I have to commute to work, but I try not to travel for leisure (unless it's on my season tickets' route). I also can't encourage other people to travel by train. If there's a group it's often cheaper and more convenient to drive.
Apart from congestion charging there aren't really many peak or off peak driving costs (well there's the cost of possibly being stuck in traffic).
The problem with rail fares is that people are paying them. Unless the public votes with their feet, the tocs have no incentives to reduce fares (those that they have control over).
The cost of petrol keeps spiralling however, so both methods of transport are in the same boat. The people to blame are not the
TOCs▸ , it is infact that government who have such a stupid franchise system where these TOCs pay
vast sums of money just to run the railways. Call it a stealth tax if you will.
