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3286
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: "Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving"
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on: May 14, 2019, 21:41:55
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In point of fact The Mail was reporting on Railway v Road, with only the tiniest reference to air from one of the independent sources.....for what it's worth, IMHO▸ using the London-Aberdeen example you cited, 1hr 45 by air v 7 hours by train, for only a few £ extra from London Luton? No contest.......but anyway as you were! 🙂
My mentioning walk-up fares on airlines did send the comtributors a little off topic, so getting back to the crux of the issue by using a similar comparison: As posted above, anytime single London to Aberdeen £181.50 Google maps tells me it is 546 miles by road and the journey would currently take 10h 42m. At 18ppm (the cost of diesel for my elderly 2.2L Mercedes) that would cost me just short of £100 in my car. Add in maintenance and repair costs (which I have found to be approximately equal to the fuel cost) takes the total to just short of £200. Depreciation would not be an issue for me (because it's a 1998 Merc and only cost me £1600 when I bought it ten years ago!) but it would be for others, more than offsetting the savings on repair and maintenance for a newer car. Tax and insurance would be fixed costs that you would pay for having the car in the first lace, so you wouldm't reasonably apportion them to a trip like this. So in summary, walk up fares are air £287 cheapest and takes 105 mins; rail £181.50 and takes 7 hours, road c.£200 and takes just under 11 hours. As the say, you pays your money and takes your choice. I can't see any numbers in there that support the "thirteen times more expensive" claim, though  Can you point me to the section of the article which claims that rail travel from London to Aberdeen is 13 times more expensive? (Apologies if I've missed it if it's obvious, at my age the eyes aren't as good as they used to be!) |
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3288
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: "Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving"
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on: May 14, 2019, 12:34:15
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Easyjet is even cheaper than driving, last time my Bristol to Glasgow and back cost, Bristol to Glasgow, £24.99 and Glasgow to Bristol. £22.98, in total £47.97, less than the total cost of a full tank of petrol into my Ford Fusion.
It would be more correct to say "Easyjet CAN BE cheaper than driving" since the fares vary depending on demand. That's the problem here its like Magabus' £1 fares adverts if you only quote the lowest price that is only occasionally available or only available to a few travelers then it always looks cheap. All this is true, but the Mail was reporting on "walk up" fares and so was I with my Chippenham to Paddington examples. Of course you can get a cheaper deal with Easyjet if you book an "advance" ticker, in exactly the same way as you can with a rail ticket. Another thing worth remembering with airlines, especially the budget ones, is that the price can go up markedly if you are taking baggage along with you. In point of fact The Mail was reporting on Railway v Road, with only the tiniest reference to air from one of the independent sources.....for what it's worth, IMHO▸ using the London-Aberdeen example you cited, 1hr 45 by air v 7 hours by train, for only a few £ extra from London Luton? No contest.......but anyway as you were! 🙂 |
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3289
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: How much taxi before it stops being a train journey?
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on: May 13, 2019, 18:26:32
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I tend to think of a journey as being primarily by train if the train fare is significantly more than the taxi fare.
Example, London to Minehead. Train fare to Taunton £170. Taxi fare Taunton to Minehead £60. A train journey IMHO▸
Example, Berrylands to Sutton. Train fare Berrylands to Surbiton £3. Taxi fare Surbiton to Sutton £40. A taxi journey IMHO.
The only reason for taking the train to Surbiton was a lack of reliable taxis in Berrylands It was quicker and simpler to take the train to Surbiton at which place there is a taxi rank.
National Rail gives a fare of £52.60 London Paddington to Minehead (including bus fare), can't see any fare at £170 apart from a 1st class anytime single @ £174.80? |
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3291
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / Heritage railway lines, Railtours, other rail based attractions / Re: Newly restored "Flying Scotsman" back in service - ongoing discussion
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on: May 12, 2019, 21:41:26
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………..I wonder how many of said muppets will be behaving in a similarly irresponsible and moronic way when the HSTs▸ set out on their final journeys in the near future?
I doubt it. HSTs were very common until recently, and a photo or a viewing of the last service is not different enough to be worth the trouble. The problems might arise in years to come when a preserved HST makes a rare main line trip. Returning to the present trespass problems, I would hope that the courts start imposing more significant penalties for such trespass. If the owner of a child is involved one might hope that they could be charged with endangering the child. As far as the final runs of the HST are concerned, it would appear that problems are currently happening ON the trains rather than lineside. I am a member of a closed Facebook group that is moderated by drivers and there have been reports of extremely moronic behaviour by so-called enthusiasts on several services. .......please don't tell me Broadgage has been trying to pinch the contents of an entire buffet car for old times sake? 😉 |
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3292
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All across the Great Western territory / Smoke and Mirrors / Re: Network Rail bosses "let the plane take the strain"
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on: May 12, 2019, 08:11:45
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Is that because NR» staff need to pay the same ticket prices as the rest of us when they travel on business? In the days of BR▸ we just used a pass or a free ticket. I remember travelling from Derby to York and back on an 'All Stations BRB‡' pass when I worked for BR.
I suspect in many cases taking a flight was cheaper, much quicker, more reliable and a more efficient use of time and doing business. British Airways staff catch trains too I expect, and Highways Agency staff have been known to go by ferry. |
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3295
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: "Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving"
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on: May 11, 2019, 16:34:13
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Typical hysterical load of Daily Wail garbage !
Ignoring the gross errors in the rail fares quoted, the Wail seems to have ignored/forgotten/missed/never thought of the most important point in their non-story............Your train fare gets you a ride (possibly even a seat !) to your destination.
The "cost" of the car journey is for x gallons/litres of petrol - no more, not even a can to put the petrol in, let alone a vehicle ! Do I just throw a match into the petrol and hope the resulting explosion is large enough to blow me to Southampton, Manchester or wherever ?
I have just put some figures into a "car costs calculator" on the "This is Money" website - it tells me that my Fiesta costs me 79p a mile to run !! Makes the rail fares look a bargain.
PS: Do Ford do a Senior Road Card to get me 33% off the car costs ??
......I think perhaps the Mail is not the only one being "hysterical"?  It's a valid point that rail travel can be extremely expensive, almost invariably more so than jumping in the car, particularly if there is a family or group involved, or if the travel is taking place on a "walk up" basis, rather than with the benefit of enough available planning time to obtain a "cheaper" advance ticket - the cost of driving doesn't alter whether you decide to go at one minute or one months notice, and 4 people in a car only cost fractionally more in terms of fuel consumption, whereas 4 train tickets? Considerably more, particularly if Groupsave isn't available/possible. There is also the ridiculous amount of different fares, splitting, etc, some of which not available from all sources which further complicate the issue. II hits the nail on the head (as so often) - train fares "can" be a ripoff (can is the pivotal word), some can be cheaper, most are somewhere in between, very few will prove cheaper than a car journey. No matter how keen one is on trains, or reluctant to accept anything from the Daily Mail, it's important to keep perspective (…..and avoid hysteria!) |
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3296
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: "Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving"
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on: May 11, 2019, 12:48:21
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…...an impartial view from a consumer expert within the article?
Guy Anker, of consumer website Moneysavingexpert.com, said: ‘Rail prices can be an absolute rip-off compared to other modes of transport such as driving and even flying. Even if you use every trick in the book the chances are driving will be cheaper, especially if there are a few of you.’
There's a W missing from your italic section. Great to see children contributing to the Forum! |
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3298
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All across the Great Western territory / Your rights and redress / Re: Giving up seat for an "old bird"
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on: May 09, 2019, 12:07:59
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I have to confess I no longer give up my seat for any woman - old, young, pregnant or disabled. Having once received loud, public abuse for allegedly being condescending and a typical bloody man and all manner of completely inappropriate bollocks, when I in all innocence offered a woman a hand with her heavy luggage, I learned my lesson very well, thank-you. I now keep my nose down and ignore eye contact altogether.
Never lower your own standards simply because others have lowered theirs. |
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