I just checked and found that I needed about 10 seconds to complete the task. 10 seconds, 4 times a day, 5 times a week, 40 times a year and you've lost 8,000 seconds = more than 2 hours. Eventually you'll notice that you're wasting time on this particular task and you end up either cursing yourself that you can't go faster, or start looking for a solution.
Here is my take on the problem.
On a side note, I spent way more than 2 hours to find that solution (and all the solutions that I write about here). Namely, I had to learn enough AppleScript, then I applied that knowledge to Finder and Terminal, then I found all the issues that made this a non trivial task, then I asked around (eternal thanks to the members of the AppleScript Users list hosted by Apple), then I tried a new implementation, then I was not satisfied with it, rewrote the whole thing and that's where I stand today. But the time spent on learning AppleScript and the workings of the various applications translates into knowledge (along with its own lot of frustration) that I can apply to other issues, while not spending that time only translates in frustration and a sense that you can't do much with computers...
use AppleScript version "2.4" -- Yosemite (10.10) or later
use scripting additions
tell application "Finder"
activate
try # if what is selected in Finder is a folder, then use that folder
if class of item 1 of (selection as list) is folder then
set myFolder to item 1 of (selection as alias list)
else # if nothing is selected or if the selection is not a folder, use the parent folder
set myFolder to insertion location as alias
end if
on error # if nothing works, default to using the Desktop
set myFolder to desktop as alias
end try
set myPath to quoted form of (POSIX path of myFolder)
set myCommand to "cd " & myPath
end tell
# I use a separate "handler" to launch the command.
# That handler can be saved in a script library so as to be able to call it from other scripts
my launchMyCommand(myCommand)
# A handler is useful because what matters is what it outputs, not how it works.
# So, if at one point in the future I decide that this way of launching a command in Terminal is not efficient anymore, I can change the way the handler works but I won't have to change the scripts that call it.
on launchMyCommand(myCommand)
# First I use GUI scripting to create a new Terminal window
tell application "Terminal" to activate
tell application "System Events" to tell application process "Terminal"
set frontmost to true
delay 0.1
keystroke "n" using {command down}
end tell
# Then I ask the newly created window to run the command
tell application "Terminal"'s front window
delay 0.1
do script myCommand in its last tab
activate
end tell
# And I eventually merge that window to the other so as to keep everything tidy
tell application "System Events" to tell application process "Terminal"
set frontmost to true
delay 0.1
keystroke "m" using {control down, command down}
end tell
return
end launchMyCommand