When I lived in Auckland from 1992-1999, I relied on the bus and, later, the harbor ferry to commute to work. The ferry boat trip took just 10 minutes, but I often wished it was longer to enjoy the harbor breeze.
When I lived in Silicon Valley I spent two years commuting by public transport to work. Each morning I rode my bicycle to the Caltrain, hopped on with my bike onto the bike carriage, and rode about 15 minutes from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto. Then I rode 4 miles to my office.
Now that I’ve moved to Singapore, I rely on public transport. Here is a city where it is possible to survive without a car. If I want to leave the NTU I take the SBS bus to Boon Lay, and get on the MRT Both are airconditioned, and neither needs a schedule. The trains run every 7 minutes from Boon Lay, and the buses at least every 10 minutes from campus. It was amazing to me to see that none of the 30 bus lines at Boon Lay interchange shows a schedule, indicating they come frequently enough that a schedule is not needed. Public transport in Singapore is cashless: rides are charged to your EZlink card, which is contactless, using RF at 13.56 MHz. The card works within 3 cm, so you can keep it in your wallet. The card costs S$15, and comes with a S$7 credit to start. You can top up the EZlink at any MRT station. It typically takes me around S$2 to travel across town on a combination of buses and MRT.
