> take the bike on the bus

You make that sound so simple. There's no way I could bring a bike on the bus or train I use to get to work.

Buses in my community have bike racks on the outside, light-rail trains have racks inside the trains.

But if yours don't, another option would be a folding bike. Which apparently works even on crowded Japanese trains:

https://hokkaidowilds.org/traveling-with-a-tern-folding-bike...

That is a solved problem. The only reason you can’t bring your bike on the bus/train is because of a policy that prevents your local transit system from investing in the necessary equipment. Why are they enacting this policy I don’t know. But I think it has to do with the larger problem of city transportation policies that generally cater only to private car users at the expense of every other forms of transportation.

So perhaps you should be angry at your local policy makers from preventing you from being able to bike part of your commute.

The bike rack on the bus is helpful but they have limited capacity. A local bus route where I used to live would often pass up cyclists because the rack in front was already full.

> a policy that prevents your local transit system from investing in the necessary equipment

What policy? Please show me an example of such a thing.

Or just buy a $50 bike second hand and park it at the end of the bus route!

That's fine, but that's not the point the OP was making and doesn't do anything about the last mile problem on the other end.

I'm posing having two bikes (one a cheapo one) as a solution to not being able to take your bike on the bus/train - solving the the first AND last mile problem.

A cheapo bike is not likely to be something that you want to use (and rely on) for your daily commute, though.

Fair point. Though if the "last mile" commute from the bus stop/train station isn't too far, and in a relatively urban area, you can get an Uber trip in the worst case scenario of the bike breaking and taking the bike to a repair shop the next day.

It will likely still be more cost effective than driving all the time because you are unwilling/unable to take a bike on the bus/train.

Why not?

A fold up https://us.brompton.com/ is a very good bike.

They make an e-bike version if you’re not a strong cyclist and if you put it in a bag, then it’s just a bag shaped thing you are taking with you.

I'm familiar with those, and I have considered it. I could not fit that in the bus I would use (I can barely fit my backpack). The train is a dicey proposition; the car config I am on this morning barely has enough space for people plus a small-ish bag. I'd be taking up a second seat if I had a folding bike. Other consists have better luggage space, though even they are optimized for moving the maximum number of people possible.

Buy a Brompton.