Ask HN: Does using public transportation make you more creative than driving?

I'd say more the opposite; when driving alone I have ideas that pop up and sometimes entertain, I can rehearse conversations or thoughts out loud, because of the privacy, and maybe the fact of having the other half of the brain focused on the road. I don't recall doing much of that in my mind when taking the subway or riding a bus, especially since I was already expecting the moment to combine stations or walk away. It did however, bring a different sense of freshness to start my workday, already with some physical activity. Fun drives or going on walks intentionally, not as part of the commute, hit different though.

I learned a lot from the friends I made on the South Shore for the decade I commuted to Chicago. I had a lot of time on the train to do the manual work aligning images for my various photography experiments including Synthetic Aperture/Virtual Focus[1] where I emulated a large virtual lens by taking multiple still photos from a small area and aligning in a virtual focal plane after the fact (during my commute, using Hugin, the panorama program)

Yes, having a set of free time every day in which you're not working, really helps creativity. Especially if you get to sit most days, for more than 20 minutes each way.

[1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/---mike---/albums/721777202979...

Many drivers do let their mind wander. This is especially true of motorway driving; it is easy to enter a state where the mind is only passively engaged in driving.

I do somewhat miss and romanticise my public transport commute in the pre-smartphone era. I had a lot of time to look out the window, read books, listen to music, and think. No internet connection.

Having to brace myself while the bus or train swerves and careens and feeling constantly annoyed and uncomfortable while standing, I don’t have any mental capacity for developing any creativity in public transit.

That’s not to say driving facilitates creativity either since it also requires constant attention. But even in a traffic jam, at least I’m sitting in comfort.

Granted, this is in the US, albeit the American city with arguably the best transit - NYC.

I can see myself having more mental clarity while riding some of the more comfortable transit systems in other countries.

I’m driving in the road jungle of Athens/Greece. There’s nothing that can sharp your mind, reflexes and creativity to escape death than this.

I don’t open devices more than necessary - on the bus I can’t it literally makes me feel sick to use my phone. I live in an area where it ends up a mix of straight but also windy roads.

On the train to be honest I find myself standing due to seat availability.

So I usually rest when taking public transport. I use it to close my eyes, look out the window or listen to music.

Not necessarily creative, but I tend to read a lot on my occasional train rides

Not sure either can top a nice shower.

Yes. Now that I'm driving more, I miss the mental downtime when riding a train