I’ve been enjoying cycling as transportation lately, so right now my top choice is a bike. It’s just so much fun! The ability to dismount and instantly be a pedestrian, and to bring it inside trains makes bicycles very versatile.
this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2023
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Anything on rails is super cool, subway, funicular, trains, trams.
Bike is #1, all day every day. I don't move to a place unless I have a grocery store and other services within bikeable distance.
Then it's busses and trains.
Feet. I like having everything be as walkable as possible. If not feet then train/metro
Nothing beats walking to me. I wish I could walk everywhere but stupid lack of endless time. In general I enjoy travel more that is slow but consistently moving. So train over bus and I just hate planes because sure the plane is fast but most of your journey your just sitting there or in lines. but yeah it would be walk then bike then metro train then other train. Plane and bus are pretty unappealing to me so not sure where to put either. At that point I might actually prefer a car, which I know is verbotem. Actually busses are not to bad if the jaunt is short enough but really then I might as well bike anyway.
Bike and it's not close. I've loved being on my bike my whole life, ever since it was the easiest way to get to the public library as a youth. My hometown had a beloved, beautiful, and very extensive bike trail system, and in addition to my use of it for transit, my family would ride it together for fun every Sunday. At peak usage as an adult rider, my daily commute was ~27 miles. Currently it's 9, but I do a lot of errands and shopping and recreational riding as well.
Second place is walking.
Trains when possible.
I've been riding motorcycles on and off for years. For the last 8ish months I've been riding one of those like city share electric moped/scooter things. It's a cheap Chinese NIU brand. For the size and state of infrastructure in my current city (Tbilisi) it's honestly the best way to get around.
I lived in Tokyo for years though. I would take a train network like that any day of the week.
Bikes. I enjoy being outside instead of being in a box. I can also usually take more scenic and pleasant routes than I could with public transport or a car.
Second place would be high-speed rail. It's quite comfortable and you can read a book or just watch the landscapes go by at rapid speeds.
i loooooove sitting on a long direct train connection and just watching the world and small villages fly by.
My e scooter is new but I love something about it.
I could get a new one every three months and it's cheaper than owning a paid off car.
It was raining and I didn't have to sit on a wet seat like I would a bike.
I'm very unlikely to kill anyone or anyone's pets with it.
It's not perfect for everyone, but it's so nice for my life style.
I have a family car, road bike, ebike and escooter. I really like my escooter the most for traveling around by myself, especially so I can jump on a train or bus, or even get a taxi if needed BUT they are still illegal here so I got pulled over by the police (I wasn't riding like an idiot so they let me off with a warning) and all the trains and buses have banned them so it's now useless. They never made them legal so we only have dangerous cheap ones. We could have legalised them like we did with ebikes and would have tackled this problem but only young or poor people use them so no chance. I love my ebike too but prefer the e scooter unless I'm going shopping or much longer trips without getting public transport. My road bike is for cycling trips in nice weather.
Ferries, trains, and trams
Running is an underrated mode of transport. For some reason it's socially acceptable to exert yourself hard while on a bike, but not running. When combined with public transport it can make all the difference to be able to make a tight transfer by sprinting for it.
High speed rail. It’s phenomenal. Want to go somewhere far away? Without HSR you’re doing an exhausting drive, a day-long ride in slow trains, going through horrible airports and paying for taxis on both ends. With HSR you go directly between city centres stress free and arrive with plenty of spoons to walk around. It’s a game changer.
Bikes and trains. Love my exercise but my area is cold half the year, and trains are just absolute goat
Getting from A to B in the metro and never stepping outside in -30 is awesome.
Days when I work downtown I take my coat off at my home metro station, and put it back on at my home metro station.
Bike, own escooter (arrive without needing a shower), trams, trains. Buses make me motion sick if I do anything other than stare out of the window.
Whatever is most pleasant/convenient for the trip I'm trying to make, as long as it is not a car, because cars are disproportionately noisy, polluting and a danger to my neighbors, and I don't want to contribute to that.
If all the options were equally available and convenient, then for me walking > cycling > streetcar > train > bus.
That order is almost the same for me but move bike way down. Having to own and maintain a piece of equipment to get around introduces a lot of the same problems as cars, just on a smaller scale. IMO getting around should be something the built environment facilitates without the individual needing to BYO vehicle
Riding a bike doesn't necessarily mean owning a bike.
Places like Toronto or London have bicycle sharing programs where for a small monthly fee you can go to one of many stations around the city, pick a bike and leave it at any of the stations near to your destination. The maintenance staff ensures that all stations have some bikes available and that the bikes remain in working condition.
Feet. I was always at odds with bikes and cars, because I always disliked being tied to a piece of metal. Trains, trams and buses are cool shortcuts, if they're available. But at the end of the day, feet are the real MVP. They're just always there, always waiting to chauffeur me to my next destination, and they'll carry me all the way, even into houses, right to my seat.
Sleeper trains... nice combination of convenient overnight travel with the hostel experience of talking with fellow travelers.
Trains > *
There is no better way for a real 'murrican to get from point A to point B than in the driver's seat of your brand new F150...
...except literally 1000s of other means of transport including skipping, pogo-sticking, slithering like a snake, railroad handcar, ultralight, rollerskating, skateboarding, push scooter, teleportation, hot air balloon, powerwheelz, electric unicycle, trolly bar, walking etc. etc. etc.
For me personally, I have to say bikes and on foot. Even in the colder months, a 15 miler feels great!
Bike for sure, as I was still at school I did 100+km /week. I guess it stuck. Second is probably kayaking although it is seldomly actually useful transport. Then walking, and after that all manner of trains, then cars, then busses, and last planes. But honestly I just like being in transport to some extend so unless I'm dreading my destination I like them all.
Biking and walking are my favorites, but passenger rail is non-existent where I live and public transit system in general is not great.
Airplanes. That's the only mode of transport I'd use just for the fun of it. All other modes of transportations are just tools and I like they exist, but I don't "really like" them by themselves.
I came thinking I would say airplanes as well, though I know it's likely an unpopular answer in this part of web.
Growing up fairly privileged, I got to fly a lot and always looked forward to it as a situation where no one can get mad at me for spending the whole time watching movies, playing games or reading books. Some of that childhood joy stuck with me, and I still look forward to a chance to sit back and read or zone out to music without any nagging work obligations (I refuse to purchase in air wifi).
So big agree, for transport I "really like," it's gotta be airplanes.
For more mundane day to day stuff, I do love basically anything on rails. Not having to think about maneuvering around other vehicles, just sitting and chilling, not even worrying about traffic delays. As long as you're able to avoid the worst of rush hour packed trains, it's just the best. If only every city could figure out their rail systems...
I got to fly a lot and always looked forward to it as a situation where no one can get mad at me for spending the whole time watching movies, playing games or reading books. Some of that childhood joy stuck with me, and I still look forward to a chance to sit back and read or zone out to music without any nagging work obligations
Pretty much the same reasons I like traveling on trains. The reasons why I don't like plane traveling nearly as much (kind of hate it TBH) is the whole airport bureaucracy and security theater you need to go through just to get on the plane. And the incredibly cramped seats (though maybe not a factor for you, if you were privileged enough not to fly Economy).
Yeah, I'll admit, getting to fly business frequently as a child probably gave me an unrealistic view of what flying would be like for myself later in life. But except for one flight I randomly got bumped, I've only done economy my whole adult life and still can't help but be in a good mood thinking about a flight.
I do agree about the airport hassles, having to go through easily two hours of bureaucracy and waiting before even getting on a plane is kinda crazy, guess I've just come to accept it to the point I don't really think about it too much. I'm just looking forward to the plane, and maybe finding a little nook to wait in before the flight starts boarding where my brain can already start transitioning to "nothing's stopping you from just shutting off" mode. Airplane mode also means I'm not getting any work texts or messages while I'm in the air, which has definitely happened on trains.
I used to only fly for work, and only in the middle of the weekm i thought complaints about the whole process were overrated.
Then I flew for a personal trips on a Saturday. It was NOT the same experience.
What do you like about planes?
I like to see all the technical aspects of it, but the actual transportation part is so bad for me. And not to speak of the emissions it creates. I nlw try to avoid planes, trains are nearly as interesting and much more pleasant for everyone.
Everything. It's sitting in a chair flying through the air. What's not to like? I don't think trains really compare. Like you can't even look out the window and watch the control surfaces.
Sure, there is delays and all the other people which are quite annoying, but that's also true for trains.
Like you can't even look out the window and watch the control surfaces.
That I totally understand!
But planes (at least in economy) have very little space and you don't have a real table to work/chill/play on. It's loud, space is generally very limited and you can't bring a lot of your own food. Also it is much darker than with large train windows.