...good to know!

I used to be an avid user/defender of public transportation (in Canada). Used it for 15 years (11 of which I actually had a car but did not use for daily commute)

But then it was ruined... literally a 13 Km commute (less than 10 miles if you are American) would mean 1.5 hours in a bus EACH WAY, vs 45 mins by car (which is still a travesty for such a short commute)

Now I am lucky to work from home most of the time and commute with an eScooter when the weather allows me to

*Sydney

As with anything it's even more "it depends". Melbourne busses are slow an unreliable, the vast majority of tram routes share roads with cars and get stuck behind them making them painful in busy periods, and the train network is primary built around the idea of getting white collar workers from the suburbs to the city in the morning and back out again in the evening.

For example, without a car the 10-15 minute trip to drop the kiddo off with their grandparents would be over 90 minutes. It's less than 10km but because we're on different train lines it's require either going all the way to the city and out again, or a train and a bus that runs 3 times a hour with no timing connection to the train.

Ooh, thanks for the tip re free PT! I used it heavily while it was free over Chrissie, and then avoided it when Myki fares went up in February. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of daytripping this month!

I also ditched car ownership over a decade ago. Plenty of trains/trams/buses to get me places, my neighbourhood is very walkable (groceries and other retail store, GP, post office, library, laundromat, restaurants and cafes, even a cinema within walking distance), and there's car share services for the odd occasion where I need it.

that sounds pretty amazing!

It's only good if you live in walking/driving distance from a train line or bus way. Assuming the destination is also walking distance on the other end.