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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

public transport is a disgrace in the UK, I've saved a fortune by running a car

86 replies

agentEgypt · 23/05/2015 11:08

My insurance is up for renewal so just been doing some sums.

Turns out over three years the basic costs of running my car (including purchase price of 6 year old car) insurance, tax, not, service works out at less than 1000 a year. I then spend another 1000 just on petrol, but I travel 30 miles for work and regularly go on long journeys. So that's about 9'500 miles a year.

In London I was paying almost the same for a 1-5 travel card and still had to spend a fortune on train travel to get out of London. In my car I have space for 4 others also!

I always thought running a car would cost a fortune, but its actually way cheaper than public transport! Seems very unfair that the ones that can afford a car have to spend more on public transport. I dont actually like polluting and would rather use public transport but its very unreliable, bad routes and expensive.

This is a national disgrace right?

OP posts:

mintpoppet · 23/05/2015 11:33

I run a car but often go on rhe train to busier places to avoid parking like a prat and i totally disagree with the OP. I think London transport is bloody fantastic. Tubes every 2-3 mins. Yes they are busy but they get you from a-b very quickly. I'm currently sat on an East coast train. It arrived on time. It was cheaper than the petrol and parking costs for the few hours i'll be in a city. I hate sweeping statements. I think a lot of public transport is excellent in this country. The amount of pot holes and badly repaired roads however...

mintpoppet · 23/05/2015 11:35

Me parking like a prat I mean. I'm rubbish at parking.

ApignamedJasper · 23/05/2015 11:36

I don't run a car as I can't afford it right now and public transport here is expensive, unreliable (constantly late/don't show up) and run at very awkward times especially on bank holidays and Sundays.

I do have a motorbike though and even though it's a bit annoying that I can't carry much it's soooo cheap. £17 tax, less than £4 for a tank of petrol, free parking everywhere, cheap insurance, about 100mpg, definitely the best option for me at the moment! Maybe not for everyone, but if you are regularly driving/riding on your own then it's a very cheap way to travel.

However, when I lived near London I didn't bother with a bike or car, I could walk or cycle everywhere I needed to go or jump on a bus or train. It was fine, not the cheapest but extremely good.

Original poster

agentEgypt · 23/05/2015 11:37

No ones said London transport isn't good, its not fantastic though. Its very expensive and not as good as other cities you can compare it to like new York and Tokyo. There they have express trains and it runs for more hours.

I'm talking about the privatisation of the entire UK network, and the messy system we have now.

OP posts:

PrettyInPinkPan · 23/05/2015 11:39

youareallbonkers · 23/05/2015 11:40

A fortune? Hardly

SunnyBaudelaire · 23/05/2015 11:42

" I'm talking about the privatisation of the entire UK network, and the messy system we have now. "

oh right I see. Perhaps you should have said that in your OP, would have saved time...

ilovesooty · 23/05/2015 11:42

So what's your experience of the transport network on the rest of the UK OP?

What are the parking facilities like in your area in the South West?

prorsum · 23/05/2015 11:44

London Transport is a blessing to the millions of Londoners who don't have a car and don't cycle.

ilovesooty · 23/05/2015 11:46

For example it's probably cheaper to drive and pay to park at my local airport if I'm going for less than a week. The bus services there though have in fact been extended in the last year.
If I were to go to my next nearest airport the train would be much cheaper and more convenient. There's a station half a mile from my home with a direct line to the airport.

How are you placed comparatively for airport transport?

Original poster

agentEgypt · 23/05/2015 11:50

Yes I should of said I'm talking a bout the privatisation in the op, hindsight is great

OP posts:

ToBeeOrNot · 23/05/2015 11:58

I don't think the network itself is so bad, but the complicated fare structures and the huge increase in cost if you wish to have any sort of flexibility or want to travel at peak time means that I'm glad I have the option to take the car.

browntoad · 23/05/2015 11:58

I am quite lucky as I live in London and get a Freedom Pass (disability) so all my tube/bus fares are free in London and I get a third off rail journeys for me and a friend as well. I just pay for a taxi a handful of times a year when public transport isn't convenient. It would be an impressive deal if the cost of a car, insurance, parking, petrol, congestion charge and maintenance could top that. Just as well because my disability makes driving harder for me and it's far less stressful for me to use public transport.

ToBeeOrNot · 23/05/2015 12:01

It's a perfect example right there of how provision varies across the country.

In this county a Disability Bus Pass doesn't allow free travel on peak services, so not really much use to people with disabilities who work.

browntoad · 23/05/2015 12:05

I don't work but the Freedom Pass can be used at any time in London.

ilovesooty · 23/05/2015 12:12

You can't travel on concessionary passes before 9.30am where I live either. Provision isn't consistent.

However I don't think car ownership costs are the comparative breeze the OP states either. I'll be very interested in her response to my airport /parking query (if she returns)

camelfinger · 23/05/2015 12:17

My colleagues seem to spend a fortune on repairs (not to mention sloping off early to pick their cars up and spending ages on the phone in work time getting quotes) so I always assumed I save a fortune with my £3 per day bus fare or free walk/cycle. For longer journeys I book trains in advance which can be about £10 each way. I like being able to go on my phone or read on the train (I suppose many drivers do too whilst driving tbh) and in particular being able to go out for a drink without worrying about transport. It's hard getting everyone out for work drinks as they tend to go for one soft drink whilst parking for free for two hours, leaving the handful of
pissheads people who don't mind getting the bus to have the real fun.
Privatisation has been a joke though, although I don't understand the comment about needing to buy separate train tickets which is not true.

GlitzAndGigglesx · 23/05/2015 12:26

I walk where I can otherwise take the bus or tube/rail if absolutely necessary and it defo works out cheaper than running a car. I'd love to be able to drive at some point though just for convenience but for me living in London it isn't a necessity. Oh and the cost of lessons

ForalltheSaints · 23/05/2015 12:28

Outside London it is awful, inside London fairly good.

morage · 23/05/2015 12:40

Yes driving is cheaper for me too. The bus used to be cheaper and I didn't have a car. But the bus prices have risen a lot, and the car is cheaper.
The costs of running a car that I usually see always include the cost of buying an expensive car. This makes cars more expensive. Many of us buy cheap cars though. And we rarely pay for parking.

Topseyt · 23/05/2015 12:45

You know, the big thing that I miss about London since we moved out of it is proper public transport.

I am in North Essex. Public transport in our town isn't great. Improved on what it was a few years ago, but still can't be relied on day in, day out, and very expensive too.

My car is not an optional extra here.

To get to most

TheDetective · 23/05/2015 12:45

I tried to use public transport this week.

A town in the north west, going to Birmingham Int.

Total cost of bus to train station, plus train fare was £46.80.

Cost of driving (just me in car so no splitting costs) was £16 petrol, £12 parking, and optional toll fee if I wanted to use m6 toll (I didn't). It was also quicker to go in the car despite rush hour traffic. So £28.

Why would I have bothered getting the train?

Per day it costs me £5 whether I run the car or not. So may as well use it.

Oh, cost of getting the bus to town here is £4 return. There is a bus stop right outside my house. Cost of parking is £1.90 for 3 hours. Which is about the time I'd spend in town. It's still cheaper to go in the car if you already have one (need mine for work, public transport not an option).

I think if you can live without a car it might be cheaper. But if you already have a car because you need it, then public transport just costs you more.

ilovesooty · 23/05/2015 12:45

Of course if you are able to access no cost parking it does make a difference.

No cost parking is rightly available to those who have disabilities.
Some people choose to park some distance away from their destinations and walk - hopefully not inconveniencing other people.

TheDetective · 23/05/2015 12:47

The cost of the train was with a 25% off discount also. And I looked at every which way to get the cost down.

ilovesooty · 23/05/2015 12:52

It also depends how many people regularly travel in the car who'd otherwise have had to pay for transport, the mode of public transport and how far ahead you book.

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