Buses are too expensive

[MrsCremuel]

From my house to town it’s a 25min walk with a baby and toddler so I tend to drive. I’ve been trying to cut out local journeys and either walk or take the bus but Jesus, it’s expensive. For a 10min bus journey return it’s £6. For two hours parking in town it’s £3.50 plus fuel plus a lot less inconvenience.

Where is the incentive for drivers to take the bus? AIBU to think how are we going to help tackle climate changes when fares are so expensive and we are just relying in people to make the ethical choice?

Yes, we live in a village and the bus costs £4.80 each way to travel the 8 miles into town. I can't afford for my eldest (17) to get the bus to school as the drivers refuse to give him a child /a student rate (£2.80 each way).

I'd like to drive less, but it costs a huge amount to get public transport!

It used to cost me almost a tenner to get from my house to my parents which was just over a mile away (me and 6 children-one way and just over a mile)

To catch a bus going to my ex’s would cost me £18 both ways (me,6 kids and 40 miles)

It was cheaper to get a taxi to theirs

Me, DP, 2dc into Leeds would cost £21 return for a 15 minute bus ride. Car parking is £5-£7. I love the bus (and the planet), as do the dc, but it’s simply not justifiable.

@Momicrone

But cars aren't cheap either

Once you have one it can easily be quicker and cheaper to use it. OP already has a car as she usually drives.

That's our issue - there are underlying issues DH panic attacks and my dyspraxia but main obstacles is upfront costs driving lessons and buying and taxing a car - plus on top running costs (and risk we may not get over the underlying problems to be confident and safe enough to drive frequently)

OP would have to do sums to have an idea if she was near a tipping point with costs and that will depend on usuage and usage costs vs fares and increased travel times.

However if government really wants people out of cars they currently have - and thus get less cars on our roads then improvements in public transport and look at costs will be needed.

our buses are cheap compared to parking in and around the city, £1.80 single, £4.50 a day ticket. I'm always shocked how much it costs in other parts of the country!

From my house to city centre it is 5 miles. A bus day ticket costs £4.90. By car (at 45mpg), for the 10 mile return trip you need 1 litre of fuel at a cost of £1.55.

In 1985, a 5-mile bus fare cost 10p in Sheffield, 50p in Leeds, 55p in London and 58p in Manchester. Fuel cost 42p/litre.

It's very different from the cost of a car spread over time and the initial investment and the day to day running. The reality is that its much more expensive daily for the cost of a bus and much more problematic.

Yesterday for example. I was in the hospital with ds1 and had to drive there as it was an urgent emergency visit. To pick ds2 up (a 15 minute drive along country roads that are not safe for children to cycle) dp got public transport.

For him and ds2 he got the cheapest option which was a day return thing (cheaper than single journey for ds2 on return and dp both ways). He left an hour early to be sure. He paid 8 pounds.

2 busses didn't turn up and the next bus would have arrived after pick up time. He walked to the train station paid another 6 pounds for a single train ticket. Ran across the town to get to ds2 . He would then have had to wait 30 minutes for a return bus that would take 35 minutes. Dp left the house at 1.30 pm and would have returned by 4.15pm.

As it happened we got discharged and I arrived as he was leaving g the school after picking up ds2.

Quick incidentally all of which is quite common and why I avoid threads wittering at how awful car drivers are from entitled posters who live in good transport areas and have money.

Not for me but I live in London, didn’t know they were so expensive elsewhere;
And kids under 18 are free so I only pay for myself and my 4 kids get on free

At least here you can get a group save ticket - £13.20 for up to 5 people all day west of England, we do it when the DD's are home from university and want to go into the city for cocktails and dinner (I'm sure it's not our company they enjoy, more our wallets). Parking is £8 for 4 hours in the city but free at the mall

Yes, I think when busses cost so much it really reduces ridership, which then makes them less viable.

The city near me about three years ago abolished the fare for kids under 12. This was really helpful as it had become far too expensive for parents with several children, and there was an immediate increase in use. They also give a very cheap pass to teens who are in school.

To my mind that's good long term planning as you are essentially raising citizens to be used to taking the bus.

@Momicrone

I have to have a car for work because the first bus doesn't leave until 10am (yes odd) and I start at 9am. As the car is paid for, insured and mot'd my considerations in whether to use the bus to go to the city are cost of fare vs petrol and parking, speed of journey, weight of shopping if applicable and whether I plan to frequent an establishment selling beverages stronger than tea

Could we afford for the entire country's bus network to enjoy the subsidy that London enjoys? (TFL have previously stated that London's buses are unsustainable)

As it is, the journey from my house to the local town or city centres takes roughly 15-20 minutes in the car. At least 40 - 50 minutes on the bus. The local buses are every half an hour and unreliable. So basically, if I miss one, I can wait longer for the next than the alternative car journey. You're not selling me on this.

The golden age of buses have gone because people now have cars.

To

I use the bus almost daily (not London) and it is expensive. First Bus pretty much have the monopoly so can charge whatever they like.

Sadly, for all the talk of 'it's too expensive/longer/hassle to get the bus' most people wouldn't care to vote for a party that would improve infrastructure.

I've been on buses when SUV drivers pretty much drive at buses to sneak in front.

Thatcher deregulated the buses. That’s where the rot started.

I live 8 miles from my nearest supermarket and a 20 minute walk from the nearest bus stop. My only options are car or taxi.

I live in a big town, and it's £4.20 for a day ticket within the town and £7 if you want to go to the next nearest town.

Its a flat fare of £2 for a single ticket.

Some of the prices here are crazy!

I have to get at least 4 buses a day during the week and often get a couple over the weekend.
A day saver is £5
My weekly saver went up by £1 on Monday and is now £17.50 pw .
That is for unlimited travel across my large city so I think its a decent deal

However my train fare has left from £4.50 to £7.70 in a year .

Overpriced and unreliable in my area too.
Train prices are also expensive, i just priced up a train to Manchester, £30 each return. will cost around £10 quid in petrol and £16 to park overnight.

@Momicrone

So your car was free and no maintenance costs, tax, insurance?

My car is owned outright and I am just a named driver so cheap insurance. DH's is a company car so they pay insurance, tax and reimburse fuel. It has to be a hybrid model so fuel isn't too bad. We live 20 minutes walk from a bus stop in both directions and the bus stop is at the local high street or medium sized supermarket.

The school bus thing is an issue too I don’t think some people realise how expensive they are. Regular moaning on Facebook or from residents near schools why don’t they get the school bus. DD is 2 miles to a catchment school it’s £589 a year or £47 a month DD for under 3 mile option. I pay it but tbh I could drive her most days as I’m now mainly wfh. If I had 2 or more at school then it would be a no brainier to drive. Hence rows of parents parked up outside school and private taxi arrangements and quiet under used school buses.

@ClaudiusTheGod

Thatcher deregulated the buses. That’s where the rot started.

Blair/Brown could have renationalised them but didn't, so there must be reasons to continue the status quo.

@Momicrone

Fair enough but most people forget to factor in the cost of buying, taxing, insuring, parking, fuel, maintenance of cars, it all adds up

They don't forget at all.

It's basic decision making only to look at the things that change with comparing one thing against another.

Car purchase, repairs, insurance, tax, are "sunk" costs, they've happened, so you don't consider them when you think about whether to take the car or bus to the cinema - they're irrelevant.

The time to compare them is when you come to change your car or suffer a breakdown that means a big bill to repair. That's when you think whether you really need a car or not, and that's when you weigh up the costs of buying and running a car against the costs (and inconvenience) of public transport.

Yep ridiculous. Last time I used a bus was in 2017, DP and I thought we'd catch the bus to the centre of the town we lived in, it was over £12 for two returns. Its a 7 minute drive but the bus took 30 minutes. I can see why people prefer cars. Tbh the only other people on the bus were college students or those old enough to have a free pass.

User149, not sure how the cost of a car and keeping it on the road is irrelevant when looking at ones bank account

Where do you live? A full day bus ticket costs me £3.60.