How common are public transport issues in people with ASD?

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I was led to believe by a variety of autism specialists that I have met with, that problems using public transport is a common 'symptom' (for want of a better word) in people on the spectrum.

I have been told by a disability adviser that I am very mistaken in my belief (she used assumption but I did not assume, I was basing it on information provided to me)

I guess what I'm asking is, am I the only autistic on the planet who has problems using public transport?

If not how do these manifest in you?

For me I get very anxious, lose my ability to concentrate and can get snappy with people. I also tend to lose track/motivation for what I am to do and either end up doing something completely different or doing nothing at all.

According to the disability adviser at my place of study, I am the first person she has come across who has problems with independent travel.

Am I alone?

Buses are my obsession, but I get anxious when thinking about trains because they break down a lot (especially from and to London). And the stations get really busy.

You're not alone though. I know some NTs who hate relying on public transport due to different issues. And you're not alone with getting snappy with people - I get overwhelmed and snappy when the bus gets full or if people bring screaming kids on, or if there are loud foreign people talking, or if I've got to stand up - or if my favourite driver isn't driving it !

No, you are not alone. My problems with this is varying, to put it mildly. But at it's worst I have had to leave the subway on the next stop just to get away from all the people that was there. I still feel quite weird about it, and I don't know if I can explain understandably here. So right now I wont try.

I'm ok with taking the bus but we never had a car in my house so I've been taking the bus my whole life. I find it much easier to take the bus on my own now since I can look up the schedule online to know exactly which bus I need to take and when it is supposed to come.

I have to take 4 buses a day in total to get to and from college. It makes me very nervous, but not as nervous as if I had to drive myself. I've kind of built up a script of what to do in my head but little things like my favourite seat being taken throw off my train of thought a bit and I feel really uncomfortable if somebody sits next to me and their leg is touching mine or something. I don't have meltdowns but I've come pretty close a couple of times.

I have no problems using public transport as such, but I have my favourite spots on a bus which I need to sit in. My son has the same issues and he also has ASD. Maybe this is common in my family. Its the same with planes and trains. We're ok as long as we have a set seat and no one takes it. On the plus side with planes we get early boarding and can be asked to be seated at the back although this can cause more trouble. I guess traveling on my own is worse and I have to admit I do tend to drive most places as long as they are not in a city centre. I also have a problem that I can fall asleep easily on public transport if I use the route often and can miss where I need to get off. I am unable to read or play on my DS due to that causes me to get a headache due to motion sickness.

I have issues with public transit but they're far far more mild than issues with driving (which I truthfully feel medically unable to do), and walking isn't always an option.

My issues with public transit are all sensory.

I feel anxiety on the bus even when I am the only person on it. I think it has to do with the vibrations of the bus. Everytime I try to take a bus I get lost I have a tendency to day dream causing me to over shoot my stop. I avoid taking the bus like the plague.

thank you all.

Oddly I'm fine with driving as I have full control and can 'escape' at any time. That said, I would never go somewhere new in a car alone - I even take my dog with me instead of going on my own places.

I do freak out if I have to stand on public transport for a variety of reasons and I hate the tube when its busy with all the bodies squishing me.

Me too. Public transport used to make me incredibly anxious. The fact that there were unscheduled delays, lots of people and I had to sit where someone else had previously sat (I don't like germs) was very difficult for me. However driving isn't an option due to my anxiety and lack of spatial awareness. I had to learn to persevere through my dislike of public transport if I wanted to get anywhere without being driven by someone else and as an adult, that's necessary.

Me too. I also have problems with trains, tubes and planes. If I know the route of the public transport I feel less nervous, but if I don't I get panicky quickly. The vibrations of the public transport seem to mimic the shaky feeling I get inside when I'm scared, and it makes it worse. I'm worst on planes as I feel trapped and scared. But I love visiting other countries so I'm trying to get better at using planes and public transport.

I also feel a lot of anxiety in public transport. Also when I have to wait for a bus or a train. I have to take the train once a week to get to therapy and sometimes I am completely exhausted when I get there and cannot talk anymore and my whole body is stiff.
I also cannot drive a car.

I don't have it in planes, because planes have for years been a very strong special interest and I still feel it, when I have to flight. It comforts me.

I'm on vacation in London right now and have been relying solely on the public transportation system, and while I don't have problems with it it confuses me more than just about anything else.

I prefer driving to places. But there have been occasions where I had to take public transportation---such as my wife's business trips. We took Amtrak to Washington D.C. once, and it was a 12 hour ride. We were in the standard class seating---amongst everyone else. I was like UGHHHHHHHHHH!! !! Too many people around me---too much sensory overload. The next time we took the Amtrak was to Chicago, and my wife got a private sleeping room on the train. Much much better.

I initially had some problems with public transportation, and this was mostly based on the fact I dislike crowds. I didn't feel comfortable, especially during rush hours, to be surrounded by all these people, all the noise from them, etc. I felt like a piece of tuna in a tin.

But when I was using the tram or the metro to get to my job, I sort of got used to it, and it soon barely even bothered me anymore. Nowadays, I even quite enjoy using the train. I use it a lot now, because I travel around the country a bit more than I used to. I make trips to cities and everything. I think the train is very comfortable, and, perhaps because I don't use it daily like commuters, I barely notice any delays or unpredictable schedule or something like that. When I was using the metro to travel to work, it barely ever let me down either. So I'm quite pleased with the Dutch public transportation.

I should add, though, that whenever I visit another city, I tend to walk everywhere, preferring walking to taking the bus or the tram. Even if it's a lot slower, it gives me a bit more freedom to walk, and I get to look around me a bit more so I can take in the sights.

I think that I lose significant parts of my brain whenever I take the subway. The sensory overload and resulting loss of function cause me to get off at the wrong stop several times in a row and forget where I am going and what I am going to do there. Once I get there, I still have to recover from the overload and find a way to get my brain back.