Cost of public transport!!

[funnymummy]

I am totaly gobsmacked, open mouthed, speechless, shocked..and let me tell you, that don't happen every often!!
My eldest son has been collecting his little brothers from school, & waiting in the park over the road until I get there, about 20 mins later.
Today I had a meeting after work, so told him to get a taxi home - He decided to catch the bus instead, thinking it would be much cheaper...
It wasn't - In fcat it was almost the same price... £5.80! From my door to the school door it's £7.
But the bus doesn't do door to door service, he still had to walk 1/4 mile with them to the bus stop & then walk 300yrds and cross a very busy main road at this end!
I am still getting my head round it, almost 6 quid for a journey of less than a mile.... No wonder most buses I see these days are almost empty!

 

[Night Train]

There's one of the reasons I drive or cycle. Already made the capital investment so I use it. I'll have to use public transport when I go to London next month though.

 

[Mrbez]

I know exactly what you mean.

Last year at Uni I moved 3 miles out from the campus. The bus would take 40 minutes, for a journey that would take me 10 mins max in the car, and each trip was £5.20, it's a joke.

If my GF didn't have the car, it was cheaper for me to take it and to drive in.

I also just paid £18.60 for a day pass today on the tube in London.

 

[Peteaud]

I live in Somerset, and the mother in law lives in Berks.

Pita by car, so looked at the trains, me and the wife, return - £160 approx

ok it was peak but could do it no other way.

Went by car, £50 inc petrol and a coffee at the services.

Public transport in this country is a rip off.

Was in Spain this year, local bus and a good one with a/c 4 Euro for me and the wife, return for a 8-10 mile trip. If i go to spain i never hire a car, just use the buses.

If only in the uk

 

[TVC]

I've got one as well. Bus from near my home to the city centre is £2.80 each. The taxi company right next to the bus stop does the journey for £5.00. The number of people who arrive at the bus stop, have a quick chat with someone already waiting, then both/all jump in a taxi is not surprising. Also, you can park your car in the city for £3 for several hours (free on a Sunday). It's not encouraging people off the road.

 

[GTTTM]

I live in Somerset, and the mother in law lives in Berks.

Pita by car, so looked at the trains, me and the wife, return - £160 approx

ok it was peak but could do it no other way.

Went by car, £50 inc petrol and a coffee at the services.

Public transport in this country is a rip off.

Was in Spain this year, local bus and a good one with a/c 4 Euro for me and the wife, return for a 8-10 mile trip. If i go to spain i never hire a car, just use the buses.

If only in the uk

£160???? really - you should have booked now - it's only £96 super off peak even travelling tomorrow morning

(randomly took Taunton and Reading as arrival/depart stations mind so could be miles out LOL)

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I live in Somerset, and the mother in law lives in Berks.

Sounds good.

 

[XmisterIS]

And since the rail and bus networks have been privatised, I wonder how many £££ in profit the management are raking in ...

 

[Trembler49]

The reason for this, obviously, is subsidies. UK subsidies have been cut, Spanish have not.

Not a rip off, just a company trying to make a profit.

If we as a nation want cheap public transport, we need to vote for it and we need to pay taxes to get it. That last element being the tricky bit!"!

 

[Trembler49]

And since the rail and bus networks have been privatised, I wonder how many £££ in profit the management are raking in ...

Just in case you are unaware of the basics of capitalism. The management's job is to rake in profits. The management however do not always keep them, they are usually forced to distribute them to shareholders.

It is best to be both management and shareholder.

If you want a different system, vote for it.

 

[ColinJ]

Megabus from Manchester to Coventry (100 miles each way) - £8 return!

 

[Theseus]

In defense of public transport, at least here in Edinburgh.

The adult fare for a single journey. One stop or to the end of the line is £1.30

You can get a day ticket that allows you to ride all day on any number of bus's for £3.20

If you want to get a season ticket or get multiple tickets, the cost goes down even more.

As an added bonus, we have a stop just near our house and if I don't mind a short walk to change, a stop outside work.

I still choose to cycle as it is more enjoyable, but it is good to have a cheap alternative if I am not up to riding for any reason.


Oh, they are usually full.

 

[mcshroom]

Just in case you are unaware of the basics of capitalism. The management's job is to rake in profits. The management however do not always keep them, they are usually forced to distribute them to shareholders.

It is best to be both management and shareholder.

If you want a different system, vote for it.

The question however, is why does a public transportation network need to be a profit making business?

In any industry where the public sector provider has been replaced by a private sector provider, an element of profit now has to be generated on top of the revenue balance before. This is, unfortunately, usually accomplished by bringing in people on much worse terms and conditions (see hospital cleaners for example).

The other problem with making a public service a private business is that the focus moves from areas of low overall demand but real need, such as rural buses, onto saturating high value routes in urban areas where they can cream off the most profit. That's just how capitalism works.

The only part of the UK showing an increase in bus use since privatisation was the TfL area, which still operates much more as an old Passenger Transport Executive than a free market.

 

[Peteaud]

£160???? really - you should have booked now - it's only £96 super off peak even travelling tomorrow morning

(randomly took Taunton and Reading as arrival/depart stations mind so could be miles out LOL)

bang on, taunton - reading, then reading to marlow by bus

£96 return per person? and i thought it would be cheaper this time of year

 

[Peteaud]

Sounds good.

had to laugh at that