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> I would think the quality/convenience/cost of the alternative would be by far the biggest factor

The alternatives almost never beat a car in quality, convenience, and cost (minus parking costs, which is the point). The exceptions are very specific cases, like inter-Manhattan travel at certain times of the day, for example, where $2.75 can get you most places faster than your own car and cheaper than a cab.

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I suppose what I meant is if the quality/convenience/cost of the alternatives are good enough, many people will choose not to use a car, e.g. to avoid the stress of peak-hour traffic or because they believe it's a more productive use of time (even if it technically takes longer door-to-door), or better for the environment or whatever. And there can be real $ savings if this choice means a household then only needs 1 vs 2 cars.

It's not just inter Manhattan travel, getting anywhere on an express line is surely faster than a car a lot of the time.

I can't read a book or completely zone out while driving my car either, there must be some value to being able to do that on a train.

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