To think that no-one will choose to swap cars for public transport when it's still easier / cheaper / faster to drive?

[BogstandardBelle]

Since starting a new job 18 months ago I have used public transport to get there and back 3 days a week. I leave my house, walk 10 minutes to the metro, spend around 20 minutes on the metro with one change in between, then walk around 15 minutes at the other end to arrive at work. I always assumed that (living in a big busy city) it was cheaper and easier to travel this way and never really considered driving.

This morning I needed to take some heavy bags into work, so I decided to drive. I left around 15 minutes later than usual and still arrived at the same time! And I didn't need to walk anywhere or share my space with hundreds of coughing / sneezing / inconsiderate / odd people en route. The cost was negligible compared to the 64 euros I spend each month on a metro ticket.

I'm really disappointed! I know that the exercise is good for me, and god knows the air pollution problem in my city doesn't need yet another single occupancy, short distance car journey being added to it. But it was so much easier / more pleasant than using public transport... and now I know how easy it was, there's going to be a little voice saying "just take the car...".

So it is unreasonable to expect people to give up their cars when public transport is actually more expensive, less convenient and overall harder work than driving? I used to think that all the motorists clogging up the roads / causing the pollution were BU, but now I'm not so sure.

In all reality if public transport was suddenly expanded to my road, I would move. If my home has access to public transport, street lights, or mains water, it means that I live too close to town!

YANBU But a lot of people are still in their cars even though it's more expensive and takes longer etc for reasons cited on this thread. It doesn't just have to be cheaper - it has to be desirable and practical too - outside of London and a few other big cities that is almost never the case in the UK.

However to suggest that because certain fit men in their prime can and do cycle to work regularly means that the majority of people can is a little extreme.

allergic who suggested that? I certainly didn’t and particularly suggested that only in some cases would people be able to cycle to work

50% of all car journeys are less than 3 miles, which is a distance that would be suitable in many, but not all circumstances to walk or ride. As to walk a mile would be 20 minutes at average pace.

Not every journey needs to be driven just because you have a car, unless of course you are unable.

Some journeys though are imperative by car

At present there is more and more pressure to reduce pollution and private cars will become the bad guys. Already there are streets shut to cars in the mornings near schools, as the problems get worse it’ll happen more and more

The guys in the article work in manufacturing, not in offices. They aren't customer facing. They have only themselves to transport, no other people or bags of stuff. They are fit and comparatively young. They cycle regularly as a hobby. One at least does own a car, doesn't explain why he uses that Monday morning & Friday afternoon, and that also suggests that either there's nobody else at home or their partner has other transport.

There are 500 commuting by bike, they work in offices and will be having meetings. The location for the gaydon site is rural. How do you know from the article how old the 500 cycling commuters are?

I wouldn't do a full day at work without showering after a bike ride. How slow do people cycle to be able to go 4 miles without sweating?!

We have a shower at work that people who cycle or run to work use.

Gaydon and Whitley are not the manufacturing arm of JKR but all the offices. Solihull is where the manufacturing arm is based and not included in this article.

Our local town has a train station- but not especially close to any bus stops or the bus station

It's a bit like that where I live. The first station built here was on a line that is now closed, but it was in the centre of town and very close to where the bus station is.

When Dr Beeching closed that line, we were left with a station much further east and quite a walk from the bus station and most of the bus routes. Some local routes have been re-routed slightly so that they stop nearer the station, but not many, and it has meant that the journey time is quite a bit longer.

Altering the bus route coincided with a reduction from 2 buses an hour to one, but I don't know if the two things are connected.

We have a shower at work that people who cycle or run to work use

Unfortunately lots of small workplaces don't have the space for that kind of thing. Our workplace has one toilet between nine staff members (both male and female) and a very small staffroom with room for one table and three chairs. That's it!

If one is unfit and carrying extra weight just walking up the stairs can make you sweat. If one is fit one will not sweat lots at the first sign of raised heart rate. Also there are deodorants and antiperspirants. So yes it's quite possible one can cycle 4 miles without having to shower at the end of it.

50% of all car journeys are less than 3 miles, which is a distance that would be suitable in many, but not all circumstances to walk or ride. As to walk a mile would be 20 minutes at average pace.

It's exactly a mile from my house to my office, and it takes me 25 minutes to walk (the extra 5 minutes might be waiting to cross roads lol). It takes me a lot longer to walk back though, as it's a 300' climb. I feel dreadful about it, but a lot of the time, I drive.

It's also awful walking in the dark. The first half of the journey home is on a narrow footpath that is about 30' above the road. It's got mature trees all along one side, high fences along the other and is very badly lit. For months last winter, the streetlight halfway along wasn't working and it was pitch dark for most of the length. From October onwards, it's covered in dead leaves and very slippery when wet. And just to make it even more exciting, two women have been indecently assaulted when on this path in recent years. (Snow makes it more exciting still, as it's never gritted and the fence that is the only thing that would stop you falling down a steep bank into the road if you slipped is very flimsy and half falling over).

I don't mind walking in the summer on days when I haven't had to go out on visits, or on days when I finish early enough to avoid the horrid path by taking a short cut through the cemetery, but it's bloody knackering. And on days when my arthritis is bad (spine, knees and hips affected), it's just not doable.

(The cemetery is surprisingly pleasant, very peaceful, beautifully planted and maintained and has a fantastic array of birdlife, but it closes at 5pm in summer and much earlier in winter).

I would hazard a guess that the majority of the "3 miles or less" car journeys are taking children to school, shopping, or elderly/disabled people, so all very good reasons for taking a car. 3 miles is still around a 45 minute walk at a fair pace.

I took the occupations and ages of the JLR cyclists from the article that was linked to, 46 year old vehicle engineer and 38 year old chassis engineer. Linking to a couple of articles that show one exceptional place of work isn't really adding much to the general view there seems to be here that in many cases using private cars is the cheapest/most convenient/sometimes only feasible way to get around for an awful lot of people.

I would imagine most short car journeys are things like the school run, taking elderly people to appointments or the shops, or people driving to/from the supermarket because while it's feasible to walk there, it's not so realistic to walk back with all your shopping, especially if you have children in tow.

Lots of short routes are also not walkable because they're from a village to the nearest town. Where I live, there are several small villages within three miles - but you couldn't safely walk from any of them into town, because the only road is a narrow lane with no pavement or decent visibility. It might be okay for a fit, healthy adult, but certainly not for anyone elderly for anyone who has small children. It's just not safe.

For me to get public transport to work, would mean 2 buses and an hours travel, or a 20 minute walk to the metro, metro journey, walk for 10 minutes then a 15 minute bus journey, or 20 min walk to metro, then metro journey a bit further out, change trains to opposite direction and another 15 minute journey, then a 20 minute walk.

It takes me 15 minutes maximum to drive door to door

Without my car/having to rely on public transport - I'd not be able to drop DS off at school and be at work for 9am, then finish at 3pm and pick him up at 3.30pm.. I'd have to pay and rely on others to collect him from school, making it pointless working, as the hour I'd have to pay a childminder isn't being earned by me whilst dodging between buses and metros.

I would stink if I cycled to work and then didn't shower. I sweat a lot more now that I'm going through menopause, too.

If one is fit one will not sweat lots at the first sign of raised heart rate.

I use to believe that, too! Then I hit perimeno. Haahaaa. I sweat sleeping. Buckets. I sweat for no reason at all quite often. So far no meds have been able to contain it yet. Hoping it will pass in a year or two.

But we live rurally. Cycling isn't a viable way for a lot of people to get to work out here.

Certain medications make you sweat a lot too. I used to drip with sweat just sitting still while on tricyclic depressants. I used to be constantly having to fight to keep the window open on trains and buses so I didn’t dissolve into a puddle.

I wish cycling could be made a safer option in this country. I'd happily cycle to and from more places, if it didn't feel like a terrifying dice with death every time I did it. The town I live in has fairly narrow roads & cars and lorries scrape past, not to mention the stench of traffic fumes when there is no wind or the weather is warm.

I often end up driving a journey I could easily cycle if it felt safer.

I go into London quite a lot and walk as much as possible, rather than take the tube, which I find really claustrophobic in rush hour now. I lived in London for 20 years and now wonder how the hell I endured people coughing, sneezing and BOing over their fellow commuters for all that time.

I am 50, with chronic pain, (CFS/FM/arthritis/hypermobility) & now bloody menopausal (which is far more debilitating than I expected)

I started riding my electric bike approx 2 years ago - after 20 years of not riding a bike at all!

Last year I commuted by bike to work every day (that I worked) and only drove a couple of time when I was going striaght to the hospital after; I don't think I ever arrived overly wet or sweaty

Sadly I see my bike as a way of not having a disabled buggy anytime soon!!

I can easily do 10-15 miles a day on it, carry the best part of a weeks shopping and I chose to go out on it for social occasions where possible (my yoga class is about 9 miles away and I can do the ride and the yoga....just! Only I can't right now as I am post of and struggling to ride more than about 5 miles a day)

There was research done to suggest that an electric bike was better for couch potatoes than a real bike as it would actually get used rather than ignored

I know I am a bit evangelical about my bike but it has given me freedom I haven't had since a teen - often driving and parking meant to far for me to walk where I can cycle right to places now; walking has been a problem for me for decades.

My dad had a bad back 'slipped' discs ad 5 lots of surgery - he said he could cycle even on days he couldn't walk....although crawling once he got to the shop was a bit frowned on!

would hazard a guess that the majority of the "3 miles or less" car journeys are taking children to school, shopping, or elderly/disabled people, so all very good reasons for taking a car. 3 miles is still around a 45 minute walk at a fair pace.

Take a glance at the number of cars occupied by one person and it tells a different story.

The car is cheaper argument rarely stands up when you factor in purchase cost, maintaince, servicing, insurance, tax etc. It isn't a straightforward as cost of fuel vs cost of bus and train ticket. There are far more hidden costs with driving.

I own a car, but walk, take the bus or cycle to work. It is roughly 4 miles and i rarely sweat to any great extent on the bike. I'm no slouch, but application of wet wipes to the armpit and fresh deodorant wards off any pongs.

I actively dislike driving and avoid it unless i have to. I hate being stuck in jams and the time consuming process of defrosting the car at one end then riding around trying to find a parking space at the other make the difference in time negligible, plus i get my daily exercise in at the same time.

Take a glance at the number of cars occupied by one person and it tells a different story.

How many of those people are parents who have dropped their children at school or childcare and are now making their way to work? Probably a fair few. How many of those are older people who can't walk long distances and find it easier to drive than get the bus, as it involves less carrying of shopping? Probably a fair number. I occupy my car as a single person everyday but that's because it's my only option if I want to work. It's not as easy as to say "people are just choosing not to get the bus".

The car is cheaper argument rarely stands up when you factor in purchase cost, maintaince, servicing, insurance, tax etc. It isn't a straightforward as cost of fuel vs cost of bus and train ticket. There are far more hidden costs with driving.

But cost isn't just financial, it's time too. Why would you want to spend more time commuting than you have to? What if you have children to collect or a second job to get to, or you can't fit your job around the bus timetable? If you can't leave work until 5.30 but have o be at the nursery at six, and the bus doesn't arrive until 5.50 or is always late, what choice do you have?

Allergic it doesn’t state the 500 JLR cyclists ages in the article, it only give a couple of ages - not all 500 commuting cyclists - it’s not as if they’ll all be the same age!

But cost isn't just financial, it's time too. Why would you want to spend more time commuting than you have to?

Because i find a walk and a bike ride enjoyable and are good for my health and driving is neither of those things. I therefore get my exercise and commute done in one fell swoop, saving time and stress.

That's all well and good @FunkyKingston but you clearly have both the free time and the ability to do it. Lots of people don't have that luxury!

I agree with katymac I had dodgy knees as teenager and various sports unjuries.
walking was 'literally' a pain, but cycling was possible. no impact, no weight bearing exercise.

That's all well and good @FunkyKingston but you clearly have both the free time and the ability to do it

On a four mile commute the journey time difference is negligible. It can be faster by bike as you can filter through traffic.

Leaving aside people with injuries and some disabilities, any competent adult can ride distances of 15 miles or so without getting puffed out in most parts of the UK. In fact i know if a bloke with obe leg who xycles to work. It isn't the domain of tbe ultra fit by any stretch of the imagination.