To think £75 a week to get to work is a bit steep

[justloseit]

Why is public transport so expensive??

I deliberately moved out of the city I work in, and beside a train station. Unfortunately its the only thing I dont like about living in the sticks! I didnt realise at the time just how bad our train system is. Its shockingly expensive too!

Travel costs for public transport are outrageous in the UK - I was spending circa £5K for my train and tube costs to get into London 5 days a week having to be up at the crack of dawn and stress and struggle with getting back in time for childcare. I have recently started a local job within my industry that I can walk to so no cost at all - the salary of which is circa £5k less that what i was getting working in London so simply because I don't have commuting costs any more and can slightly reduce my childcare hours I am getting the same money in my pocket working a compressed 3 days rather than 5 PLUS the added benefit of saving 3hrs worth of commuting per day it's madness really!

There's a big out of town shopping centre about 40 miles from me.

Costs over £20 to get the train there. Parking is free and it doesn't cost £20 in fuel to drive there. Plus the train is so slow it's quicker driving!

Why on earth would people use the train in such circumstances unless they couldn't drive!

I live in zone 6 and a travel card to london at peak time costs £49.50 - that's just for one day, from north kent. Disgusting

This is pure fabrication. A zone 1-6 peak day travelcard is £18.60 or £12.80 on contactless/ oyster. Taken from TFL's own website: content.tfl.gov.uk/adult-fares-2019.pdf

I pay a ridiculous amount, and worst when you add car park.
Add childcare, and when you then deduct the amount of tax I have to pay, I get every so slightly... fuming.

If politicians were serious about reducing pollution from cars, there'd be a massive investment in public transport. All the time it's cheaper (and often quicker) to drive, people will use their cars.

I would use my car if I had somewhere to park at work! No public transport will ever compare.

My train fare is £4866 per annum. I live 45 miles from central london.

That's only worthwhile if you're earning a decent salary.
I used to commute into south london for a low wage. But my employer paid my travel card.
I used to put approx 20pw in my car each week. Which was 10%. Not too bad.
Now I'm earning better, but as a pt no way can i spend on transport to work. So I cycle. My car sits on my driveway and STILL costs min 45pm...

Wow, this thread makes me feel better that although the train I get is a leaky, rattly, noisy bus on train wheels, it only costs £100 per month.

I pay £58.00 a month for a monthly bus ticket so £14.50 per week which isn't so bad. The buses are still always late thought which is stressful especially going home from work as I do nursery pick up so have to be there for 6pm or I get charged a late pick up fee. I live in Leeds though so it's probably a lot cheaper than down south.

I live in zone 6 and a travel card to london at peak time costs £49.50 - that's just for one day, from north kent. Disgusting.

@magicpaintbrush someone's told you a fib there! Costs nothing like £50, more like £15.

I used to spend £45 weekly on fuel so £180 month and earning £800 month.
I left and got a job 2 miles up the road I'm now spending £8 week on fuel so £32 month and still earning £800 month. Makes such a difference having extra £150 month

£350 a month train and tube plus £100 to park at the train station, which, if you don't get there before 745am, is full !

Oh and £60 a month on fuel to get to the station.

I wouldn't change it though, I moved to the countryside from central London, had a 25 min tube ride to work, but I love living rurally, the cost and commute are worth it to me

Used to pay £6000 a year (and that was after the discount for purchasing 12 months in one hit)

It's stupidly expensive to use public transport, especially when the service isn't great, not enough seats, never on time etc etc...

But if it's what you have to do, then you just have to suck it up and budget for it. I don't agree that it makes it right.

'I live in zone 6 and a travel card to london at peak time costs £49.50 - that's just for one day, from north kent. Disgusting

This is pure fabrication. A zone 1-6 peak day travelcard is £18.60 or £12.80 on contactless/ oyster. Taken from TFL's own website: content.tfl.gov.uk/adult-fares-2019.pdf'

Felford - Bloody hell, are you saying that I made it up or that the staff at the station screwed me over? Because if it's the first you can apologise right now - that IS what they charged me from Sittingbourne station at 8am to travel to the Ideal Home Show at Olympia in London - FACT. They said the only cheaper alternative would be £46 but with a travel card I could go elsewhere if I wished. I don't go up to London often but I didn't question it because in the past I've been charged over £30 for an off peak ticket so I assumed it would be more at peak time. Don't bloody say I am a liar, how dare you - If there was a cheaper option they should have told me so.

There you go - I've just gone on National Rail's website and found a peak time ticket for monday at 7.58, the same train I caught - here is a screen grab. It says the cheapest fare is £49.20 (not £49.50 - sorry my mistake )

There you go - I've just gone on National Rail's website and found a peak time ticket for monday at 7.58, the same train I caught - here is a screen grab.

Sittingbourne is not in Zone 6...

You're right, my ticket said zones 1-6 so my bad, it is 2 stops from Rainham which is zone 6.

The thing is though everyone is paying a disgusting amount for a shot service and moaning but nobody actually does anything about it. Why would they change?

What would you suggest to everyone pay vast amounts of money for transport to work should do? Protest about public transport charges? Vote in a different government that would offer better?

I don't know. I disagreed with it so learnt to drive and got a car.
But clearly other countries have a better service at a more affordable price. No point moaning about it and doing nothing to change it.
We've had multiple governments in while I've been using public transport and to my memory it's always been shit.