Poor quality passenger rail service increases demand for private car purchases

[Starmill]

Research by car sales platform Auto Trader suggests that the poor quality of the rail service since the pandemic has been feeding through to increased demand for private car access.

More than half of prospective car buyers in the UK said they were considering purchasing a private vehicle because of increasingly unreliable public transport, according Auto Trader.

The findings by the online car marketplace, based on its most recent twice yearly survey of customers, compared with just a third who gave the same reason for looking to buy a car in February 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The platform registers an average of 65mn visits a month.

The pandemic had already stimulated demand for private vehicles as people opted for personal transportation rather than risk infection on buses or trains once lockdown restrictions were lifted.

But the further deterioration in train services since the network was hit by industrial action that started in the summer has convinced more people to get behind the steering wheel, said Nathan Coe, chief executive of Auto Trader.

“Initially a lot of people said ‘I’m not really comfortable with public transport because of the health risks’,” he explained. But the most recent findings from its survey, conducted in late September and released just before Christmas, showed that “a lot of people are saying ‘I’ve got to rely on this for my living, and the public transport is just not as reliable as I would like it to be, and certainly less reliable than owned private transport’,” he added.

Reporting by the Financial Times: https://on.ft.com/3jR3N5z

 

[Roast Veg]

Every passenger voluntarily making this lifestyle change won't be coming back to the railways, possibly ever. What a disappointment.

 

[DanNCL]

Hardly a surprise. I've been considering getting a car for a while now. I've already largely given up on the train, suffering with the bus until I've got enough saved up to get a car and pay the insurance. As bad as the bus is, it's more reliable than the train here. Once I've got a car I won't be going back to rail unless there's a massive improvement.

 

[Adam Williams]

I don't think it's necessarily all doom and gloom. Rail still has its advantages over driving; particularly in terms of giving you time back to get some work done, relax, read something that would otherwise be "wasted" being on the look-out for morons switching lanes without indicating or checking you're next to them.

I suspect you'll see folks in this position consider the train less for more local travel though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Every passenger voluntarily making this lifestyle change won't be coming back to the railways, possibly ever. What a disappointment.

Why do people keep saying this? Large, busy and expensive car parks at stations which are regularly well populated with cars proves otherwise.

If you buy a car, you're not required to only travel by car. You can still go by train, bus, fly, cycle, walk, whatever. Most cyclists are car owners as well. I'd venture that most people using trains have a car on the drive (or in the car park) too.

Those who don't have a car now and are seeking to buy one will drive somewhere like London or Manchester once, then they'll drive to the station instead.

 

[GWVillager]

To reiterate some other comments, this is hardly surprising. I'm one of the few of my acquaintances who is not even looking at getting a car, the railways are becoming virtually impossible to rely on.

 

[Bungle73]

Hardly a surprise. I've been considering getting a car for a while now. I've already largely given up on the train, suffering with the bus until I've got enough saved up to get a car and pay the insurance. As bad as the bus is, it's more reliable than the train here. Once I've got a car I won't be going back to rail unless there's a massive improvement.

At least with the train if it's not coming you usually know, where as with the bus it just doesn't turn up. Had that happen to me on more than one occasion.

 

[Thirteen]

Seems a bit biased for a car seller to suggest people are abandoning public transport for cars.

TBH It doesn't mean public transport is doomed and the railways and bus services are heading for the chop like some people on here seemed to think.

 

[DanNCL]

At least with the train if it's not coming you usually know, where as with the bus it just doesn't turn up. Had that happen to me on more than one occasion.

The Arriva and Go North East apps show if a bus is cancelled. Granted it relies on you having the app, but it's a lot better than it used to be.

 

[Undiscovered]

Once all this shenanigans is over, the railways will be running again.
With all the extra cars on the road, drivers will still be weaving around the potholes and poor surface quality for years to come.

 

[route101]

I do have a car but hate driving long trips when I can get the train. I find driving stressful and its pretty dangerous.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Arriva and Go North East apps show if a bus is cancelled. Granted it relies on you having the app, but it's a lot better than it used to be.

I think it depends on how well the local company integrates with it, but the Milton Keynes RTPI at stops shows cancellations, and they appear on Google Maps too.

People buying cars is probably more of a threat to the bus industry, that said, particularly where such cancellations are frequent. A lot of drivers still use trains, but you need a VERY good bus service to get them using buses.

 

[Thirteen]

People buying cars is probably more of a threat to the bus industry, that said, particularly where such cancellations are frequent. A lot of drivers still use trains, but you need a VERY good bus service to get them using buses.

Bus cancellations do vary depending on where you live and places like London don't have many if any bus cancellations.

 

[6Gman]

At least with the train if it's not coming you usually know, where as with the bus it just doesn't turn up. Had that happen to me on more than one occasion.

Many operators offer realtime information and many can be viewed on www.bustimes.org

You can call up a map of your area which will show where buses are currently are and where they are heading.

 

[Mat17]

I must admit I'm one of these people who finally gave in in 2020 and bought a car. This was because of the ever decreasing bus service provision though, and nothing to do with trains, but I can certainly understand the reasoning therefore.

 

[GWVillager]

Many operators offer realtime information and many can be viewed on www.bustimes.org

You can call up a map of your area which will show where buses are currently are and where they are heading.

This is quite poorly publicised and the UI isn't too friendly though.

 

[ChrisC]

Those who don't have a car now and are seeking to buy one will drive somewhere like London or Manchester once, then they'll drive to the station instead.

Completely agree. Most of my journeys by rail are for leisure purposes. Since retiring, 8 years ago, I try to have few days away from home each month. Before Covid most of my trips were by train and have sometimes made use of regional rail rovers. I do have a car but would never use it to drive to stay in a hotel in any large city. I still quite enjoy driving but rarely do journeys longer than about 3-4 hours these days. Therefore over the last year, whilst train travel has been so unreliable, and made worse by the strikes, most of my holidays have been by car to relatively quiet rural areas within 100 miles of home. I have often left the car in the hotel car park whilst there and used local buses. I have begun to quite enjoy this type of holiday and the railways will have to become much more reliable again to tempt me back on a regular basis. Also since EMR have reduced my local train service with a supposedly temporary timetable, which seems to have become permanent, even journeys into Nottingham around 10 miles away have been by bus instead of train.

 

[Ivor]

I’ve not had a car for 6 years now but considering buying one again although really torn with the cost implication.

I’ve relied on trains & buses for work & social during this period but I’ve been booking more & more hotels thanks to the strikes to get to/from work or a ‘social event’ or be left high & dry on certain days.

 

[Howardh]

Many operators offer realtime information and many can be viewed on www.bustimes.org

You can call up a map of your area which will show where buses are currently are and where they are heading.

I use it and find it very reliable, don't agree that it's an unfriendly UI, I think it's fine. Bus stops can be added/removed as you wish. Best thing is it seems to cover all companies.

 

[JohnMcL7]

It's not had to believe, I recently decided to use the train instead of a car amidst a long drive and paying significantly more than the petrol for the car to ride jam packed in a train without a seat on a long trip then cancellations and problems on the way back was not a good experience. It felt like such luxury when I managed to get back to my car and the friends I'd met up with had all been delayed on the trains for different reasons, I'd been looking forward to passing the time by reading a book or watching a video but that was far from reality and that's outwith all the strikes and other issues.

I usually travel with a bike which I can easily pop in the back of the car but getting it booked onto trains is usually next to impossible and I'm not even sure it would fit on the likes of the IETs from what I've seen of their bike storage areas.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

People I know are put off by overcrowding, not being able to open a window so high risk of infection, unreliability plus the hassle of doing half a days research to find an affordable fare. But I find driving stressfull so if I can use the train or bus instead of driving I will.

 

[dk1]

Every passenger voluntarily making this lifestyle change won't be coming back to the railways, possibly ever. What a disappointment.

How do you come to that conclusion?

People I know are put off by overcrowding, not being able to open a window so high risk of infection, unreliability plus the hassle of doing half a days research to find an affordable fare. But I find driving stressfull so if I can use the train or bus instead of driving I will.

I’ve never known anybody want to open a window due to infection in Winter except during the height of the pandemic when the odd passenger had a rant on Twitter. Was awful on buses with that freezing cold blast but we understood back then it had to be done.

 

[Bletchleyite]

People I know are put off by overcrowding, not being able to open a window so high risk of infection, unreliability plus the hassle of doing half a days research to find an affordable fare. But I find driving stressfull so if I can use the train or bus instead of driving I will.

I'm not sure this is true. Last week I was on a packed TfW 153 with no windows open. I actually got off because there were so many people coughing their heads off that picking up a cold was near certain! Aircon, when working, deals with this far better.

 

[JamieL]

I think the issues with railway - especially the dreadful WCML - will push many people towards cars in the short-medium term but it won't be an irreversible trend. Driving long distance isn't some sort of utopia - its boring, marred by tens of miles of roadworks with average speed cameras, congestion, motorway closures/diversions that can easily add 1+ hours to your journey at a whim, boy racers, middle lane hogs, variable driving conditions, dangerous due to debris etc. I also think the cost benefit of driving is an illusion - the fuel/time saving may be better than the train but the extra maintenance required to your car soon adds up.

Yes, those using the WCML will bear all that because it is better than Avanti. But times change and one day the WCML may have a different operator who might be better and the Government may stop blocking decent pay for railway workers. Then the railway will be attractive again.

 

[Craig1122]

Bus cancellations do vary depending on where you live and places like London don't have many if any bus cancellations.

Plenty of bus cancellations in London too. Will show in apps like Citymapper as due but then just not arrive. Official figures claim 97.7% run although I must admit I'm sceptical from recent experience.

I think the issues with railway - especially the dreadful WCML - will push many people towards cars in the short-medium term but it won't be an irreversible trend. Driving long distance isn't some sort of utopia - its boring, marred by tens of miles of roadworks with average speed cameras, congestion, motorway closures/diversions that can easily add 1+ hours to your journey at a whim, boy racers, middle lane hogs, variable driving conditions, dangerous due to debris etc. I also think the cost benefit of driving is an illusion - the fuel/time saving may be better than the train but the extra maintenance required to your car soon adds up.

Yes, those using the WCML will bear all that because it is better than Avanti. But times change and one day the WCML may have a different operator who might be better and the Government may stop blocking decent pay for railway workers. Then the railway will be attractive again.

All of this. I've driven over the last couple of months when I would normally have taken the train. But also not made some trips because I just don't want to drive them. Oh and also you can't have a drink if you're driving!

 

[The Ham]

Research by car sales platform Auto Trader suggests that the poor quality of the rail service since the pandemic has been feeding through to increased demand for private car access.



Reporting by the Financial Times: https://on.ft.com/3jR3N5z

I'd suggest that more, who are already buying cars, are citing poor public transport as the reason - quite probably rarely using public transport.

Why, well the data is doing that more people are using buses (not London) and the railways than 6 months ago:

Domestic Transport Usage by Mode

www.gov.uk

Ultimately, if car use/ownership increases by very much journeys will get worse and parking will be harder, to the point where people will switch back.

Vehicle automation may help a little with this (especially parking of cars), however they are likely to be priced to compare to taxis rather than private cars. As such people could be more inclined to use rail for longer trips (£800 for a round trip between London and Plymouth anyone rather than £230 for a cabin in the sleeper each way?).

At this sorts of prices rail would win out a lot of the time - that's with a per mile cost of £2, rather than the minimum which TfL cite as the lowest at £3.05/mile.

 

[KeithMcC]

It is hardly surprising. I don't commute any more but do need to make business trips and, of the most recent ones, 4 out of 4 have had cancelled trains at some point. On 2 trips the train I planned to take was cancelled and so was the next one so I just drove.
Now with strikes as well I am wondering why I bothered to renew my Senior Railcard. I would like to go to an aunt's funeral on Friday, but no trains, too far to drive in a day and the air fares are sky high as well, so I won't be going.
In my younger days I managed for years without a car until I was finally driven to buy one by an early 1980s train strike and after that I had an option and used the train much less. I would still prefer to use the train but not at the risk of getting stranded somewhere.

 

[Geeves]

I think maybe folks who have used the train for a long time and perhaps drove outside of the peaks will be in for a rude awakening when it comes to driving into the majority of Britain's major cities during the peaks. They are not a car friendly place, many roads have been narrowed, traffic lights and junctions seems purposely poorly designed with badly timed lights and finally it can cost 10 to 20 pounds to park centrally. Driving to work is stressful these days. Actually driving anywhere these days is stressful.

Doesn't make me too worried about passengers coming back once things settle down how ever this ends.

 

[miklcct]

I must admit I'm one of these people who finally gave in in 2020 and bought a car. This was because of the ever decreasing bus service provision though, and nothing to do with trains, but I can certainly understand the reasoning therefore.

As driving is both expensive and sinful, I am doing everything to avoid getting a car as long as possible (although I do hold a car club membership). However, if the current state of affairs continue on the railway and I am priced out of London, I may eventually give up my life in the UK unless I can work in a role to avoid this happening, by providing adequate transport provision to every city and town across the whole country. I have lived my first 30 years of my life car free and I don't want to change this.

This is quite poorly publicised and the UI isn't too friendly though.

Sorry but bustimes.org is a very useful resource for me. Without it I don't even know how I can check timetables, and recently, fares for a lot of smaller operators. It is also the only resource for me to know where buses go to / from a certain place for a future date as well.

I have created gbtt.uk for the exact same reason for rail, as I need to know where and how frequent trains go to / from a certain place on a future date by showing a timetable, which journey planners can't help.

 

[farleigh]

I used to like commuting by train but it became too unreliable and I started commuting by car. I much prefer rail and would like to support it but don't think I will go back for a while.