In cities where public transportation systems are very well advanced, there isn’t much need for cars or drivers licenses. In New York City and Singapore for instance, most residents are not licensed drivers.
Using public transport is beneficial in a whole lot of ways. First, it’s much better for the environment. If you know me, you know I care quite a bit about my carbon footprint and what I can do to reduce it. Instead of
Second, it frees up a little bit of time. Whether your commute is ten minutes or two hours, that is time you can spend finishing up some last minute homework or working ahead on schoolwork instead of focusing on keeping your car on the road. If you’re well used to the process, you might even be able to catch up on some sleep.
If you’re underage, using public transport gives you just a little bit of independence. Having to rely on friends or parents to drive you around can be annoying. You’re forced to abide by their schedule and can only do things when they’re free to transport you. With public transport, you have to deal with nobody but the transport schedule.
Finally, public transport can actually be cheaper than driving yourself. For frequent travelers, metro/bus cards are available. In my city, using the bus costs less than a dollar no matter where you’re going. If you choose to drive yourself, you’ll have to fork out money for drivers’ tests and license fees where applicable, fuel, car maintenance, etc. In the long run, it’ll probably end up much cheaper depending on where you live.
In cities where public transportation is not readily available, carpooling works as well. Instead of five people taking five separate cars, which is terrible for the earth, there are five people in one car. If more than one person in the carpooling group is licensed, you all can take turns driving. To pay for fuel, members if the group all contribute a certain sum of money.
Learning to drive is definitely a skill one should have. It’s very useful, especially in an emergency or on the very rare occasion that public transport fails you. Whether or not you choose to use the skill, however, is completely dependent on you and the city in which you live.
