Hellobee Boards

I think in your situation, I would take public transit. I'm in a similar situation and have drive, but the difference for me is that the public transit I would be taking is the bus, which goes on the same highways I'm driving on, so traffic is going to be a factor either way. Public transit would be cheaper, but not necessarily faster or more convenient. For you, it sounds like it will be faster and more convenient, so I think the trade off of less flexibility is worth it. If there was a daycare emergency that absolutely couldn't wait for the next train you could take a taxi - it wouldn't be cheap but in that kind of huge emergency you probably wouldn't care. Most things (kid has a fever, etc) can wait a little bit. My job is, best case scenario, a 45 minute drive from daycare (assuming my kids get sick at 3am on a weekend ) and it's never been a problem.

In your situation, I'd take public transit. I'd probably drive kiddo to daycare, park at the station, and let the daycare know that I'm 40 minutes away in case of emergency (you won't be the only one who can't respond within 10 minutes if daycare calls). Maybe check in with friends/family/neighbors to see if there's someone you could call on who works or lives closer to daycare who could respond quickly if there was a true emergency.
I loved being able to ride public transit when I lived somewhere it was possible. You can actually do something on the train (I read so much). Now I feel like commuting by car sucks up two hours of every day that could be put to much better use.

I have only ever taken public transportation (or walked) to work, so I'd obviously choose that. Hehe. Our daycare gives us an hour lead time if they call and need us to pick up the kids, so I would check on that. But otherwise, the situation you describe is similar to ours (currently, I can walk 30 min to work, and DH has a 45 min commute on public transportation). It's worked out fine for years now. We are lucky that our daycare is extremely close to our home and that has helped in terms of dealing with drop-off/pick-up since technically either of us can do it even though usually it's me.

Your situation sounds much more appealing to me. My choice was between 40 minutes drive if I go alone, and 1 hour and a half with the car pool. But I still took the car pool. It allowed me to make friends and that extra time helped me sort out a few things for myself. The greatest feeling was that I was doing something for my environment and I consider it the best investment in my child's future. A healthy earth. So I would encourage you to take the more eco-friendly option for your overall benefit.