To think people don't use public transport as its so unreliable

[Outandabout43]

Have drove for the last 15 years so not really used public transport, however since moving area and now in walking distance to a train station have started to use this more.

It's actually cheaper to use the train to visit family if it's just myself and DD then it is to drive, and also takes an equal amount if time. Also cheaper to use the train into city centre then to pay for parking.

However, everytime I use the train, the train is either cancelled or delayed meaning we miss the connecting train and have to sit and then wait over an hour which is not fun with a 3 year old. Also nearest bus stop into the city is a 40 minute walk away.

Now I actually prefer public transport to driving, but not so much when an hours journey ends up taking 3.

We are being encouraged to use public transport more, but is there any wonder people don't.

That. Plus I like to be in control, I like flexibility to go as and when I want, I like the convenience, I can afford it, driving doesn’t stress me out, kids can have all their stuff with them, oh and I don’t want to be around other people.

Sadly, yes, I'd love to use public transport more, but more often than not, it's late. I waited 45 minutes for a delayed bus last week. I could have gotten there and parked in that time.

I think that cost is also a big factor. I have a Tesco Extra that is under 3 miles from me. It takes 2 buses each way (by different bus companies) so costs £4 each way, then add in the cost of bringing anyone else with me. Well it soon becomes unaffordable.

DH would like to take the bus to town but you can wait for 10 minutes or 40 minutes for it to turn up. Then it goes some winding route into town that takes ages.
Or you can drive in 10 minutes.

Ticket prices where I live are about to go up yet again. So if you just want to go to our local town for shopping it's now going to cost almost five pounds in bus fairs. It's cheaper to get your shopping delivered really. Our town is very very quiet now midweek. We had lots of cafes and a little market. They are gone now.

And the train service is ridiculous!. So many delays and cancellations that it's just not worth it.

Yep I agree. Tried to take a bus (2 changes) from our village to town when my car was in the garage and the first bus didn't turn up - had to ring for a lift to the next village so I could get my connecting bus in time. Kind of defies the point of getting the bus! I now know I wouldn't be able to rely on the bus service if I needed it to get to work on time.

Politicians need to remember this when they try to price motorists off the road; and to do something about it. The decisions are always made by people who don't use public transport much. Trains are unreliable, and expensive, and you have to plan your trip so long in advance to make it worth it at all. They told us that privatising railways would make them better, and more competitive. How did that go? Sometimes you long for the days of British Rail.

And they need to lead from the front, and use public transport themselves, instead of being driven around in ministerial cars (and helicopters, if you are Sunak).

I live in the NW trains are an utter joke.

Avanti is the most reliable which is the one Andy Burham says is terrible 😂

Jolly well done. You've done your bit for global warming!

Not just unreliable... expensive too!
I looked at getting a monthly train ticket for work. 10 minutes....2 stops.... £95 a month! My car tax, insurance and petrol combined are less than that a month, ridiculous.

Bus routes are a huge problem too. I live near a major bus route. My nearest big supermarket is less than 2 miles away, and also on a major bus route. There is no direct bus from near my house to the supermarket - instead it's 2 buses (probably 6 miles total) and takes an hour (on a good day). It's literally quicker to walk (however, I can't walk 2 miles with a weekly shop, so I drive there in 5 minutes).

My teenage son uses our rural bus service a lot. All I can say is that it's good I have a flexible wfh job so can plug the gaps when the arsing thing doesn't turn up.
Then they'll withdraw the service due to "low uptake".
Trying to communicate with the service provider is a joke. If you get a reply they'll bat it to the council who bat it back to the provider.

Trains are a joke indeed. Every time I go up north to see my DD and family something goes majorly wrong: train doesn't arrive, insufficient carriages so crammed in like cattle (and can't get to the loo), filthy trains, late arrivals etc.

I bought a return ticket to go up there today but had to drop out as I have covid - just as well, as I got a message to say it was not going to stop at my destination station any more! - great.

I took put insurance when I bought the ticket and am waiting to see if they honour my claim.

I use the tube quite often but not after 8pm. Other than that it’s just too expensive.

I commute by train/ bus...3-4 hr a day. Its the parking cost the reason i dont drive there .public transport is pretty bad though, unreliable...train costly, bus not so but miss buses out or late.

Expensive and unreliable. Train for two of us from West country to Surrey was over 200 pounds. Cost me about 60 in the car. Can't risk bus to work as would frequently be late. I tried to be carless for 18 months and gave it up when a 5 mile journey home ended up taking over 2 hours.

I’d love to use buses more, but there is only one an hour in each direction where I live (and I don’t live rurally), they start too late and finish too early to be any use on my commute, and half the time they don’t turn up.

Totally agree. For me, it's time. A one hour journey in the car takes 2.5 hours on public transport, including the waiting (usually in the rain). Add in the frequent late arrivals and/or cancellations and that's exactly why I can never use public transport!

I walk short distances, but drive for everything else. Public transport would have to have more pros than cons compared to driving for me to even consider it, but I doubt that will ever happen.

Yup. I drove a 12 hour round trip to Scotland for the sake of one meeting because it is too much of a predictable ball ache getting the train. With my car I can stick an audio book on and not worry about loud passengers on their phone near me, dive into services as needed, adjust my route if anything happens, and it cost me about the third of the rail ticket.

Public transport compared to driving, is for the most part:

1. Slower
2. Less reliable
3. More costly
4. Less convenient and flexible
5. More dangerous

And there is also an added risk of being penalised for an innocent mistake.

The tubes are fine, the Overground is fine except that it's suspended for engineering works at the weekend so often. London buses are fine. Birmingham local trains are fine .... their buses not so much.

But having used inter city trains for getting out of London all my life, I'm now starting to think "can I trust them?" every time. They're getting so unreliable.

In North Wales Avanti are appalling. TfW may often be overcrowded but at least they turn up.

You must have very cheap insurance and do very low mileage. Though you haven't mentioned maintenance or depreciation.

Very surprised to see Avanti described as reliable!

Buses in my city are abysmal. Expensive, weird routes, limited timetable, completely unreliable, no night buses. The one I could take to work goes on a route that is gridlocked at rush hour. It's always faster to walk.