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Original poster

Would you use your car less?

75 replies

GutsyShark · 15/01/2025 21:23

Following on from the people who don’t drive thread (hopefully less ire on this thread, I’ve avoided AIBU for this reason):

If there was regular, reliable public transport in your area would you use it regularly and drive less? Or do you like your car and wouldn’t want to give it up?

Public transport operates at the times you need it to and you wouldn’t need to give up your car altogether, just would you use it less?

OP posts:
festivemouse · 15/01/2025 21:26

Honestly, no.

Luckily not an option here - but even if the public transport was close, on time etc I wouldn't use it. I just don't want to be sat surrounded by people, next to someone, carrying all of my bags (laptop bag, handbag, water bottles, lunch, shopping etc). Especially as I always used to end up next to someone smelly / a chatterbox, it was more stressful than time to wind down!

I like being on my own, listening to my music, not having to carry a load of bags whilst sat squished next to someone.

DevilledEgg · 15/01/2025 21:28

We have regular reliable public transport.....BUT at 2.50 per person per journey it sharp racks up. It's also far slower, stopping and starting. And other people are irritating. Them that listen to their phones on loud. Them that have conversations on speakerphone. Them with feral kids. Them that smell. Them that shout. Them that open the window you've just shut. Them that sit their mutts on the seat. Them that talk incessantly at you. I don't like people, can you tell? 😂

Fibrous · 15/01/2025 21:28

Absolutely. I live right next to a train station and would much rather use it to get to the nearest town three miles away, but it's £6 return. If it was half that, I'd use it, as the traffic is crap. I used it despite the cost in the snow, and it was brilliant.

gamerchick · 15/01/2025 21:29

We don't have reliable, regular transport. It's shit, it doesn't work and cheaper to run a car when it does work. I can't do my working life like that.

DancefloorAcrobatics · 15/01/2025 21:32

It depends...I spent years using excellent public transport in my home country to comute to work. I wouldn't mind doing it again.
But, public transport in my town is overpriced and atrocious. So no.

TartanMammy · 15/01/2025 21:34

It would need to be cheaper too. It costs £18 for me to travel to our nearest city, a 23 minute journey away. Or £8 on the bus to the nearest small town (which isn't worth visiting). It is so much cheaper and more convenient to use my car.

Also women (more than men) tend to be time restricted and do more chain journeys so home - nursery - school - work etc. Or home - football practice - supermarket - football pick up- home. I just don't see public transport being able to link those journeys efficiently in the small windows of time I have to complete them.

For longer journeys we do prefer public transport as a family, and will try to take the train if we can make it work. For example, a trip to Alton Towers would be 5 hour car trip and £60ish in petrol. We'll do by train, same journey time but tickets will be £200ish + we'll need to get Uber from the station and back, that's another £50. Once we're there we won't have the freedom to leave the resort like we would if we had a car so we'll have to use to use the onsite restaurants which are much more expensive 🫰. If we had the car we could do 2 nights but by train it needs to be 3 nights.

whydoihavetowork · 15/01/2025 21:34

If we were talking London style and it came every 3 minutes then yes to get into the city. But trains to Birmingham are every 20/30'mins and half the time they are cancelled or reduced carriages and full hence why I avoid.

Growlybear83 · 15/01/2025 21:36

Definitely not. I often work in the evenings in some quite dodgy and unsafe areas and there's no way I would travel home on public transport after dark. It would also take me much longer if I had to catch buses or trains, no matter how good the connections.

User19876536484 · 15/01/2025 21:38

I recently spent some time in a city with an excellent (and cheap) public transport network and it definitely reduced my car use. So, yes.

Unfortunately, public transport is almost non-existent where I live. I recently had a problem with my car and the closest I could get to home from my work by bus was seven miles.

superclouds · 15/01/2025 21:38

Definitely.

Unfortunately our local buses are absolutely crap. Unreliable, never on time and not frequent enough. I'd also use trains more if they were cheaper - DH and I travel together to visit our dc and it's just cheaper to drive than buy two tickets to where we need to go.

FionaJT · 15/01/2025 21:42

Yes, I moved out of London 20 years ago and I still miss the transport options. I'm 10-15 mins walk from a station, and have a bus stop at the end of my road & it's 10 mins on the train or 20-30 on the bus into our nearby city, but they are so infrequent & unreliable I usually drive and it makes me cross!

StiffyByngsDogBartholomewsChristmasBone · 15/01/2025 21:43

Even if there was public transport that would get me 30 miles home at midnight it would take so much longer as it would go round all the towns and villages and keep stopping. So no I wouldn't
3/4 of my mileage is commuting.

LameBorzoi · 15/01/2025 21:44

I would love to be able to use it without it tripling my commute time. Imagine eliminating parking hassles and being able to read on the way to work.

StiffyByngsDogBartholomewsChristmasBone · 15/01/2025 21:46

LameBorzoi · 15/01/2025 21:44

I would love to be able to use it without it tripling my commute time. Imagine eliminating parking hassles and being able to read on the way to work.

I spent the first 5 months of my pregnancy "on loan" to another office in my department at work. I got my travelling time included in work time and my train into Brighton city centre paid for. 1 hour each way on the train, those were halcyon days. I used the majority of the time studying for an Ilex qualification.

Bumpygritch · 15/01/2025 21:49

It’s just not feasible given where I live and my regular destinations. The stop start nature of PT adds so much time and the cost is also so high, especially as a car would still be a necessity.

Nice idea but not just practical for the majority of journeys we do.

EdithStourton · 15/01/2025 21:51

I often have two dogs with me. Well-mannered, but not to everyone's taste esp when damper have rolled in something.

So I'd probably stick to the car.

Also public transport where I am costs a bloody bomb. I used to take the DC on the bus into our nearest sizeable town as a 'treat' in the school holidays: it was MUCH more expensive than the car.

Rachmorr57 · 15/01/2025 21:52

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This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

StrawHatLuffy · 15/01/2025 21:53

I hate public transport.
I have no car, so have no choice.

I gave up the car thinking that buses will be fine. The novelty wore off very very quickly.

Walk from home to the stop, wait, if it's late, you wait more... If it's cancelled or broken down, you've no idea so you just stand there like a twat.
Then it comes, it's full of 'peeple' coughing and sneezing and breathing and, in some cases, eating.. or they've got their shit music on their shit earphones. Or they're watching some crap or they're on a video call with 'tyrone' who's been "messing about wiv shazza"

But you're on the bus, you're sitting next to Brenda who's life story is fucking long, ambling and about as exciting as slamming your lips repeatedly in the door of a 1993 Ford Cortina..

But then the bus fucks off around some nameless estate you've never heard dog that adds about 20 minutes to the journey and no fucker gets anyway so you've just wasted a part of your 75years on fuck all..

And then, finally, you get where you're going.. .... Only no you don't, you get to the bus stop nearest where you're going. Say good bye to Brenda who's still drinking on like a fog horn who's batteries are running low and then have to walk the rest of the way in the pissing down rain.

Eventually you reach your destination, wonder what went wrong in your life and weep slowly and quietly to yourself whilst you question every choice you've ever made.

....

But other than that, love public transport..
Ha 🤪

ForPearlViper · 15/01/2025 21:55

The problem is that most public transport systems radiate out from a town a centre. To go to the supermarket, I would have to go into town, then out again to the supermarket. By the time I've done that, I could have driven there and back several times.

Apart from the fact that I rarely go into the town centre, I also rarely go to just one place when I go out. All my journeys tend to be circular - for example, I'll pop to my Mum's, take her to the supermarket, take her home, got to meet a friend for lunch, go to the gym and then pop into another couple of place on the way home. Even if public transport were more regular, with the best will in the world it wouldn't have routes past all these place. I just wouldn't be able to fit those things into one day by public transport.

Neilsfavouritechilli · 15/01/2025 22:00

Regular and reliable and direct, totally yes, even if it was a bit more expensive. Unfortunately I live on the outskirts of a city and work in the city centre of another one about 30 miles away. Driving is the only way I can do it in 1.5 hours.

Pointpoint · 15/01/2025 22:03

Nope, I pay road tax, car insurance, MoT etc, what would be the point of paying all that and then paying out more for public transport. Occasionally we use the train to get to big cities as it’s easier. However it would have to be get rid of a car and use public transport rather than reduce. Logically it makes no sense!

GOODCAT · 15/01/2025 22:03

I switched when the bus fares were reduced so it was cheaper than using my car. I also cycle more due to the cycle to work scheme. Money is what makes the difference to me.

MichaelAndEagle · 15/01/2025 22:04

I would yes, because of congestion and expensive, difficult parking.
It would probably tip the balance in favour of public transport if that option was better. At the moment they are both inconvenient but for different reasons.

Original poster
GutsyShark · 15/01/2025 22:05

Interesting responses so far!

As I said on the other thread I’m in the
middle of a 6 month “ban” from driving due to a medical issue, so I’ve had no choice but to use public transport. The idea of it was awful but the reality has been absolutely fine. Having said that I’m a 7 minute walk from the train station in a city with plenty of trains getting me where I need to go.

Will I use public transport once I can drive again? Nope! Much as it’s been fine I prefer driving for lots of the reasons people have said.

I’m sure someone will be along to tell me I sure consider the environment and they have a point, but I think most people if they’re being honest will opt for the convenience, comfort and ease of their car.

OP posts:
LaPalmaLlama · 15/01/2025 22:11

I do regularly use the train to go to London as the station is a 7 minute walk from my house and although it's stupidly expensive it's less hassle and as quick as driving into central London/ parking etc. But honestly, day to day, around my town, no. I tend to head out and do several errands at once and there's no way I can do that as efficiently using public transport. Would take hours.

I think trying to convert everyone to public transport is a massive barrier to actually coming up with climate friendly transport. No-one likes it. For a start, it has other people on it, many of whom are being utter twats.