[lngarner]

You can only be independent if you are physically and mentally capable of driving a car, have the financial resources to do so. If you're sick or don't want to shell out hundreds of dollars per month for transportation, then you're not independent. And if your car breaks down, you're not independent. Affordable public transport and trains etc provide true freedom. For example, there's much more freedom to travel in Europe.

[josephcsible]

With driving, most people can be independent but some can't. With public transit, nobody can be independent. And what does being sick have to do with it?

[lngarner]

If you are handicapped you can't drive. If you have Alzheimers you shouldn't be driving. Any physical or mental reason -- i.e. sickness -- that makes it unsafe to drive removes your independence in the event you are solely dependent on cars to get from place to place.

[josephcsible]

Don't most people use the word "sick" to refer to things like the common cold, COVID, influenza, etc., not things like paralysis and Alzheimer's?

And if you can't drive, how do trains or buses make you any more independent than taxis and rideshares do?