In the UK they are trying to encourage more people to use public transport but the bus and train fares are so high it is cheaper to use the car. I personally walk to do the school run and use the car for long distance or the big weekly shop. I was talking to my Mum and she said in Spain it is only one euro to travel anywhere on the bus so many more people use them. How do you feel about this. I feel UK should make travel that cheap so many more people would stop using their cars so much. What is it like in your contry?
[question posted by ellie333]
responses and comments:
Trains fares in the UK and very expensive. Booking in advance for long distance train trips gets the best deal. The fare system is complicated and Friday is a popular and expensive day for travel. The cheapest Apex fares go first and buying on the day people can pay a great deal. I paid £40 in advance but my sister booking on the day of travel had to pay £120. My local bus service charges £2.60p into town return and it is only three miles there. To go to my local city the cheapest way to getting there is a £7 all day bus rover ticket. I got a ticket of 10 single trips and it cost me £34. It is annoying that I have to use the bus to places where my friend live. It is actually cheaper to travel a similar distance by train, but only after 9.30 in the morning. Commuters have to pay a great deal for their peak service to work in the early morning. But over crowding is a common problem. Many European countries like you point out Spain have cheap public transport systems. I wish that the UK did. Of course people prefer to use their cars. The cost of one train ticket is a lot so it is even more for a family of 4 people. Taking them by car is far more economical than by train or bus. Like you said, walking or going by foot is a great "get in shape exercise" method or a way to save money. [maximax8]
Thank you - Will send details once set up. Ellie [ellie333]
i like to used public transport,today in our country the gasoline are too high,,we are opposite [marketing07]
Its high here too but it is still cheaper to use the car than public transport especially if there are more than one of you [ellie333]
well,I'm a chinese.In my country,it's much cheaper to use public transport than using the car.Often we only need one yuan(RMB)to travel from one place to another in a city.so,many people would rather to choose public transport than using their cars. I agree with you so much! [sharon681]
If only the British Government would listen and follow your Country's example. It is much more sociable also as you meet people on your journey. If everyone used just green cars, the world would be cleaner, too. Thank you so much for your response [ellie333]
For short distance I always drive my own car. Anyhow for long distance that needs more than five hours or going up hill I prefer to take public transport, so that I could travel more relaxingly. In this way when I reach the destination I am still quite refreshed and energetic, so as to be able to enjoy my vacation at the very time when I get out from the vehicle. Also, it is more economical and convenient to take public transport for long distance travel. I can understand elderly, especially those with wheel chairs or mobility walkers may be afraid of public transportation at first. But I once they do it, they'll realize how convenient it really is. [lkbooi]
It is good that you can relax on your public transport. We usually packed in like sardines and not too comfortable a ride [ellie333]
In France the return ticket is 2.50 euros (2 pounds). It's still cheaper than car if you come and go to work considering traffic. Car is good to go to big discount stores in the city outskirts, thou metro could be used fine in Saturday morning. Many people prefer car for flexibility and for shorter time travel. And that's hard to beat with public transport. In France you can make 2 connections within 45 minutes. In Spain, the bus/metro single ticket is 1 euro but the average income is much lower than UK and yet many traffic jams happens every day. [lucgeta]
Sounds like they have a really good system set up. Thanks for sharing [ellie333]
Yes I use public transportation. I'm in college and I have class 3 days a week. I only take the bus back home, my friend and her mom drive me to school in the morning. To take the bus back home I have to pay 2 dollars in change so I can get a transfer to get on the other bus. I have to take 2 buses to get home. I don't have a car neither a license but if I did I would be using my car instead of paying to take the bus... [sweetangel88]
Thank you for your response. Sounds like you trip to school is more pleasant and easier than the trip home. [ellie333]
I live in a small town and there is really no public transportating available. So it's either drive your own or bike or hike...the taxi's are very expensive here~! However if I have to ride at night, I make sure my bicycle lights are in working order. [jillhill]
Yes the transport system does tend to forget about rural areas [ellie333]
my family and i use buses here in the us were we live cause it is cheaper than the car. for me it is 35 cents my daughter is free til age 6 and my boyfriend is .75 cents to ride [jiffys_frog_woman]
Excellent! Very reasonably priced to encourage more use [ellie333]
In our country (Philippines) our public transportations are cheaper than using our own car due to high cost of gasoline specially when going to short distance. we have what we called "Jeepney" it only cost 7.50 pesos for short distance and for every additional 4 meters (i think) it cost around 8.75 pesos [angel08]
Hi I do not understand the currency but if it cheaper than using your own vehicle thats really good. Sounds like they have a good system in place. Thanks for sharing [ellie333]
It´s absolutely cheaper to use the public transport. Even if it can take little longer time to come to a place. [snawitz1]
In Stockholm-Sweden,it´s cheaper to take the underground or the bus,than take the car. And if you go by car,you must look for a place to park it. [snawitz1]
I think public transport should be cheaper tahn using the car. I use public transport in my country. In my country everything is cheap.So the public transport is much more cheap than using a car and all. I think if any government urges to use it, then it should be cheaper option. [subha12]
My views exactly.. Pleased for you that using public transport is cheaper than using the car. Thank you for sharing [ellie333]
I am from Philippines, and we always use public transport if we want to go somewhere, except for those who have cars. The fares of public transport here is very cheap compared to having your own car. For short distances we use motorcab, and for distances 3-5 km we use jeep. There are also buses here. Train in big cities, but in our place there is none. In Philippines, the fare directly proportional to the distance being traveled. Here in Philippines, you would see a lot of design, there are jeeps/multicab which are already air conditioned, van for public transport, while other uses battery or water instead of gasoline to travel. The last one I mentioned collected the cheapest fare. [honeylore23]
Thats fantastic to hear that public transport is so much cheaper for you and so many forms of. [ellie333]
Here in the US, public transportation sucks unless you live in or near New York City, Washington DC, or other big cities. Luckily I only work 2 miles away but there are no sidewalks and the roads are twisty or I would walk. My husband drives 40 miles a day because where he works there is no public transportation. If you live in the city, there are buses and other modes to get you to certain parts of the county. But we live in one county and he drives to another and they don't have county to county transportation. It is really sad. His company is a national one and he use to work in our local county but when he got his new position he had to go to the next county which was only 8 miles away and then they moved their office further because their company was outgrowing the space. Thankfully he has a motorcycle that he uses when the weather is nice. [kimbers867]
Well lets hope they do re-regulate,75% is astronomical and everyone in your state must be suffering because of it, but with the monopoly they seem to be able to hold you to ransom as everyone needs electricity, its not like you can just stop shopping with them is it. Poor you. How awful Ellie :( [ellie333]
i too live in the uk and think it is abominable the prices of transport especially as the prime minister has two carsof his own!yet he is the one who expects people to use bicycles-what if you cant?does he expect people to walk miles and miles to work?it really annoys me-i walk most places and use the train as it is cheaper than buses-whatever the goverment decides to do to save the environment global warming is a natural course of the planet so its not going to do anything if we stop using cars-the only thing in its favour is that petrol.diesel is so expensive so you do save a little money not much but some as sometimes it costs more to use public transport than the car [littleowl]
Hi I was gonna start a petition but have been into goverment petition website and there is already one started. Have requested you as a friend so if you would like to sign it you are more than welcome. Many thanks Ellie [ellie333]
Its too far for me to walk to the nearest bus stop. If I were to take the bus, it would take me several hours to make a 20 car ride. Heck, it I had wanted to take a bus to pick up my car at the repair place last week, it'd meant catching a bus, going downtown, transfering at LEAST once, maybe even walking more blocks to the transfer point, and then coming back north - with all the stops between. I should use one of those accurate pedometers to keep track of the distance. It was WELL worth the $13 cab ride for the 7 minutes to get to the dealership to get my car. [ElicBxn]
I'd love to ride a horse, but I don't have one of those either.... dern [ElicBxn]
you would think they would lower the fares if they want people to ride them. In my country, Canada, it is cheaper to take the bus than it is to take your car. A bus ride here, in Winnipeg, is $2.35 each way. So to go to work and back everyday it would cost $4.70. Now with parking charges and the price of gas it probably costs an average person about $10 a day to drive their car to work. I think this is the way for your country to get people to ride the bus, drop their prices. [chrislotz]
I totally agree with you but they keeping putting prices up instead (cos of rising fuel costs) and they charge more at rush hour time so the people having to use the transport to get to work and back are the ones hit the worse. [ellie333]
Our country is absolutely the opposite situation.Our main transport is bus,and it is not dear at all.But in some large cities may higher than it is in the small cities.In our country,not everyone has a car as it in your country. [fairyanny]
I guess when can our country will develop your leverl.^^ [fairyanny]
I live in Turkey and we are having some problems with the public transport too. Since it is much more expensive to travel by your own car I have to use public transport but they simply doN't satisfy me. The buses are always very very crowded and you just have to wait for a long time when you really need to get on a bus. I am simply sick of them :D, but I have to use.. [the_ruler]
thank you very much for your comment it is really very nice of you :) I hope the things will get better for all of us... [the_ruler]
i do use public transport especially when going to work because for me it is the fastest and more convenient way to my office because of huge traffic in my country you wont even think of using your car everyday to your work because of monstrous traffic ahead of you and its better to use the public transport than drive and get a bad mood because of stress due to traffic... [johndur]
apologies accepted....yes its more economical to use public transport than using your own car.thanks for spending a little of your prescious time.good day! [johndur]
i am really disgusted with uk transport fees they are too expensive and put you out of pocket when having to travel-so put me on your petition-littleowl [littleowl]
hi ellie no worrys bout answering late and you were tired yes i did sign petition for transport-i think fares nowadays are absolutely abominable-littleowl [littleowl]
In stockholm,we´ve lots of different public transport,likes buses,all kinds of trains,metro,boat. I usually take the train or the bus Susanne [WinnieThePoe]
Thanks for respone. Have a nice day [WinnieThePoe]
Do I use public transportation? I rarely get the chance. Not just that but where I live public transportation is laughed at and is summarily dismissed by the public at large. Instead, people want more roads, wider roads and more cars. People also love their driving yet are grossly poor at it (cellphone talking while driving, eating while driving, watching TV while driving, failure to obey simple traffic laws, general ineptitude) Combine that mentality with the "me-me-me", rulebreaker, nonsensical and entitled to driving mentality and you get a picture of what's going on here. Then they wonder why there are so many traffic jams and such poor transportation quality. Anyways, there are a few bus lines around here but they are very limited. Oh and these lines don't go to "their"(more affluent) parts of the greater city area, because they are afraid of "those people"(anyone not good enough in their minds). It'd be nice if we could get more buslines. It'd be nice if local, regional and cross country rail were implemented. Of course so many people (organizations, groups, citizens) are adamantly against it and think they'll lose so much if it happens. Yet plenty of these same people complain about rising gas prices and rising car maintenance costs. Somehow the higher prices and significant chance of sitting in traffic for multiple hours offsets the need for more transportation options. "Fascinating" isn't it? -_- [theprogamer]
I didn't realise public transport was so bad in the States, but having read a few responses now from people over there it seems horrendous. In fact it makes me feel lucky to live in the UK even if the costs are very high, at least we have a very accessible transport system. I can catch a bus from the end of my street which leaves every twelve minutes and runs late at night too so no expensive taxis from a night out. Love the way you put about the poor driving skills of many, that irritates me too! Many thanks for your response. Ellie :D [ellie333]
In my city,because of earning more money,there are more and more people want to buy cars.from the near 5 years,there are obviously more cars on road.My city is not a big city in my country and the road is narrow,most of the road only could hold 5 cars to drive in line.but my hometown is one of the ecnomic city in my country,people always can afford to buy a car,so for convenience,every family all prefer to buy car these years.in the busy time,there are traffic jam.My family havn't buy car.so i always go shopping or to school by public transport or walk or with bicycle.I prefer to walk,because i can't take bus or taix,my stomach will feel bad. [moondan]
Now in my city without any reduction you pay around 1€ for a bus ticket. I think that's common place in most of the country. [overwings]
Public transport prices in the UK really killed me. Very often travelling in your own privet car was cheaper specially at peak time when trains are overcrowded. I was living next to London so enjoyed the peasures or the commuter's dayly life till I learnt where to park in London for free. The day travelcard from my place at peak time costs over 20 pounds. By car I spend my be 8 including the underground. Now I live in Spain where public transport is State owned and where prices are more reasonable. Only superfast trains are very expensive unless you buy in advance on the internet. [overwings]
Hi overwings, Thank you for sharing. I agree the prices in the UK are ridiculous. My mother lives in Spain and for one euro can travel almost anywhere which is a much fairer system whether it is one stop or all the way to Benidorm, she lives in Murcia. Ellie :D [ellie333]
I use public transport.But in the case of expense the train travel is better here.We can travel in train cheap than Buses.And train will help us to save some time also.thanks happy [naseefu]
Trains I agree are faster to travel on if you get good connecting ones. I use all forms, car, train and bus, but only use the car for the weekly shopping trip and for long distance. I walk often but if tired will catch a bus back. Thanks for sharing. Ellie :D [ellie333]