I actually hear you there. STL has quite possibly the shittiest bus system outside of Norway (Note: I do not know if Norway's bus system is shitty or not, it just... it seems like it would be in my mind; but then I'm vaguely insane so don't take my word for it. I am sorry about this Norway.)
I live in the downtown area and work way out in the sticks (mostly because the sticks are strangely more expensive to live in AND I can't fuck*ng stand the sticks.) Most of the buses come INTO the city and thus if I were to do such as a bus system it would take me so long to get to work that it would be quite ridiculous; and verse vica in the evening.
As a result I just try and drive a 4-cyl as little as intrusively as possible. At least the highways are clear going my way each day I guess.
Most cities in these United States have rather craptastic systems of public transportation, due to exceedingly poor urban planning. For instance, there is a shopping centre (Target + Barnes & Noble = I'M SO THERE) basically at the end of my street at home, but in order to get there, I have to cut through two office building parking lots, a meadow/tiny wooded area, and a very high (12-ish feet, I'd say) plastic fence, -- the gate through which is often closed, requiring me to muster all my strength to heave it open -- not to mention two or three residential streets with no sidewalks but with quite a bit of car traffic. This is pretty much unacceptable, in my opinion, but it's the way of (this part of) the world.
P.S. -- I win the prize for the longest, most rambling sentence
ever.