I live close (<2 miles) to work/downtown and could technically walk, except for about two blocks in the middle of the commute that I would not feel safe walking in the dark alone. (I am female, maybe a man wouldn't feel this way)

Sometimes I ride my bike, which feels safer, if for no other reason than those two blocks go by awfully fast and an assailant on foot could not easily catch up to me, but biking feels like a lot more work than walking. I have to gear up, and carry my bike down the stairs from my apartment, and bike three stories up the parking garage for our office once I get there (the building manager hates bicycles, and so you cannot take them up the stairs/elevator). I also feel like one of these days I'm going to be hit and killed in that garage. I feel that way even in my car (well, at least in my car I probably wouldn't die. On my bike? Maybe). The visibility around the corners is terrible and people seem to drive through that garage like maniacs.

Unfortunately, I have night owl tendencies and even if I didn't, I work for a startup and often need to work late nights, so I can't just arrange my schedule to know I can walk home before it's dark.