£1,000 annual boost for people who commute by bus

[HY_4273]

I trust this report on the Coach & Bus Week magazine website about research commissioned by Stagecoach might be of interest to some of you: https://cbwmagazine.com/1000-annual-boost-for-people-who-commute-by-bus/

Bus travel costs around 55% cheaper than the same commute by car, saving passengers an average
of £95 a month New national research has found that people who use the bus to commute are on average £1,000 better off than those travelling to work by car.
Despite lower fuel prices, bus travel costs are around 55% cheaper than the same commute by car, saving passengers an average of around £95 a month, according to the study.
The average annual savings of £1,095 would be enough to cover the entire annual energy costs for a medium-sized house....

G

 

[PeterC]

With only the driver in the car and paying normal commercial rates for city centre parking I can believe their headline numbers.

 

[radamfi]

There is nothing new here. Comparing total motoring costs with a bus season ticket has been done before many times. It is a pointless comparison. This is only meaningful if people are willing to get rid of their car and use the bus exclusively instead. Unless high parking charges are involved, leaving the car at home and using the bus instead will not realise such a saving and may actually be more expensive.

 

[northwichcat]

Whether the bus is cheaper depends where you live and where you work.

I know of one commute by bus changing from £5 per day to £10.30 per day overnight because it involves using 2 services and the operator of one of the services changed meaning two operator specific tickets were required instead of one.

 

[Tetchytyke]

With only the driver in the car and paying normal commercial rates for city centre parking I can believe their headline numbers.

But for most people the car parked on the drive is a sunk cost regardless of whether they use it. And the advertising, sorry, research never factors in the other uses of a car. It doesn't factor in £10 for a taxi back from the supermarket, or £20 to the hospital because the buses don't run till 10am on a Sunday, or the cost of getting home 55 minutes later than you need to because the evening service is only hourly and you're at work till 8pm.

I don't know why bus companies persist with this sort of argument because it just makes them look silly.

 

[trainmania100]

Brighton to Eastbourne bus route is getting more buses
Pain being stuck behind them driving home from work as it is. Oh well, I guess they'll be more frequent when I need to get to a station without having to find parking

 

[KendalKing]

Whether the bus is cheaper depends where you live and where you work.

It also depends on the level of service being provide by Bus Operators.

Last year, Stagecoach reduced by local service by 70%, including the lost of the direct bus into town, which use to take 25-mins. Now the first bus is due at 09.40, with a change of buses, meaning you don't getting into town until 10.45, which is no good for commuters!

In the last 10-months, car ownership has more then doubled, due to the poor bus service.

 

[PeterC]

But for most people the car parked on the drive is a sunk cost regardless of whether they use it. And the advertising, sorry, research never factors in the other uses of a car.

The report supposedly compared the MARGINAL cost of using a car. The comparison is on carefully selected corridors where destination parking will be very expensive.

 

[northwichcat]

It also depends on the level of service being provide by Bus Operators.

Last year, Stagecoach reduced by local service by 70%, including the lost of the direct bus into town, which use to take 25-mins. Now the first bus is due at 09.40, with a change of buses, meaning you don't getting into town until 10.45, which is no good for commuters!

In the last 10-months, car ownership has more then doubled, due to the poor bus service.

Indeed for many commutes there isn't a suitable bus service or combination of bus services. Even on some routes which have a pre-9am and post-5pm service they only use a single bus so if you are travelling away from the larger town in the morning and towards it in the evening the bus there still isn't a suitable service for your commute.

 

[nerd]

But for most people the car parked on the drive is a sunk cost regardless of whether they use it. And the advertising, sorry, research never factors in the other uses of a car. It doesn't factor in £10 for a taxi back from the supermarket, or £20 to the hospital because the buses don't run till 10am on a Sunday, or the cost of getting home 55 minutes later than you need to because the evening service is only hourly and you're at work till 8pm.

Only if you are living on your own.

A car used for commuting in the city is very much a sunk cost, sitting in a long-stay car park all day. So whoever is at home would still have to find £10 for the supermarket and £20 to get to hospital.

Which is why, when high fequency rapid transit routes reach out into suburban areas, reluctant car users in large numbers switch to tram, metro or train.

The conundrum is why bus services have generally found it so difficult to achieve the same levels of attraction. What we do know is that specific 'enhanced bus' services have been highly successful in bucking the overall pattern - the Cambridgeshire and Leigh busways; the 36, Cityzap and Coastliner buses into Leeds; the WitchWay and Red Express buses into Manchester; Platinum services in the Black Country.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Whether the bus is cheaper depends where you live and where you work.

I know of one commute by bus changing from £5 per day to £10.30 per day overnight because it involves using 2 services and the operator of one of the services changed meaning two operator specific tickets were required instead of one.

Therein lies the advantage of local government playing a large role in the provision of public transport services - multi-operator tickets! The MK Moove is very popular in Milton Keynes, and doubles my journey opportunities at a pretty reasonable price.

 

[stuart100100]

Therein lies the advantage of local government playing a large role in the provision of public transport services - multi-operator tickets! The MK Moove is very popular in Milton Keynes, and doubles my journey opportunities at a pretty reasonable price.

Agreed. Merseytravel have just launched a Solo day ticket. Buy on the bus, £4.70 which can be used on any bus in Merseyside at any time