I know that I could not accomplish half of what I do, without aerobic exercise, which I have been doing for the last 14 years. Since I have cut all automobile-related activities out of my life, I consequently have much more free time. In fact, I have read so many books in the last 8 years, that sometimes I can't think of anything else to read. These books have greatly helped me in my profession and in my leisure activities, including, most recently, stopping freeway expansion in the Bay Area. An honest economic analysis will easily demonstrate that owning a car and driving is much more expensive than using public transit.
Life is too short to waste it behind the wheel of a car .
Riding public transit, and not owning a car, gives one a large amount of free time that can be spent reading and learning. For example, Caltrans is working at a feverish pace to push through the widening of most of the freeways in the Bay Area.