UK train fare is most expensive in Europe.
Going anywhere by National Express coach is more expensive than using my car.
Only mega bus offers some very low fares but cost of travelling to megabus terminal negates the savings!
Trains are almost luxury (they are always crowded around London in peak hours).
Comparatively, plane fares are often cheaper!
Most other countries in the world offer cheap public transport. Why UK is an exception?
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Fallout from one of Mrs Thatcher's little mistakes, the over-zealous application of Chicago-school monetarist policies leading to the privatisations and the establishment of 'competitive internal markets' in, I ask you for heaven's sake, the health and education systems.
To put it more succinctly, civilised and rational countries subsidise their public transport. Only those brash hooligans the Americans and their sphere of tight influence, including a somewhat confused Britain, can't see or don't care that not subsidising it is actually more expensive for everyone as well as nastier. But if a few robber barons can rake in a bit of the old ill-gotten, that's all right then.
Damn carphounds. They knew perfectly well what they were doing too.
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Hang on a minute, if you plan ahead public transport is quite cheap, it's when you buy tickets on the day or want to travel at peak hours that it's expensive. Peak hours train from Warwick to London including underground transfer is £79, thats cheaper than business cost per mile in a car. It's £15 at weekends and if you buy three tickets instead of one for your peak hours journey its even cheaper. Full yes... because they are popular!
Plane fares are in no way cheaper if you book near to the time of travel, you may be able to pick up a low cost fare but it needs to be booked a long time in advance.
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Well I've been through France yesterday and today and have to say that I was relatively impressed with how effective public transport can be, I got the TGV (disappointly slow, I expected faster) from Dijon to Paris at 54 EUR, then got on the underground and travelled from central Paris to the Charles De Gaule airport for 1.60 EUR.
I did notice on the underground that the system is split into 5 or 6 zones, so I suspect I may have only paid for zone 1 but travelled throughout the system, however, seeing as I'd already hd a brush with the Gendamarie I figured that this was the least of my worries :-) The carriage that goes to the airport is non-stop as well which made the journey much quicker, although I still missed my flight back to the UK!
I can look back and laugh at it now though, also, when telling me colleagues about it they were very surprised that I would get on peasant wagons and asked me if I was pgoing to burn the cothes that I'd been wearing! Now that I think about it, if it had been the UK I probably would have done!
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>so I suspect I may have only paid for zone 1 but travelled throughout the system,
I think the exit barriers on the Metro refuse to open if your ticket does not cover that particular zone.
Last time I was in Paris I had to help a couple of embarrassed English tourists who'd made that mistake.
Kevin...
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Apologies to those who remember me posting this before.
My commute by train between Reading and Bath at peak hours works out at about 15p per mile, with tickets bought a couple of weeks in advance (it can be less). Average speed is over 70mph. I work on the train on my (company) laptop, so the journey time is effectively 0.
It's great! (and I count myself very lucky)
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Like Focus I've probably posted this before.
I live near Northampton and work in "Legal London" - round trip to office say 150 miles. On basis of being at work 220 days I'd do 33k miles a year. At 40 mpg (2.0 Hdi Xantia) driving would use 825 gallons @ £5.90 = £4867. Plus central London parking, congestion charge and wear/tear.
Annual season at £3708 is a bargain, even adding 10 miles in car to station and £650 a year parking. And nothing on offer, PT or car, beats the 12 minute bike ride from Euston to Chancery Lane.
Edited by Bromptonaut on 17/07/2008 at 00:01
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