I wish public transportation existed where I live but unfortunately it does not. My SO does not wish to move and I will admit that right now would be a bad time to do so but I do intend to move away from this hole while I'm capable of backpacking. My previous "necessary car" cost $3000 (it was 1 year old) and we kept it 13 years. Other than a water pump at 160,000 miles it only ever received routine maintenance, like oil, brakes, etc. It also returned 40 MPG in town, 55 highway and we only drove it about 6000 miles per year. Public transportation and rental cars for vacations would have been less cost effective than owning our car. I rode my bike around town year round (even in snow) and put between 50 and 100 miles per week on it. It cost $2500 and maintenance costs were nearly non-existent. A less expensive bike would have been more economical but back in the early 1990's bikes were more expensive than they are today. I can get a bike with equal or better specifications and of the same quality for ~$800 today. Our tandem bike was a Burley, a fantastic high quality bike built by a wonderful worker owned co-op where all workers received the same wage. Unfortunately Burley is no longer run this way as of 2006. I refer to my car as "my necessary" car since I have a couple of unnecessary cars that are hobby vehicles. They are not used strictly for transportation and are not necessary except for my mental well-being.
John Thornton