I could commute to work in my car in 30-45 minutes (if traffic cooperates, which isn't a certainty around here), but instead I chose to commute via bus and Metro, which takes about an hour to and hour and 15 minutes.
There are so many benefits to this and they FAR outweigh the time I would get if I drove:
1. I'm using public transport instead of a gas guzzling car, so the environmental impact is way less
2. I don't arrive to work stressed and frustrated by traffic and bad driving
3. I'm not subjecting myself to the risk of auto accidents
4. I have a 10 minute walk on either side of my trip, and I love the little extra bit of exercise
5. And the most important: I get so much reading done on the metro. It's awesome- a great way to wake up in the morning and a great way to unwind at the end of the day.
Even if my public transport commute was longer I would still do it this way.
I'm in a similar position in terms of commute time by car, and having many reasons to use transit instead. I would add a reason 6: being able to leave on time every day guilt-free because you'd miss your ride if you let the last meeting of the day run over time.
I would encourage anyone looking at taking public transit to also look into vanpooling! I was dismayed when I learned it would take 1.5 hrs each way to for me to take a train/bus combination commute, with the possibility of up to 30 minute wait time if I missed my transfer. Plus, the train costs $7 each way and the tracks are often washed out during winter mudslides.
Instead, I found that the major bus companies in my county and our neighboring counties offer vanpools: they provide the van, the members all pay a monthly fee ($50-70 in my area) and a few of the members trade off driving. The van goes into the transit shop for regular maintenance, and all gas and expenses come out of the member dues. Plus, I've met a bunch of interesting folks who work near me. We even set up an unofficial pool to pay each driver a few bucks for their time spent driving. It's a nice little community.
I'm lucky enough that my large company has several buildings along the same road with many vanpools already set up. It was relatively easy to find one to join, and our employer will pay up to $60 a month, so I can essentially commute for free. But if you'd want to start one, your local transit company will probably have instructions on their website on how to get started. I'd never heard of vanpooling before, but for me, it's the cheapest and fastest option.