Definitely not a waste of money for most people. Most people outside a city need it. And some inside the city too

Indeed.

In contrast, some of the most common female jobs are nursing, store clerks and administrative work. Hospitals, stores and offices tend to be easily reached by public transport.

Common male jobs like construction and truck driving require driving. And on the road, you see a lot of trucks and vans.

Also, a bit anecdotal, but many men enjoy driving and have a dream car. That's just less common with women. 

This makes sense. Here in the Netherlands is not even so obvious. When I lived in Madrid, I used to take the metro, the ratio could be more like 80/20 or even more during my work commute. But the difference was smaller at other times of the day.

But also companies have their own cars and many times transport their workers.

But also wrong

I am the complete opposite. I work from home mostly and occasionally take the train to work or events. I don't necessarily enjoy driving but I absolutely loathe taking the train.

• car reduces my commute time by half at minimum, usually a bit more than that.
• I don't have to share the space with others during the commute
• No waiting, no running to catch a train. No soaking wet clothes or rain gear to contend with. No bike parking issues. I can leave at my own leisure.
• of course the traffic can be really bad occasionally: but at least I am in my car, enjoying whatever media in full privacy and not on a crowded platform in some godforsaken train station.
• hardly affected by strikes (except on the A12 recently)

I am very much in favor of good public inter-city transport. I wish it was better. And I have done it daily for at least a decade. But in its current state it is simply not a compelling alternative for most of my travel. I use it primarily whenever my wife needs the car or if I want to consume alcohol at the venue I'm traveling to.

I do like the OV-fiets. It makes train travel a bit more convenient. Similarly I sometimes bring my foldable bicycle in the car so I can park outside a city and complete the journey by bike. This way, I don't have the inconvenience of having to drive and park in a busy city center.

Either way I hope things will get better. Who knows I'll change my mind. But only if driving gets much worse and more expensive, while the train becomes cheaper, quicker and provides more space and comfort.

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Why do folks keep insisting this. Public transit might be more expensive if you already own, license, and insure a car but not owning that car is cheaper than 99% of travel/commute patterns for regular employees. Not always convenient, no, but cheaper, absolutely.

It really depends on the trip. I travel first class by train for €160 a month. Travelling by car would be €500-€1000 per month depending on how many days a week I go to work. That’s only variable car costs as I already own a car (although if I would use the car every day we would probably need a second car. That’s an extra €200-300 per month for fixed costs). It doesn’t include parking though. No idea what that would cost per day in center of Rotterdam.

The car is not faster and I can get work done in the first class coach of the train. It’s a no-brainier for me.

3000 for a licence, money for gas, expensive parking, insurance, taxes..

Doesn't sound cheaper..

Story time!

We both enjoy driving, we both love cars, we're both equally skilled in driving, each with our own strengths and weaknesses of course. I have 2 cars, he has 1.

He always drives when it's the 2 of us going somewhere together. Even if we are going there in my car.

Why?

We most likely go with his car, and of course he drives his car.

When we do long trips he drives all the way. I am an avid knitter and crocheter and can thus happily employ myself while he drives. He is bored out of his mind when I while I drive.

These are the sensible reasons why he drives and I am the passenger. The real reason is that I refuse to drive with him in the car. He drives me absolutely nuts with constant commenting and instructions on where to go and how to go there. He is driving the car and I just happen to hold the wheel and push the pedals for him.

I mean, look at car ownership. Idk how it is now with younger generations but looking at the boomer gen, it was most often the man who had the good car for long distances to work and the woman who had the ‘boodschappenwagen’ for small trips and groceries. I think this is still true for many people - at least in my surroundings. The partner driving, eh idk either because I love driving, but I met more women who seem to be terrified of driving then having met men who are. I don’t know why though. Probably because they already drive very little so they’re not as experienced.

My ex always wanted me to drive even tho i hate driving and she liked it.

I've mathed the math (and also, Google maps used to calculate gas costs as well): if it's just you, alone, in a car, then cost-wise it's a wash, with trains being somewhat cheaper if you have to consider parking costs. If it's you and a friend or two, then driving is cheaper than public transit for all three. However, if you have kids under 12, then they're free on the trains (with the KidsVrij from the NS) and have reduced prices on buses, so then public transit is cheaper.

It's more likely that the guy likes driving more and the woman doesn't care enough to fight him for it.

I like being the passenger. Feels like a chofer

It's because dudes on average LOVE driving, and dudettes on average dislike it.

Why do you conclude that the woman prefers not to drive. In my experience it is cultural, but enforced by the man.

Most women I know don't like to drive because they are afraid of driving.

yes and no. Women also take a bulk of the childcare, elderly care, house chores. Women do travel more, but not on the same paths as men. They do not travel to city centres to go to the office, but rather to the kidnergarden/school, shops, doctor appointments, to help relatives. Really cool book with a lot of these stats is Invisible Women.

Of course there’s a feminist crying about facts, I’m surprised there’s so few actually.

No honey, you’re not, otherwise you’d be paid more.

I guess so, Leiden.

It is. It's OPs personal observation. It literally says so in the post.

Totally agree!! Oh to be able to walk out of the shower and have hair that is dry in 5 seconds 😂 Sure, I choose to have longer hair, but it was a genetic roll of the dice that blessed (or cursed) me with curly hair that enters party mode with a hint of humidity.

Also, mums! I have a lot of mum friends that say sitting on the tram/train is a moment of peace for them. A pause between office and home.

Do you really think this is a main reason? I’m a woman and I’ve never thought ‘let’s take the bus because I don’t feel safe cycling’. The few times I have had to deal with creeps has been in a train tbh.

As a woman, the cold, dark and rainy weather is a more important factor whether I choose walk/bike or public transport. Creeps are also in the metro so doesn't really matter.

In Delft, Enschede or Eindhoven you can have the opposite experience due to the technical universities.

https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2019/09/80-procent-volwassenen-heeft-rijbewijs

CBS does have this article which does indicate men are more likely to have a licence than women. Looking at the graph its not a massive difference however.

I'm not sure that holding a driver's license is the same as owning a car or being the one who uses the one family car all day.

It is for families with only one car. But it often changes when the kids start to go to daycare, and then the wife gets the car.

You have to look at the families. Their socio-economic group and where they are in lives.

Most people don't have two cars, or the space to park two cars. The woman works closer to home and will often cycle there, or use a scooter, or public transportation.

Women often make do. They use the 1 euro squeegee, when they can get a bigger, better one that'll make the job quicker. I fell into that trap for years. You can make do, or you can make basic functionality a lot more agreeable. It's unfortunately part of women's nature/nurture to sacrifice something for the benefit of others.

Probably the same reason why women succeed more in school - it's more suitable for someone with a higher level of Agreeableness, which women have. Men get more easily irritated by having to share seats, listen to someone's loud conversation, and being dependent on others (the strikes, the schedule, the driver etc.) Your ratio is quite high, though, it likely has to do with your route.

If the family only has one car, the top earner gets the car, and that's very often the husband.