Rational comparison or desirability of environments would take into account the likelihood of an hour on a decent bus allowing you to get more done (or more sleep) than 45 minutes of focusing attention on the car in front of you...
Hmm, then I've never been on a "decent" bus (used buses in LA and a little in Boston). They never seemed like good environments for work. In LA particularly, even if it weren't for all the idiots playing music on their earphones that's clearly audible from over a yard away, there's these stupid TV programs running. And for most of the trips I needed them for (before I could drive), they took 3 times as long as driving. We make decisions based on the actual options, not what "decent" options would be. Driving is definitely a better deal.
I was speaking more about longer distances than just 45 minutes. The initial proposal seems to be more about longer distance traveling over daily commutes. My experience with bus trips is them being 30% to 60% longer travel times for more money than it would cost in gas if driving a car.
