Does public transportation carry a social stigma in your city?

[dragoncar]

In my city, only the poor ride the buses and the buses are not allowed to go to the nicer areas. You can't get to the nicer malls or any of the suburban neighborhoods.

Interesting... I am a big fan of public transportation in general, but I have to note that it is often a menace/eyesore.  The buses in SF have these airbrakes that release a shotgun sounding blast of air, often nearly deafening random pedestrians nearby.  I have a kind of PTSD from this, and when a bus approaches I instinctually turn away or cover my ears.  You can usually predict the noise because it happens when they take their foot off the brake.

The light rail system around here has very noisy rubber wheels.  I can see why people in nicer neighborhoods don't want these things around, in addition to the fact that I'm 100% more likely to see abandoned shopping carts at bus stops.  If the transit planners tried to reduce the annoyances from public transit, maybe it would gain better acceptance.

[Artemis67]

As other Seattleites have mentioned, riding the bus here generally carries little/no stigma (at least not among the younger people I know), and is seen as a sensible alternative to hellish in-city traffic (especially for downtown commuters). I do own a car ('95 Volvo 850 wagon--with a stick!), but it's reserved for once-a-week Costco/Home Depot/Petsmart runs to nearby suburbs. The rest of the time, I take the bus, and I can count the number of times I've had trouble with a fellow passenger on one hand, with fingers to spare.

That said, I do have friends who think it's bizarre that I take the bus when I could drive, and never use public transit themselves--and they're all Boomers. I swear, they are the most bus-averse mofos ever, even when they admit that owning a car and driving everywhere is costing them a fortune. I've got a 62-year-old friend who has been unemployed for four years now, but he's got to keep his Audi, and walking anywhere is out of the question, much less taking the bus.

Among the WWII-generation folks I know, there's a split between those who take the bus (even if they can still drive) and those who won't go anywhere if they can't drive. I've got an 84-year-old friend who won't go see art exhibits downtown with me because driving is too difficult and parking is too expensive--yet there's a direct bus route that stops two blocks from her house that would have her there in about the same amount of time it takes to drive and park. I honestly don't get it.   

[kendallf]

I didn't expect this query to generate this many responses.  I've enjoyed reading about everyone's different experiences (and attitudes).

I'll be on the bus again tomorrow.  One person at a time..

[choppingwood]

Yes, it has a stigma for adults. I  take the bus if my car is in for repairs. Last year, my ten year old Neon was dying, and it got rear-ended, so I took the bus quite often.

I live in a well-to-do commuter community during the week, and the commuter buses are full of university students, and then some blue-collar workers, and a couple of professional folks. When take the bus, people are always trying to figure out who I could get to drive me to and from work. I took the bus through my teens and twenties and I don't mind it. I prefer the independence over begging for rides.

It is a good bus system, and I would take it more often, but I get free parking at work, and it is actually quite a bit more expensive than driving, now that I have a reliable car again.

[Gerard]

I am a big fan of public transportation in general, but I have to note that it is often a menace/eyesore.  The buses in SF have these airbrakes that release a shotgun sounding blast [...]
The light rail system around here has very noisy rubber wheels.  I can see why people in nicer neighborhoods don't want these things around

I kinda feel this way about cars. They're loud and smelly... but people are so used to them that they tune it out.

I do agree that people would be happier with transit if it was better, cleaner and quieter and all that. But then the people who don't take it will bitch about how we're providing luxury for all the takers, from their tax dollars, bla bla. Sometimes you can't win!