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Author Topic: "Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving"  (Read 8946 times)
grahame
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« on: May 11, 2019, 00:53:12 »

From the Daily Mail

Quote
Travelling by train is up to 13 times more expensive than driving - with a return from London to Manchester costing £327 - nearly TEN times the £33.97 fuel bill for 398 mile round trip

* Current rail prices described as 'absolute rip-off' when compared to car or plane
* 20 journeys around Britain at peak times show car as cheaper in every case
* Train journeys - when not delayed - are more expensive but are far quicker

Their highest ratio was Luton to Cambridge - £84.60 cost of peak return ticket v £6.40 cost of petrol - 13 times. Second was Bath to Southampton - £125.70 v £11.79 - 10.5 times.

They admit in the article

Quote
The analysis did not take into account the cost of parking and expenses such as tax and insurance, and are based on the car achieving its advertised fuel economy. However, the rail figures do not include the cost of getting to and from the train station. In addition, families would have to buy several tickets if travelling via train instead of by car.

I don't know where their £125.70 came from for Bath Spa to Southampton - brfares quotes me £195.00 anytime return "not via London" ...and just £35.80 via Salisbury which is the natural route to take virtually every time.  And with a senior card that's down to £23.65.   Peak fare - remember.  Mind you - replace petrol / diesel by electricity and you cut your fuel cost to £4.89 - https://www.nextgreencar.com/cost-calculators/nissan/leaf/ .

The £84.60 Luton to Cambridge is a dubious fare too ... 2 x anytime single.   They say "fares we were quoted" and I suggest that whoever asked for the quote carefully chose different days to get the highest cost they could for a journey which I will admit is really awkward by train.   Real "Great Way Round" stuff through London.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2019, 01:06:33 by grahame » Logged

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froome
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« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2019, 07:25:03 »

Yes that Bath Spa to Southampton fare is nonsense. The anytime return inc peak hours is £35-80 and the off peak is £28-30. If returning another day, you can add on about £4 to the fare. There is no reason to use any other than the direct route, but even if you did, a return via Reading isn't anywhere near as expensive as the fare quoted by that article. I'm guessing that that fare is via London.

Many fares from Bath Spa do seem to be prohibitively expensive compared to some other places, but the Southampton fare is actually remarkably cheap compared to most of a similar distance, and that route does also have cheaper advance fares.
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Timmer
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« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2019, 07:27:41 »

And how many actually pay £327 to travel from London to Manchester?
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2019, 09:15:48 »

…...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.’
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2019, 09:35:12 »

I don’t think anyone would disagree with that statement.  The key word being ‘can’.

We all know there are horrendously extortionate fares out there, just as there are also some absolute bargains to be had.
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didcotdean
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« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2019, 10:40:00 »

Picking Luton to Cambridge as a rail journey is a bit daft as it is quicker by a direct coach, although the cost of that is typically £15-£19.

A different comparison there might be with a cab fare which would be around £75.
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Cava
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« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2019, 11:01:46 »

…...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.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2019, 12:48:21 »

…...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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Cava
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« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2019, 14:29:17 »

…...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!

It's nice to see my former headmaster on here too! Good to hear that you were cleared of all charges.
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Clan Line
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« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2019, 15:30:20 »

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 ??
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LiskeardRich
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« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2019, 16:09:50 »

I drove to Weston super mare and back last Saturday with my children. My 2.0 diesel car averaged 67.2mpg on this round trip. I forget the distance but I’d guess around 200 miles round trip... but it’s not material such is the astronomical train price, 1 adult 2 children.
I could have got 20 gallons of diesel (or maybe more) for the train fare, enough to travel over 1000miles!
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2019, 16:34:13 »

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"?  Wink

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!)  Smiley
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Celestial
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« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2019, 17:29:40 »

I drove to Weston super mare and back last Saturday with my children.

They must have been very naughty then to deserve that.
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Clan Line
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« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2019, 20:46:00 »

(…..and avoid hysteria!)  Smiley

No - don't avoid the hysteria - it's lovely this time of year !


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LiskeardRich
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« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2019, 06:41:30 »

I drove to Weston super mare and back last Saturday with my children.

They must have been very naughty then to deserve that.
Haha

Just left the car with a friend for flying from Bristol airport. Didn’t visit anywhere in the town.
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