And you think petrol is expensive

[mattbeef]

While trying to save money on making trips to see SWMBO i thought that id see how much the train is from Sheffield to Stansted thinking that it might be cheaper to use public transport.

Was planning it for 3 weeks time and gave me a price of £82.30 and an average of 4 hours each way!!

Now i know that its not a popular route so thought that id try Sheffield to London and then get the tube to Epping and get SWMBO to pick me up. This lot came to £81.60 and would take about 3 hours plus the drive from Epping.


So where is the motivation to try and get the train i might as well do it on the cheap for £55ish in the Octy and not have to sit next to a smelly tramp and leave my car at work all weekend.

So is there a serious alternative to travel on the cheap or is this another one of the many British transport jokes

[smstext]

this is why so many people wont give up the car. if public transport was cheaper and more reliable then more people would leave thier cars at home and use it.

[Solent_Mike]

I agree that trains are expensive but a little digging on the internet can reveal some good packages. Being over 60 also brings its benefits, for example a 30 minute National Express coach journey from Fareham to Southampton costs £1.50 return. I can't even park the car in Southampton for that cost and the seats on the coach were plentiful and comfortable.

[philje123]

You usually only get it cheap if you plan months in advance!

Suppose it can work out pretty cheap if you don't already have a car (based on costs of buying, taxing, MOT'ing, insuring and fueling a car) but if you already have a car and have done everything apart from fueling the car it just isn't financially viable to use the train etc for a one-off journey!!

[Kaiserb_uk]

This is the fatal flaw in current government thinking - public transport MUST be cheap if it is anything at all. There are some things which really shouldn't be privatised as they can't be run for a profit AND supply the benefits they're supposed to.

Can't believe I just said that (bluer than blue me) but then again this labour government is slightly right of Ghengis.

[Wardy]

Yep, it is a shame

The only other alternative I can think of is National Express...

Steve

[philje123]

I used to get a bus from Bridlington to Leeds... cost £13 for an open return and it took 3 and a half hours!!!

It was either that or 20 odd punds on the train!!

[jlwah]

Originally Posted by Kaiserb_uk

This is the fatal flaw in current government thinking - public transport MUST be cheap if it is anything at all.

Except the Government wants to make driving much, much more expensive than public transport rather than make public transport cheaper than it is. That way they can keep millions of people employed in pointless public sector jobs or quangos, people whom presumably they hope will vote for them next time round.

Just my 2ps worth.

[anonymouse]

Local bus - less than 1 mile - £1.50
Careful planning by daughter and off peak times - 40 mile trip by National Express = £1.

Crazy

[apd007]

Just a thought, is there a flight option?

[mattbeef]

Even the National Express is £40.50 but takes 6 hours each way! Its just crazy as i could drive there and back in 6 hours!

Wonder how long it would take to walk the 178 miles

[mattbeef]

Originally Posted by apd007

Just a thought, is there a flight option?

From where though? It would either be Doncaster or Leeds Bradford and i reckon it would be daft..............*goes to check anyway*

*Edit*

No one fly's from either to Stansted so looks like im driving anyway

[mluton]

here you go mate:
low cost inter city travel

me and SWMBO have been to london and back for as little as £2.50 return each

[sharkrider]

you should see the bus prices up here in the lakes... it takes the ****, the goverment know public transport is more expensive, so they know you have to use your car as there's no alternative, so they know they can tax you to death......

a return journey from keswick to borrowdale valley is about £5 on the bus, even with todays fuel prices, it would cost about £0.50 in fuel.....

[mattbeef]

Cheers for that one mate didnt know that the megabus now did a mega train

[philje123]

Megabus are part of Stagecoach... i don't like stagecoach! lol

At least they're cheap!

[smstext]

beaten to it, megabus advertised on the back of their bus seats from £1 if booked in advance online.

[ag.morley]

Booking in Advance can say you boatloads, Leeds to St Pancaras Via midland main line £8......Euston to Colwyn bay £10 with virgin. Lot's of travel centre's don't tell you about these fare's, Maybe some can't be bothered The only thing with cheap fare's is You must be on the train you have booked on otherwise you pay again.

[L-Y-K]

Originally Posted by philje123

Megabus are part of Stagecoach... i don't like stagecoach! lol

At least they're cheap!

I thought it was national express who owned the £1 bus?

as nice as £1 sounds!! i dont think i would ever travel on them. my mate travels on them quite often and sometimes you end up on a old school double decker four hours!

and they break down quite often. took them 5 hours to send a back up coach for the rest of their journey!!

Public transports awful down in cornwall too. £5.70 at peak times return to do a 7 mile journey!! no thank you, and thats when most people need to get to work.

[mluton]

All the magabuses I have traveled on have been really nice coaches

[KenONeill]

I've never used them, but any Megabuses I've seen have been proper long-distance motorway coaches.

[anewman]

I went to london from leeds a few years ago now on the National Express coach funfare £1 there and £2 back and I think I paid £15 a night at a travelodge. Oh and when I got there someone kindly gave me a weeks underground pass with a few days left on it. Must have been the cheapest london trip ever

But my GF lives in Wales, and when it comes to trains - just checked and cheapest return I can get for today is £87.10. At last check petrol costs about £55.

Just checked and the cheapest ticket I can get for booking in advance is £26.50 return (cheaper than I thought). Unfortunately things always seem to come up whenever I have booked trains in the past, and they are non-refundable and it often leaves you with no choice but to pay full whack for a ticket - the car gives you freedom you just can't get with public transport.

So public transport can be cheaper than the car if you book well in advance and specify times and dates, but the car for on the hoof travel, petrol cost is always cheaper than the train - even for one passenger.

Add to this you always end up with teenagers being rowdy and playing crap music on their mobile phones for the entire journey, and drunks etc - the car is champion all round.

[sdenny]

Originally Posted by mattbeef

While trying to save money on making trips to see SWMBO i thought that id see how much the train is from Sheffield to Stansted thinking that it might be cheaper to use public transport.

Was planning it for 3 weeks time and gave me a price of £82.30 and an average of 4 hours each way!!

Now i know that its not a popular route so thought that id try Sheffield to London and then get the tube to Epping and get SWMBO to pick me up. This lot came to £81.60 and would take about 3 hours plus the drive from Epping.


So where is the motivation to try and get the train i might as well do it on the cheap for £55ish in the Octy and not have to sit next to a smelly tramp and leave my car at work all weekend.

So is there a serious alternative to travel on the cheap or is this another one of the many British transport jokes

If you've got the time and the inclination, have a play with buying tickets from A-C and C-B rather than just A-B. It can work out much cheaper.

I discovered this at swindon station one morning. I was waiting to buy a travel card from Swindon to london. At the time I knew this to be £95.

The guy in the queue in front bought a peak single to didcot, a travel card from didcot to london and an off peak single from didcot to swindon. The total cost was £64.

That was first great (train robbery) western though....
Just a