Public transport a viable alternative to a car for you?

JRS

JRS

JRS

Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2004
Posts
19,706
Location
Burton-on-Trent
'Cause it sure as hell doesn't work very well for me....

Got to shoot back to Burton from Coventry today for my Dad's birthday meal in the evening. Went to look at the train timetable, and low and behold the trains between Cov and Brum New St aren't running. So now I have a slow, cramped 50min bus ride from Coventry Station to Birmingham New St, a ~20 min wait followed by a slow, cramped 30min train ride to Burton, capped of with a slow, cramped bus ride to my parents' house. All of which costs me around £12.

So, let's look at the car situation then shall we? If I drive, then it takes under an hour to get home. I'd use about six thimbles worth of fuel since I'd be in the Seicento, so it would be much cheaper. I would arrive at my destination in comfort, and wouldn't be ranting and in a foul mood about the inadequacies of public transport.

So, I can pay more to travel by a slower, less comfortable method.....or less, and beat the train home by a looooooong way. Outstanding. On the plus side, I'm taking the car on Monday morning when I come back here.
 
Public transport sucks around here. If I wanted to get to the office without using the car I'd have:

- 10 minute bus ride into town
- 10 minute bus ride to the train station
- 1 hour train journey to St. Pancras
- 10 minute walk to Euston
- 40 minute train journey
- 20 minute bus ride
- 10 minute walk

Makes a grand total of 2h40m, costing about £70. Or I could drive in 45 minutes.

Edit - I forgot to say that the office is only 26 miles away. Morning and evening traffic is a bit cruddy, hence the 45 min drive time.
 
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I don't think it would be very practical or indeed possible for me to carry all of my tools, ladders etc... around on public transport.

Also, in and around Bristol, it is incredibly poor and unreliable.

If me and a few mates are going into town we usually now start to walk there and flag down a taxi on the way. Usually one passes before we reach the Bus Stop and it's cheaper, comfier and more efficient use of our drinking time.
 
Bristol is terrible for public transport, especially on the outskirts where I live. Due to this I would prefer to cycle rather than get a bus as it's a hell of a lot quicker.

When I was in Newcastle however I found the metro system to be great and just wish that Bristol had something similar.
 
No train so for me it would be the bus v car.

To get to work at 8am

Car :
Leave house 7:20
Arrive 7:45
Cost £3 return, roughly (fuel)

Bus :
X25 leaves 07:11
Arrive 08:39

So, I'd get sacked for being 40 minutes late each day. No bus on Sundays either.

Oh, and the bus costs £6 too.
 
I live in London but I drive out of London for work. It takes 1hr15mins and over £8 each day because it's before 9am by train.

It takes 40 mins by car, or 30 mins by bike during term time. -10mins during school holidays.

If I was commuting into London, then yes I would use the train - but it's ******* expensive before 9am, so would have to get an annual pass or something. If the place in town had bike parking I'd go in by bike.
 
A picture paints a thousand words......


Red dot is my house. Green dot is closest mass transit location.

Notice the scale.......

transit.JPG



So, no. Public transit is NOT an option for me. AT ALL!! :p
 
In my current job:

Car - 15-20 minutes drive. Total ~ 15-20 minutes
Public transport - 5 minutes walk to bus stop, 40 minutes on bus, 5 minute walk from bus stop. Total ~50 minutes

In my new job which I will be starting soon:

Car - probably around 1.5-2 hrs drive through central London. Total ~1.5 - 2 hrs
Public transport - 5 minutes walk to train station, 20 minutes on train, couple of minutes to tube station, 15-20 minutes on tube, minute or two walk from tube station. Total ~50 minutes

Needless to say I currently drive to work but will be getting public transport soon!
 
Public transport is a failure in this country, it is one reason why I switched over to the car permanently after passing my test.

Daily journey from Islington to Blackheath (North to South London):
Car
Daytime - 45 minutes including time to avoid congestion charging zone (unless Blackwall tunnel is closed due to accident, flooding, etc... it takes 2-3 hours to get to destination)
Night-time - 25 minutes

£2 for 15 mile journey


Public transport
Bus, tube, train, then bus
Daytime - 2 hours average (excluding incidents like signal failure)
Night-time - up to 3 hours (night bus + reduced tube/train service)

£7.20 for a zone 1-3 travelcard.


[EDIT] And lets not also forget the comfort in the car as oppose to public transport unless you enjoy the smell, noise and heat (taking the tube in the summer is lethal)...
 
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Public transport is a no-go for me too.

I can't get to the train station for a start, as there are no buses that run that early. So a 2 mile walk to the train station it is. 30mins on the train, that'll be £12 please. Followed by another 1mile walk into work.

I don't have to walk home from the station though, as I can jump on a bus next to a smackhead. That'll be a further £2 please, and I'm still not home yet.

Or I could drive, I costs half the price (without factoring wear and tear), it's almost twice as quick and it means I don't have to put up with sitting next to dribbling smack heads on the public toile..transport system.
 
Tyne and Wear has one of the best-integrated public transport systems I've experienced in this country.

Notts also has a goodun'.

*n
 
eidolon said:
Bristol is terrible for public transport, especially on the outskirts where I live. Due to this I would prefer to cycle rather than get a bus as it's a hell of a lot quicker.

When I was in Newcastle however I found the metro system to be great and just wish that Bristol had something similar.
Click to expand...


Where bout's you too in Bristol? I'm in Hanham near the river, lovely ride into work until I get to the Feeder/Center...
 
In theory I should be an ideal candidate for using the train. I work 10 miles from where I live, there are direct trains every 15 minutes ish at about the time I need to leave and come back. But...

It takes 20 minutes to walk to the station (ok, I could cycle).
It takes 15-17 minutes to get from home station to work station depending on stops.
It takes 15 minutes to walk to work, again I could cycle.

It takes 10 minutes door to door to drive.

But here's the clincher. Car cost, weekly: ~£10
Train cost, weekly: £24.50 :eek: :rolleyes:

Hardly a tough call!
 
Dublove said:
Where bout's you too in Bristol? I'm in Hanham near the river, lovely ride into work until I get to the Feeder/Center...
Click to expand...
I live right near town, about 2 mins drive, fishponds rd, if i want to get the bus i have to get the 46, which goes all the way through easton and st pauls :confused: adds about 30 mins to the journey.
 
willd58 said:
I live right near town, about 2 mins drive, fishponds rd, if i want to get the bus i have to get the 46, which goes all the way through easton and st pauls :confused: adds about 30 mins to the journey.
Click to expand...

The only time I've ever had to get a Bus in Bristol, it took ages to get into the City Centre from Fishponds, and it was full of wierdo's :p
 
I probably have the most comprehensive public transport network on my doorstep, like Freefaller does, but for the majority of the time it takes twice as long and costs twice as much. Couple that in with the fact that I have to get way too intimate with the local scum and suffer the state of the vandalised trains I tend to choose the bike or car unless I'm drinking or shopping in central London.

It's just too busy and in too poor a state of disrepair for me to actually want to use it :(
 
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