Car ownership today, as then, is actually a pretty big financial hurdle for the poor. Cars are probably the most expensive way of getting to work. Let's count h

Car ownership today, as then, is actually a pretty big financial hurdle for the poor. Cars are probably the most expensive way of getting to work. Let's count how they are expensive: 1) Large initial capital outlay; back in 1950 this might be $1500 but your earnings might be $3300 a year. You'd either need to get a loan, save up a significant portion of your salary, or get a used car (which were less plentiful as car ownership was much lower and earlier cars were less reliable) 2) You need to pay for ongoing maintenance. Oil changes, tires, etc. all add up. In the 50s the cars were more mechanically simple, so probably the labor costs were much lower (you'd probably do at least a portion of it) but there was more work to be done. Oil changes were more frequent, things like points had to be adjusted, etc. 3) Gas is not free. In the 50s this was in the $2.00 per gallon range in 2016 dollars. Cheap, but again not free 4) Parking costs money, then and now Compare that to the previous costs: 1) Buy bus / train / subway / streetcar ticket 2) Shoes It's much easier to afford a single trip as there is no capital outlay involved. You're thinking like a well off software engineer. Think like a poor person. Several of my family members have trouble getting to work because of unreliable and expensive car based transportation. They work just above minimum wage. Their town has no real public transit to speak of, except in one or two unreliable bus lines, so getting to work is an actual hurdle.