On my way home, travelling on the 97 Northbound from Miami-Dade College where I work, I closed the novel I was reading and I began thinking about a conversation that I had with one of my coworkers who said it takes him 8 minutes during non-peak hours to get home via his personal automobile. And, he said, taking the bus cannot beat that by a long shot. A day or so lapsed, and I couldn't help but think that he lived several neighborhoods away, And there is one traffic light at the entrance/exit of the campus that takes at least 1 minute to change, on some days. Upon further prying, however, my coworker broke down and admitted that he drives, on average, 60 miles an hour! This surprised me, as the major thouroughfares that he would take home would have a maximum speed limit of 45.

So, no wonder motorist have this false perception of the time it takes to get from A to B. They speed! So, it is an unfair comparison, then, to use "time" as the only factor in deciding on whether to utilize mass transit. In rush hour where motorists have no choice but to chug along bumper to bumper with the buses, I've observed that buses arrive at their respective destinations practically the same time as personal automobiles, and in some cases before.

Most motorist, especially here in South Florida, do not obey the posted speed limit and -- therefore -- should not use commute time as a factor in deciding to use mass transit because bus operators MUST obey the law and are required to pick up passengers along the way. All things being equal (meaning that both motorists and bus operators utilize the same speed and are going in the same direction), mass transit still wins out on busy thoroughfares, even on short trips.