to the Blue Line in L.A.) and would have stops every two miles or so (fewer stops = faster service). These could easily be upgraded to light rail at some point in the future.

Both would have the ability to pre-empt traffic signals, only stopping for passengers.

I believe a system like this could work for "most" OC residents.