Random commentary: - I think your owning a car regardless of how much travel by train you do justifies not working the costs of vehicle registration and insurance into your calculations. But the real incremental cost of driving a car has to have maintenance figured in, because each mile the car is driven will increase/hasten maintenance needs. FWIW, the IRS’s per-mile rate for 2010 is 50 cents (down from 55 in 2009)…but it factors in depreciation and insurance (but a national assumed maintenance average will surely be lower than the maintenance costs for your car). - It’s interesting that you don’t discuss the amount of time it takes for the train to get from SF to MV. The main thing that bothers me about Caltrain isn’t the fare, but how slow it is, unless it’s a Baby Bullet or a Limited. But…maybe you guys have taken Baby Bullets and consider the actual traveling time to be equivalent? - For what it’s worth, if you got used to taking the train, you would be able to comfortably whittle the waiting time (for the train) well below 10 minutes…more like 2 or 3 minutes. And, if you rode a bike to/from the station, you could drop that travel time to about 10 minutes…so the 39 minutes of train buffer time could be come less than 15.

For you, I feel fairly certain that the cost equation makes the train a huge bargain if you’re traveling alone and, if you’re traveling with Pam, makes it a pretty good bargain or, at least, cost-effective (figuring in wear-and-tear but not registration/insurance). If you factor in your ability to be productive while riding the train, it could be a money-maker.

To me, the main obstacles from taking the train have to do with how far my final destination is from a Caltrain station, whether or not my schedule conforms to the Caltrain schedule, whether or not I can take a Baby Bullet or Limited, and whether or not I need to go to other places that are not easily train/walk/bike-able.

But, if I were you and facing the choice of driving or riding the train during rush hour, to a place a 5-minute walk from a station, I would definitely choose train over drive. And I’d consider doing this trip with Pam as constituting a net positive rather than an increase to the cost. A few bucks is a few bucks but quality time is incalculably precious.

Finally: it is ludicrous that I have put this much thought into your commute.