When I had my flirtation with getting a pilot's license, weather proved to be far more significant than I imagined. Even a "safe" consumer plane like the Cessna 172 can only fly when the weather permits. Guess what? The weather does not permit on anything like a regular schedule. People commute in their cars through the traditional rain, sleet and snow. Wind is never a consideration. Wind is huge to something like a Cessna. Even on beautiful warm days, the updrafts from the heat can make flying bumpy beyond anything that's desirable. A small prop plane is utterly at the whims of mother nature. If you can be very, very flexible in your schedule or you just love to fly, it makes sense. If you need to be somewhere at a specific time, fly commercial or drive.