Public transit being the faster option is extremely rare in the US. On top of the speed, there's the flexibility of knowing that you can leave at any moment and go directly to your destination without any transfers or unnecessary detours, whereas public transit often has limited hours and infrequent service.
Not only can you absolutely argue with a waiver (and I'm sure the families will), but that's only an agreement between the company and the customer, not the customer and the governmental agencies involved in the rescue.