> Subways and buses usually have schedules that don't always line up with when you happen to need it. Also, there is a mental tax in having to navigate it.

There's no need for any difference between navigating by car in Google Maps or navigating by public transport in Google Maps.

Meaning, in Netherlands Google Maps show the estimated arrival times of everything, transfers, etc. It'll take into account delays, cancellations, service announcements, etc. All easily within Google Maps (plus a few other apps; the information is publicly available).

Traveling by bike/car/foot/public transport is all the same complexity.

Am from Amsterdam, have lived in the States, will second this: the Netherlands has a great public transport system and 90% of the time the only consideration when choosing between driving/cycling (predictable/personal transport) and PT is the cost.

Sometimes there are routes that take significantly longer with PT, and in those scenarios it's just another argument for taking my bike.

There are a few scenarios in which I take taxis, but they're rare and usually when it's the only reasonable option (caused by time or availability of PT like at night).

I found Berlin even better. Very cheap, great service (and they speak German and English), great connections, easy app (Google Maps shows it all as well), tourist friendly tickets, and the best of all: no mandatory NFC card!!

It also depends on where you live in NL. Every 10 min a train to Ehv is neat, and I got a bus from Ams to my home city every few minutes whole day long, but the rural areas don't have such luxury. The joke for the trains goes, that "they don't drive on time, they drive on rails."

I agree. Also some public transport companies have their own application/web portal able to provide the same kind of service that Google Maps. But I disagree with "bike/car/foot/public transport is all the same complexity": public transport add a factor you can't control.

I would say there is one difference, which is that you may or may not have data access. I've been traveling internationally for over 10 years now, and never had cellular data when I would travel (thanks ATT), and most airports would have wifi, but different subways/trains etc don't. And I've been in a situation of relying only on GPS and hoping the app doesn't shut down while I'm walking somewhere far too many times.

Google has improved here with their offline maps, but even then, it's not 100%.

I'm not saying that PT is worthless or that we shouldn't improve it, but IMHO, Uber and the like fill a very critical "last mile" kind of problem that I think pairs nicely in cities with public transportation.