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coworkers were like "what's the point of the train, it only goes like fifty miles an hour". I had never considered the ground speed of the train to be the main selling point.

I take the train because I don't like having to drive, find and pay for parking, and drive back. i can go wherever without having to babysit a car

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would it be better if we had high-speed rail? sure. but that's not really the point

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every time I drive downtown I have to pay for parking, can't go too far from the car, and navigate some nightmare intersection. with transit I can do whatever.

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@BestGirlGrace It might take a bit longer but the reduced load of every other factor more than makes up for it and sometimes ends up saving time anyway!

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@coriander right, and that's not even counting that the train is immune to traffic and can beat the car when it's busy

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@BestGirlGrace It definitely is fun taking the light rail during rush hour and realizing you are absolutely going to get downtown before all those schmucks on the road

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@coriander love waving at the cars as I zoom right past. nothing like it.

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@BestGirlGrace @coriander i occasionally do that while biking past bumper-to-bumper car traffic! a lot of folks wave back with one finger, assuring me that i'm going to get to the traffic light first!

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@BestGirlGrace and 50mph is still plenty fast regardless. especially if it’s a train that runs within a city, if you are doing 50mph in a city you probably should not be driving

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@BestGirlGrace the most common train trip i take is the light rail between the place i live at and the next largest city. about 15-20 min depending on whether it’s light rail or the full train

car is apparently 30min with low-medium traffic from the same start to the same end point

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