Subway Stories - Sorry Charlie!

The T has driven me to drive. I think this is my last monthly T pass. Starting January 1st, the cost of a monthly subway pass goes from $44.00 up to $59.00. Granted the pass now includes local bus service, but that really doesn't impact me much. I'll just be paying more money for the same service.

I don't think it's worth it to me anymore. Yesterday, I realized that this month I drove to work more than half the time. I've totally wasted my December T pass. Over the past two weeks, I only took the T two or three times. I took it yesterday and remembered why I've been driving so much. I waited outside in the cold for about 15 minutes before the train arrived. When I got on the train, there was spilled coffee all over the floor, so it was sticky and there were newspapers strewn about. It was pretty gross. I kept thinking,"why didn't I drive?" I drove today.

I tend to work a later day, so I miss most of the traffic and can get into work in about 15 minutes if I drive, compared to about 45 taking the T. It's the same going home, so I save a lot of time. Granted when I drive, I'm running back and forth to the parking meter every two hours filling it with quarters and risking getting ticketed or paying $18.00 to park in a garage. But I'm in the comfort of my car. It's warm. There's nice music playing or NPR. And at the end of the day, I get home really quickly.

It will be more cost effective to buy a Charlie Card and refill it when I need to. The way it's going, I seem to be taking the T less and less.