Public transport cost vs petrol
Discussion
I have to see my Dad in Ipswich hospital today, a round trip of 200 miles from here in SW London. In my gas guzzling V8 it will cost me £46 in fuel so I thought I'd let the train take the strain but a cheap off peak return is £48 and then I have to get from the station to the hospital and back plus I'm bound to spend money on crisps, coffee etc at outlandish prices.
If you are running a more modern car that does 40mpg it's a no brainer which is cheaper and even more so if one or more people are traveling with you.
So how do the ones in power expect people to give up their cars when the cost of taking the train is soo expensive.
I once had to get from Edinburgh to London on a Sunday at the last minute, the cheapest fare was £250, 2nd class. It was cheaper to get a taxi to the airport and fly home. I did it for about £100 all in.
So my choices in order of cheapest first is:
Street Triple 40mpg on a run
E36 BMW 2.5L 28mpg on a run
Grand Marquis 4.6L 26mpg on a run
Train then bus/taxi
All mechanical methods should take 2.5 hours door to door.
If you are running a more modern car that does 40mpg it's a no brainer which is cheaper and even more so if one or more people are traveling with you.
So how do the ones in power expect people to give up their cars when the cost of taking the train is soo expensive.
I once had to get from Edinburgh to London on a Sunday at the last minute, the cheapest fare was £250, 2nd class. It was cheaper to get a taxi to the airport and fly home. I did it for about £100 all in.
So my choices in order of cheapest first is:
Street Triple 40mpg on a run
E36 BMW 2.5L 28mpg on a run
Grand Marquis 4.6L 26mpg on a run
Train then bus/taxi
All mechanical methods should take 2.5 hours door to door.
The train isn't just cheaper, don't forget, it's generally a more pleasant way to travel. I drive a long way to work each day (about 20 miles each way) on a large A road and then town streets. All are choked with traffic and it's generally a dull experience. I could also take the train, and have done in the past, which is much better. I don't have to drive it, and it doesn't get caught in traffic. By and large I know I'll get home on time and can sit around, read, talk to people and whatever.
I much prefer the train, but ironically the journey is quicker overall by car and significantly cheaper. Otherwise I'd have to drive to the nearest station (2-3 miles away), pay for parking then fork out extra for the train tickets.
I much prefer the train, but ironically the journey is quicker overall by car and significantly cheaper. Otherwise I'd have to drive to the nearest station (2-3 miles away), pay for parking then fork out extra for the train tickets.
croyde said:
I have to see my Dad in Ipswich hospital today, a round trip of 200 miles from here in SW London. In my gas guzzling V8 it will cost me £46 in fuel so I thought I'd let the train take the strain but a cheap off peak return is £48 and then I have to get from the station to the hospital and back plus I'm bound to spend money on crisps, coffee etc at outlandish prices.
Liverpool Street to Ipswich on the day is £37.90, open return. There you go, saved you 20% already 
And if you'd been able to plan a bit in advance (say, a week), it's £9 each way (1st class is £13 each way).
Are you comparing fuel cost or total cost? You show the fuel cost of one vice the total cost of the other.
Are you factoring in having a driver? Really, a taxi would be a closer comparison.
Lots of arguments could be made either way but when it comes down to it, it's nice to have a choice and do whatever suits you come the time.
Are you factoring in having a driver? Really, a taxi would be a closer comparison.
Lots of arguments could be made either way but when it comes down to it, it's nice to have a choice and do whatever suits you come the time.
If you book in advance it can often be cheaper, as with flights and hotels. But yesterday I needed to go from southampton to reading to collect my car and drive back to southampton. Cost £18.70 on the train and maybe a max of £3-5 in the car. Not to mention I just plain don't like trains.
Yes, a taxi fare would be a more like-for-like comparison. That counts in the cost of the labour of the driver, and some depreciation and wear and tear on the vehicle.
However, the fact remains that rail is fundamentally a high cost industry. It is not so much the trains themselves as the cost of maintaining the infrastructure: the rails themselves, the track bed, the signalling fabric and the electrification. All of which involves costly materials and a great deal of expensive labour.
And while the UK continues to subsidise rail fares from the tax take, over the system as a whole it does so far less than other European countries.
So depending on the route you might find that a taxi with four people sharing is cheaper than the train fares.
The vast increase in demand is what's enabled the government to increase the proportion of the cost paid by passengers through higher fares, compared to that paid by non-passsengers through their taxes.
However, the fact remains that rail is fundamentally a high cost industry. It is not so much the trains themselves as the cost of maintaining the infrastructure: the rails themselves, the track bed, the signalling fabric and the electrification. All of which involves costly materials and a great deal of expensive labour.
And while the UK continues to subsidise rail fares from the tax take, over the system as a whole it does so far less than other European countries.
So depending on the route you might find that a taxi with four people sharing is cheaper than the train fares.
croyde said:
So how do the ones in power expect people to give up their cars when the cost of taking the train is soo expensive.
This is a straw man. They don't want or expect you to make all your journeys by train. Rail passengers journeys have doubled in the UK since 1995 and much of the system is pretty much at full capacity. So that job is already done.The vast increase in demand is what's enabled the government to increase the proportion of the cost paid by passengers through higher fares, compared to that paid by non-passsengers through their taxes.
Edited by Lowtimer on Saturday 27th September 10:26
bigandclever said:
Liverpool Street to Ipswich on the day is £37.90, open return. There you go, saved you 20% already
And if you'd been able to plan a bit in advance (say, a week), it's £9 each way (1st class is £13 each way).
Ahh! but I have to get to Liverpool Street and then Ipswich to the hospital. Add in that using the trains at the weekend it is usually very busy with football louts, pi55heads and squabbling children.And if you'd been able to plan a bit in advance (say, a week), it's £9 each way (1st class is £13 each way).
I do use the train quite often and keep thinking of a quiet carriage and me with a few books and a fine wine but the reality is a lot different most of the time.
Company I did a job for got me a ticket to Glasgow from London on a Friday lunchtime. My reserved seat had no window, just a bulkhead to stare at and the train was rammed. There were even people standing for the first 200 miles.
Mind you, I'm still sitting here deciding what to do and I have some books to read
Train costs are far too high in my opinion, unless you can plan a long time in advance that you require to make that journey.
Journey times are often longer and that's ignoring the time to even get to the train station and then get on to the final destination.
It just doesn't come close to tempting me out the car in the vast majority of circumstances.
Journey times are often longer and that's ignoring the time to even get to the train station and then get on to the final destination.
It just doesn't come close to tempting me out the car in the vast majority of circumstances.
Presumably you are also factoring into your equation the following
1) The cost of initial driving lessons, without which you can't drive obviously.
2) The purchase cost of your car
3) Tax implications if a company car
4) Annual depreciation if not
5) Annual outlay on insurance, VED, servicing etc if your own car
No-one asks you to buy a bus and insure it before you get on it.
1) The cost of initial driving lessons, without which you can't drive obviously.
2) The purchase cost of your car
3) Tax implications if a company car
4) Annual depreciation if not
5) Annual outlay on insurance, VED, servicing etc if your own car
No-one asks you to buy a bus and insure it before you get on it.
If you get to Ipswich Station, walk outside the station, youll see a bridge, turn down the road to the left and on the right is a bus stop.
From there you can get a "800" Park and Ride service direct from the station to the hospital. Costs £2.50 cash I think return.
Failing that you can get on a 12/13/15 service to Tower Ramparts then a bus from there to the hospital.
Parking at the hospital is a joke (or was the last time I went). Its bad in the town centre too (hence why I use park and ride).
Hope this helps!
From there you can get a "800" Park and Ride service direct from the station to the hospital. Costs £2.50 cash I think return.
Failing that you can get on a 12/13/15 service to Tower Ramparts then a bus from there to the hospital.
Parking at the hospital is a joke (or was the last time I went). Its bad in the town centre too (hence why I use park and ride).
Hope this helps!
Buses (busses?) round my way are a similar jip, £5 to travel about 7 miles. Of course my car cost well into four figures to purchase, then insurance and tax on top. If I were to use public transport exclusively and have no cars I'd be saving quite a lot of money. I'd also be walking lots, so f
k that.
k that.My better half is on a hen do this weekend and has taken our daily driver, and since my car is in the garage in bits, I had to get the bus home last night after work. It cost £2.70 for a one way, or would have cost £4.50 for a day rider.
It made me think and calculate about how much our daily driver costs to run per mile. Turns out £0.37 pence per mile! So the same journey home would have cost £1.65 in the car.
I was quite amazed how cheap the car is to run, I used to think of it as being more expensive than public transport, but worth the cost for the flexibility and lack of chavs.
It made me think and calculate about how much our daily driver costs to run per mile. Turns out £0.37 pence per mile! So the same journey home would have cost £1.65 in the car.
I was quite amazed how cheap the car is to run, I used to think of it as being more expensive than public transport, but worth the cost for the flexibility and lack of chavs.
Joey Ramone said:
Presumably you are also factoring into your equation the following
1) The cost of initial driving lessons, without which you can't drive obviously.
2) The purchase cost of your car
3) Tax implications if a company car
4) Annual depreciation if not
5) Annual outlay on insurance, VED, servicing etc if your own car
No-one asks you to buy a bus and insure it before you get on it.
I think we're assuming you already have a car and have the option of taking public transport for a particular journey.1) The cost of initial driving lessons, without which you can't drive obviously.
2) The purchase cost of your car
3) Tax implications if a company car
4) Annual depreciation if not
5) Annual outlay on insurance, VED, servicing etc if your own car
No-one asks you to buy a bus and insure it before you get on it.
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