What do you value more? Travel time or cost price?

[PaulMc7]

Hi guys I would love to know what you value more when it comes to traveling out of the cost of the journey or how long it takes.

For me personally cost will always be the main factor but I have seen a lot of people think in many different ways so I'd love for us to say what we value more to get other peoples' perspectives on it.

 

[yorksrob]

Cost and comfort for me.

 

[ComUtoR]

When traveling by which mode of transport ?

 

[westv]

Time for me.
I could never be one of those people who save a few pounds but triple the journey time.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Very much depends. Sometimes time, sometimes cost, sometimes comfort, sometimes any two of those (all three of course is generally not possible )

 

[cb a1]

Reliability. One of the reasons I commute and travel to meetings mainly by train is because comparatively it's very reliable (and when it's not, I get compensation).

 

[PaulMc7]

When traveling by which mode of transport ?

Any tbh

 

[radamfi]

Anyone who has some experience in transport modelling or economics will know about the concept of generalised cost. In the simplest terms, this is generally defined as a function of the time taken and cost, where that cost is in petrol, public transport fares, tolls, parking or a combination. The weight given to the time portion varies by type of traveller. For example, business users are more inclined to prefer faster journey times, whereas leisure travellers have more interest in the cost than business users.

 

[PaulMc7]

Anyone who has some experience in transport modelling or economics will know about the concept of generalised cost. In the simplest terms, this is generally defined as a function of the time taken and cost, where that cost is in petrol, public transport fares, tolls, parking or a combination. The weight given to the time portion varies by type of traveller. For example, business users are more inclined to prefer faster journey times, whereas leisure travellers have more interest in the cost than business users.

I can definitely agree with that. I've always been bus over train purely because I can get so much more use out of bus tickets here in Glasgow and the bus into the city centre takes the same amount of time as the train but there's 12 buses an hour but only 4 trains so that plays a part too plus we've had a lot of unreliability with the trains here lately

 

[ComUtoR]

Any tbh

By Train : Couldn't really care tbh. My priority is to get to my destination by the time required. I find trains generically comfortable and there is little between seating. Price wise I tend to travel at the spur of the moment and unplanned. Cost isn't an issue (for me) as I get Priv prices. If I had to pay full price, I'd consider an alternative. I've taken the Eurostar to France and decided to go Premium and it was well worth it. I walked through the train and everyone was squeezed in like cattle. My carriage was spacious. The meal was included so that was also a benefit.

Bus : I hate the bus. They are seriously expensive and for the journeys that I do, I'd rather walk and save the money.

Plane : I rarely fly but I went Business Class recently. Great in terms of comfort, horrendous in terms of price. I didn't think it was worth it. However, flying economy is just some kind of evil. Well worth upgrading for extra legroom etc and anything to ease the pain of economy. Many people consider the price vs flight length.

I think the longer the journey, the more you consider comfort. If I'm paying extra, I want value for my money. I took a Heathrow Express recently. Why anyone would pay for first class on that is beyond me.

 

[Esker-pades]

Train:
My train travel splits into 3 categories:
London to Edinburgh (or vice versa): I go for trains which have cheap first class advances. If that means travelling on a stupidly late or early train, that's OK.
Other long distance leisure travel: If I have date flexibility, I'll go for the cheapest one. If I don't, I have a cut off for what I consider "worth it" for the distance. I either travel, or I don't. I usually don't have time flexibility because I'm trying to go from Edinburgh to Tonfanau and return in one day (or a similarly far-flung tiny station with barely any service) so there's not much I can do about times. For example, I only travelled on weekends to the Strathspey Railway because the anytime tickets were "not worth it".
Short distance: See if I can split the tickets to save money and go.

Bus:
I don't care. I don't get the bus for any great length of time. I only go by bus when the train isn't an option or I need to do a quick hop in the city.

Plane:
I haven't flown for over 2 years now. My environmental credentials mean I do my best not to fly at all.

Coach:
No.

 

[al78]

Cost, time and less environmental impact.

When I went to Inverness back in June, I looked frequently at the ways to get up there, and although it went against my principles, I flew up in the end. It was a choice between about £130 flying and about three hours journey time, or paying close to £200 by train taking nearly 11 hours. I came back home via the sleeper, the selfish rational choice would have been to fly home on the Friday afternoon for half the price and the ability to get back to Horsham in time for the bridge club evening session, and get a better nights sleep inn my own bed on the Friday night.

That sort of journey is a once a year event. For visiting family, it is a choice between car or train. The train is quicker (though not by much) thanks to the seemingly endless roadworks on the M6 and ever increasing traffic congestion, but is more than double the price, thanks to the absence of cheap advance tickets. I will drive if I think I will get good use out of the car when up north, or if I am transporting a load, otherwise I'll take the financial hit and go by train.

This is what sucks about transport in the UK. There are time and financial penalties in trying to take the more sustainable option.

 

[bramling]

Hi guys I would love to know what you value more when it comes to traveling out of the cost of the journey or how long it takes.

For me personally cost will always be the main factor but I have seen a lot of people think in many different ways so I'd love for us to say what we value more to get other peoples' perspectives on it.

Simple answer, journey time & comfort. I can't really think of a situation where cost would factor into a decision, unless there was a massive difference.

I'd take a slower train if it offered a more comfortable journey, or even went via a more interesting or scenic route (if not in a hurry), but not simply on lower cost. Indeed quite often I will look to take a peak-restricted service if this means it won't be so busy, which can sometimes be the case.

 

[PaulMc7]

I've never found trains to be much more comfortable than buses and for every bus journey I make the train always works out more expensive. Can be quicker sometimes but I'm so comfortable with using buses that unless the price increases beyond the cost of the train and becomes as unreliable as the train then it's always bus for me

 

[GB]

Depends. I have a job where I have to travel in the opposite direction to pick up a van or hire car then travel passed my home to get to the job, then travel back passed my home to take it back. In this case I will take my own car, take the hit on the fuel and associated costs but save myself two hours work time. If I am on the job more than one day I’ll take the hire car.

 

[underbank]

Cost for me which usually means I take the car instead of train. Usually, the car is quicker anyway for short/medium journeys. So really only use the train for long journeys, but even then, if there's more than just me, the car still ends up cheaper, and also quicker if you're going somewhere that needs change(s) of trains due to lack of direct services.

 

[gg1]

Of the two travel time is the more important to me but comfort trumps both of them, which is the reason I always drive when the only option by rail is a XC Voyager.

 

[BluePenguin]

Ooh this is a very good question.


To me it really varies on what I have doing that day and how tired. If meeting a friend for a planned day out then I opt for speed and comfort. It also depends time of day I am travelling and whether I need to reach my destination quickly.

Generally I will go for the quicker and more comfortable services if I can get tickets at a reasonable price. If it is a last minute trip, I will always value cost over comfort and choose the slower option.

I also have set spending limits based on where I am going and if I cannot get the desired price or below then will probably not travel until later. If there is no way to get a good price, I will not bother with the train and get a BlaBlaCar or Megabus instead

People aged 40 and above seem to drop £50- £100 and think little of it as they have more money to spend compared to people my ages who are price sensitive and have limited budgets.

 

[PaulMc7]

Ooh this is a very good question.


To me it really varies on what I have doing that day and how tired. If meeting a friend for a planned day out then I opt for speed and comfort. It also depends time of day I am travelling and whether I need to reach my destination quickly.

Generally I will go for the quicker and more comfortable services if I can get tickets at a reasonable price. If it is a last minute trip, I will always value cost over comfort and choose the slower option.

I also have set spending limits based on where I am going and if I cannot get the desired price or below then will probably not travel until later. If there is no way to get a good price, I will not bother with the train and get a BlaBlaCar or Megabus instead

People aged 40 and above seem to drop £50- £100 and think little of it as they have more money to spend compared to people my ages who are price sensitive and have limited budgets.

Yeah I'm 25 and everything is about budgeting hence why I use the bus most as I can get most out of that

 

[PeterC]

With a drive and expensive parking before even entering a station I would normally drive the whole way unless parking is massively inconvenient or expensive and there is a public transport option for the last leg. In reality that means I only use the train for visits to London or the park and ride bus for Oxford.

 

[Bald Rick]

Surely the answer is both? Ie people will trade some time for cost and vice versa. But the value of each minute (or hour) varies for each individual. For some people saving £5 but having an extra hour on a 2 hour journey is worth it; for others paying an extra £50 to save 20 minutes on a two hour journey is also worth it.

 

[Clip]

Journey time just about each and every time especially in this country

Ill generally only fly when going abroad though

 

[Techniquest]

This question, once upon a time, would have been comfort-focused. That would have been when I had a railcard though, and thought nothing of popping down to London for the day from Swansea.

These days, near-ish 8 years on from my last railcard, I have so much to spend money on that I have to make careful decisions about my travel. I rarely take the train anywhere, I just can't afford to. Quite, National Express get more of my money for long-distance trips than the railway. I could (if I wanted to) book a day trip to London for tomorrow on National Express and pay about £26. Such a trip on the railway would cost me far more, add in food/drink and a Travelcard and it just isn't worth it.

Not that I plan to go adventuring for a while, the money I'd sidelined for that this month has been spent on buying a new phone which has become a bit of a necessity but should save me money come the end of my contract in November. So long-term it will be worth it.

Someone mentioned comparing flight prices with comfort, especially on long trips. Well yeah I suppose I do too, to an extent. I only fly Economy, regardless of route, as I simply cannot afford to fly in any other class. It does mean I can do more trips in an average year though, so that isn't a bad thing. Yes I even flew Economy from Manchester to Sydney!

It's not the most comfortable way to go, and it wasn't with my top choice of airline, but to do Manchester to Sydney and back, via Abu Dhabi, on my choice of aircraft was just under £609. Compared with Emirates who wanted a lot more than that, BA wanting £841 and Qantas wanting something silly like £1,100, the choice to fly with Etihad was obvious. Not that I'm willing to fly with them again, but that's been covered in depth back in March 2019!

For me when it comes to flying the considerations are fares, which airline it's with, departure/arrival airports, connections to/from the airports and what craft is booked for the flights.

When it comes to trains, it primarily boils down to cost. It can be argued going via Birmingham on WMR/LNWR Advances to London is not in all that lower a level of comfort compared to GWR, and the cost saving via Birmingham can be a huge factor. Yes it's usually quicker on GWR but the longer journey via Birmingham also allows for a nice little leg stretch during the connection which can be considered a bonus.

Indeed it's fair to say that comfort on National Express is usually better than that on GWR too. I'd also generally choose National Express for a trip to Heathrow, given the journey by rail is far less convenient.

So all in all the train often loses out here!

 

[Wirewiper]

Sometimes not needing to change.

An example: Torquay to Plymouth, train is often quicker than the bus. However the bus goes directly, i.e. get on in Torquay and off in Plymouth. The train requires a change at Newton Abbot which con sometimes work well, but sometimes the connections have long waits and sometimes the better connections can be lost because of late running. The bus is simply more predictable (the timetable is easy to remember too, which cannot be said about the train).

 

[gazthomas]

Speed, followed by cost then comfort

 

[PeterY]

It just depends and to be honest I hadn't given it a lot of thought. Mainly I travel for leisure by train. I can easily avoid the peaks, being sort of retired.

Bus, Locally no chance. Too expensive, I'd rather walk and I do.

The one thing I do do, is if I have a rail rover, is to squeeze as many miles as possible

 

[route101]

Glasgow to London , train usually .
You can get a ticket on a coach for tenner but for not a whole lot more you can get train in half the time

 

[The Ham]

I'm another for whom there's a balance, cost is a major factor but it would only ever be part of the equation. It also depends on if the travel is for work or lesure purposes, and with the latter if I'm traveling alone or not and if there's others who need the user of our sole car (I walk to work so the cost of a second car would be prohibitive for the amount we'd use it).

 

[nlogax]

Short-haul / within the UK it's either a train or flight depending on whether I'm in a hurry or not. Long-haul anything short of eight hours then it's economy or premium economy if the price is right. Premium or business for anything over that duration, again, if the price is fair.

For work journeys via plane or train I take what I'm given. Nothing above economy, nothing about standard class. No issues with that at all. The only thing I try to ensure is sticking with one airline for both business and leisure, great for tier points and miles.

 

[RJ]

For me it is dependent on trip purpose.

For going to work, time is the prevailing factor. I'd sooner pay to take the direct National Rail service than use TfL for free with an interchange and 15 minute time penalty. However my nominee pass holder is the opposite.

For leisure travel by rail I put a higher value on comfort. For my regular weekends trips from London to Norwich, by choice I went via Ely as I didn't like the Mk3s on the direct route. I find commuter trains with a lot of spare seats more comfortable and pleasant to travel in than old intercity trains which often don't have enough legroom. I actually like travelling on Hull Trains 180s and IEPs because they have adequate legroom.

For air travel it's a bit more complicated. I don't like flying in Economy long haul for any longer than absolutely necessary because it's uncomfortable for me. If I am forced to do so, I will pay extra for an exit row. I'm not looking to get pins and needles, trapped veins or that DVT nonsense for the sake of saving a few pounds.

For London to Hong Kong I recently took the train to Manchester via Doncaster then Cathay Pacific in biz which cost a total of £250 for taxes and train fares. No biz availability from London. On the way back it was Singapore Airlines in First to Singapore then Suites to London which cost £35. I'd sooner have done this than have done a direct return in Economy for £500 or thereabouts. Once the flight is over 12 hours, the day is a write off for me so I don't mind breaking things up a bit.

I've moved on from the railways where it comes to looking for value fares - now it's all about making the air fare work for me and I won't say no to flying in big seats for a fraction of the cash price of economy. Not keen on ex EU or other interchange on short trips to save a few pounds though, because adding 2 hours minimum to do so without something to significantly offset the time penalty doesn't do it for me.