I’ve had that debate with an urbanist friend before who doesn’t drive. We were talking about transit and I mentioned you could just do a lot more more quickly by car in the less dense suburbs and exurbs. That stumped her and it was clear the reason was because lack of driving experience.

I said something like, “That’s because in non-dense suburbs I can drive 15 miles in any direction in 15 minutes. I can get to many more places a lot more quickly than in a city even with the best transit and then have room to bring it back to my place. Try that on a bus or a train, especially if you’re older or not that strong.”

Also, commuting by car outside of dense urban areas is more pleasant. I used to work at a place in rural Washington state. I loved driving there every day and back (except when it was snowy). The route went through gorgeous mountains with a great view. I looked forward to my 15-20 minute drive each day.

And yes, I do have experience with mass transit. I’ve taken it extensively in NYC and London when I’ve been in those places. It takes me 30+ minutes to get somewhere in NYC by transit I could reach in five minutes in the suburbs. Non-driver transit-focused urbanists don’t want to believe it, but it is true.