Comfort level includes transportation reliability:

Anecdote: I rode the BART/MUNI every day in San Francisco to work for over 10 years. When I moved to the suburbs, I would drive to the BART and then take BART in, rather than take the bus to BART. What I noticed was whenever I had a bus transfer, the wait time and frustration would increase substantially. Buses were less reliable and trying to catch a connection was stressful. Driving enabled me to avoid those frustrating transfers by going to the most direct route on my own accord.

> walking, biking, train, subway, bus, car

You grade subway as less depressing than bus and car? In which one of these transportation means are you stuck in a dark tunnel?

I live in a city with good public transport systems (Prague) and subway (metro) is pretty enjoyable except for maybe very late evening hours. Buses brake super hard and are crowded (which subways often are too but there it is more bearable than in a bus because Prague subway lines are relatively spacious and the trains are quite large as well unlike for example in London). Car you don't need to share, but you're definitely sharing the traffic jam as you are in a bus. Prague subway is not perfect, but it is definitely workable and at least for me would be more enjoyable than driving to work (if I didn't work from my home office).

... but using transportation which requires little to no mental exertion or fear of getting into a violent car wreck.

For many, the fear of being harmed by someone on public transportation has a much greater effect on the mind than the risk of getting in a car accident, even if the latter is more likely.

Probably just a person to person thing, but I used to commute on the tube, and I loved tunnels. Way more than riding bus through some parts of London.

You don’t have to drive the subway.

I would take a subway over a bus any day. Shoot I would even take a car over a bus. In general I think a subway is more convenient than a bus. They don't have the same traffic problems a bus does. They tend to run more often. Buses are slow, don't run very often. And generally transfers take up too much time

Yeah, the comfort levels affect this hugely.

I'd rather do a 45 minute commute via a clean air conditioned train with few and well behaved passengers than a 30 minute one on a crowded dirty bus.

A thirty minute stroll from home to the office could be considered a net benefit, in all honesty.

When I had the option of a 25 minute drive or a 35 minute bicycle ride I took the bicycle all the time. Exercise, sunlight, and the joy of passing stuck motorists in the bicycle lane.

Sightseeing feels also different, in a better way, when cycling or walking than when using a car.

I have 15-20 comfortable train ride followed by a 15 minute stroll. It's pretty relaxing... If I'm in a hurry I can use a bike share to bike from the train station to the office but that's less relaxing since you have to watch out for cars...

In a Mediterranean climate, yes.

Fair point.

and a crowded dirty bus, for me at least, is wildly more preferable than driving unless the drive is some beautiful leisurely rural setting

> train with few and well behaved passengers

Few? If you are commuting you will be doing so in the same drove as all the others that are trying to reach the office space within the same window of a select few hours. And, probably the same when you return. Few is not an option.

As to well behaved, well... we all live in more or less mixed cultural groups these days thanks to i18n, expats, immigration, and travel and stuff... "one man's meat is another mans poison..." ... don't even get me started on the joys of smartphones - other peoples' smartphones...

Added:

With trains there is also the specific issue that your nominated 30 minute one-way commute will at random intervals be of much longer duration, possibly hours (most of these spent idle, waiting for something out of your control). And, the fact that you will not know this in advance. I have no knowledge of any train system anywhere in the world where this does not hold, but I would love to be enlightened.