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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect to be able to afford to get to work

84 replies

hissymissy · 08/03/2011 22:39

The local news depressed me tonight. Fuel prices are set to go up, possibly as much as £2 a litre. How are we expected to get to work? Public transport here is a joke, there are very few jobs around where I live, and even if I could afford the cost of removals, there are no affordable rents in the town where I work.

I do car share, but that could change as one of the people I share with is leaving next year and the other is regularly off work sick.

I think I will lose it if the government puts up fuel duty yet again. The current rise in the cost of living is totally unsustainable.

OP posts:

DuplicitousBitch · 09/03/2011 13:57

long commutes suck - lots of sympathy from me.

but anyone moaning about the difficult of getting a bus for a 2 mile commutes is taking the piss.

TheReturnoftheSmartArse · 09/03/2011 14:01

Vinegar, I did say it wouldn't work for everyone! But I'm sure more people could cycle if they tried.

Poor you having such a long commute - that's a killer.

RitaLynn · 09/03/2011 14:09

Ultimately it's a balance - on one hand, we're all far too reliant on petrol and car, and on the other hand, jobs are hard to come by, and with often two working people in a family, and people being relocated, some people do have to

However, when I look around my town (probably no more than 4 miles from one end to the other, so easily cyclable with good publci transport, and assuming these people don't all live out in the sticks), petrol can't be overly expensive

VinegarTits · 09/03/2011 14:10

TheReturnoftheSmartArse i wasnt getting at you more the people who think its such an easy choice to move home or find a job closer to home

VinegarTits · 09/03/2011 14:13

i get the train btw, but they are closing down the viaduct that my train goes over for repair work for 4 months so i will have to drive and it will cost me a fortune, i dont know how i am going to manage

TheCowardlyLion · 09/03/2011 14:21

Whoever was talking about having to drive/get bus for a two mile commute is joking surely?

I live 15 miles from work and am getting increasingly worried about fuel costs. If I didn't have to factor in getting DS to and from school in that commute, I would definitely start walking the 2.5 k to the station and getting the train - but is that really going to work out any cheaper in the long run?

TheReturnoftheSmartArse · 09/03/2011 14:29

I know, I know ... but I thought I should just make it clear I wasn't judging everyone, just gently suggesting those with a small distance to travel give it a go!

You poor, poor thing. I suppose if there was anything you could do from home, work hours-wise, you'd be doing it.

And yes, for lots of people you have to factor in the school run/childcare to the time taken to get to and from work.

I am extremely lucky that I can manage my commute by bike, I realise that. Although there are some days when it seems really HARD!

sunshineandbooks · 09/03/2011 14:55

If you shouldn't live in the country unless you can afford to use your own car, you'll end up with the countryside becoming the playground of the rich and ghettoisation of cities.

Even rural communities require some essential services that rely on an army of low-paid workers. But if there are no low-paid workers living there, what happens then?

Also factor in the cost of housing. Even a modest starter home for a first-time buyer or a small one-bed flat for a renter requires more than the recommended 1/4 of most people's income these days. This means that many people on £25000+ are struggling at the moment, which is not traditionally considered low paid. Take those earners out of a rural areas and you lose teachers, carers, some nurses, rubbish collectors, etc. These people are an essential part of any community, but if they can't afford to live in the country there will be no one to do these jobs as they won't be able to commute out of the cities either. What happens then? Only the megarich live in the country so that they can afford to pay privately for health care education and domestic services such as rubbish collection. Nice!

thomasbodley · 09/03/2011 15:08

We should have a reverse strike. A 'day of action' so that we commuters get to turn the tables on the rail/bus/tube/air companies. On that day, we'll walk to work or carshare, but we won't use public transport.

We're being overcharged by companies which have benefited from years of public purse subsidies, and are now engaged in profiteering at our expense. Let's turn the tables on the greedy arses.

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