Commuting by car is a waste of time (literally)

[oyster]

Usually take the train to work which involves a little bit of walking to the station - door to door journey is 1hr 25mins and costs £9.50 a day.

Have done 6 consecutive days by car of late and the journey is always over 2 hours and at 65 miles return is costing 50% more than the train.

On days when I visit clients it's even worse.

[hugoagogo]

that's nice

for me it takes 10-15 minutes in the car, vs about half an hour on a train and a bus with a mile walk at each end for €4.10

[chorlton]

Well done,

Takes me 2.5 hours by bus-train-bus-walk combo, cost unimaginable.. by car 45 mins and £10

[SystemParanoia]

cant do it on the bus. time-wise it would mean i never actually get to sleep in my own bed.

[LHDisbest]

Ah yes, but can you fart/pick your nose/smoke/sing along to The Human League on the train without getting funny looks?

[Scott328i]

11 minutes on country roads

Train would be .. 10 minute walk to bus stop

20 minute bus journey to station

10 minute train journey + 5/10 minute waiting time

10 minute walk the other end

Cost for travel - £6.80 - 1 hour

Car Travel - £3.33 return and 11 minutes

[Mark H 1984]

It takes me about 6 minutes to walk from the flat to the office door in town.

[Neil_H]

Depends where you're going.

My commute, door to desk is almost exactly 1 hour, bit of walking, train ride, tube ride - very easy.

If I were to drive it would be around 2 hours I suspect, with congestion charge to pay. No contest, but not everyone works in central London.

[oyster]

LHDisbest said:

Ah yes, but can you fart/pick your nose/smoke/sing along to The Human League on the train without getting funny looks?

No that is true. A good PH'ers reply.
I should add that of the 2hr+ drive, the last 5 mins includes a couple of twisty lanes which helps make up for the snail's pace stuff in South London before it.

[Carpie]

You might get a more positive response from SteamHeads.com

Commuting by anything other than car is an impossibility for me. Costs me roughly £5/day.

If I feel like going into the shops for something on the way back, it's easy, but I can't on the train. Plus I'd have to put up with all the plebs, smoke, noise, longer journey, people's music, and being stabbed.

[largerandrock]

I dont like public transport! so i dont care!

Are you Gordon Brown?

[oyster]

largerandrock said:

I dont like public transport! so i dont care!

Are you Gordon Brown?

Sorry you didn't read my post! I am not advocating train travel, just stating a fact that car travel isn't always quicker/cheaper and that PH'ers like myself have a dilemma.

[turbobloke]

Using a car rather than public transport is better for your health and well-being. A publicly funded research project that set out to prove the opposite, proved it.

[RacerMDR]

4 hours by train (and 20 minute walk) for me at a cost of 35 quid

3 hours by car - under 20 quid based on 14ppm which i think is what i worked out my entire commuting car to cost me.......(buying it, fuel, tax blah)



and this is going into London (outside congestion zone though)

and for the privelidge of saving 15 quid per day - i get to listen to Chris Moyles and not be anywhere near any stinky low lifes - oh and i stay warm and dry.

it'll never catch on!

[tinman0]

oyster said:

Usually take the train to work which involves a little bit of walking to the station - door to door journey is 1hr 25mins and costs £9.50 a day.

Have done 6 consecutive days by car of late and the journey is always over 2 hours and at 65 miles return is costing 50% more than the train.

On days when I visit clients it's even worse.

Depends where you live.

Add one bus ride to the above, and the car suddenly becomes equal. Add another bus, or a change on the train and car starts winning.

Public transport is great if it goes door to door. But s**t otherwise.

[sleep envy]

Car - 25 mins, £3 of diesel

Walk, tube, train, bus, walk - two hours 15 minutes, £18 in fares

no thanks

[OJ]

Current Commute from Cambs to Norfolk, accepting that I will always have the car which is reliable therefore insurance & parking is an overhead and extra maintenance from is minimal

1hr 5 min by Car, £240 a month commuting fuel
1hr 45 min by Train + Cycling, £285 a month season ticket

Old Commute Surrey to Central London

1hr 30 minutes by Car, £200 a month fuel, £100 a month CC (back in the days of £5 CC), £100 a month Parking, total £400 a month

1 hr 15 mins by Train + 15 minute drive, £250 a month season ticket, £80 a month Parking at Station (wasn't cyclable), total £330 a month... Plus an extra £100 a month to cover increase in soap consumption and being mugged every few months, so it was still cheaper to drive... probably

Edited by OJ on Monday 20th October 16:26

Edited by OJ on Monday 20th October 16:27

[Plotloss]

Going to see a client on Friday, on the train it would take 8 hours on 4 different trains each way.

I dare not consider the cost.

Plane would be expensive (£135-£180) and mean driving to Gatwick and parking.

Car will take a bit over 4 hours each way and cost about £70 return.

[Hyperion]

RacerMDR said:

4 hours by train (and 20 minute walk) for me at a cost of 35 quid

3 hours by car - under 20 quid based on 14ppm which i think is what i worked out my entire commuting car to cost me.......(buying it, fuel, tax blah)

I assume that's 1.5 hours each way right?
You must have a good job to want to commute for 3 hours every day!

I commute by motorbike - beats everything hands down. 45 minutes by bike, 1 hour+ by car. Public transport not an option.

[anonymous-user]

Train, 15 min. cycle to train station, 2 trains, 15 min. walk the other end.
1 hour 20 minutes (£8) (assuming the trains turn up/on time/unlikely)

Car 15 minutes, about £2 return at 50mpg

No contest!