In the US and my city unfortunately public transit takes some time. My local transit system has had a hard time keeping up with maintenance of their E-hybrid busses and has busses out of service more often than not. This causes many trips to be overwhelmed with double the amount of people they would usually take.
In addition to lack luster infrastructure, you can experience safety concerns with some members of the public. I was personally followed all the way to my old job once and had to tell my manager “A crazy man followed me here, if he comes in the store call the police because I will remove him”
Despite these downfalls public transit becomes much more useful when combined with a bicycle. I can take the bus to the shops and ride back because most of the return trip is downhill.
When I owned a car I would often choose the bus with bike over my own car because then I wouldn’t have to worry about parking.
In my city, it’s not out of the ordinary to look upwards of 40 minutes for a spot. I used to have to park 20 minutes away in the hills then skate back. Otherwise I’d be doing laps around my neighborhood trying to find ANY legal parking.
I can definitely understand why some members of the public prefer cars over public transit just for safety.
I’m not a little guy by any means, I’m 190 pounds of muscle and have some facial scarring. I’ve been described as “scary” and “You look like the devil” but I have had a number of run ins that made me fear for my safety.
If I was a 4"5 mom I would almost exclusively drive.
I would focus on lower weight and cardio. Get the blood pumping, maybe hit an exercise bike for a bit and see how you feel. If you still have gas in the tank and your soreness alleviates then hit some light weights.