[Buffster Bird]

I work shifts so public transport is a non starter for me. Will keep driving no matter what the cost.

[feenaldo]

When I was at work last week one of my customers, a retired BP engineer had this chat with me. He worked for BP his whole life engineering ways to get oil out the ground....

He told me that back in the 70's when people first started to get twitchy about fuel rising people were thinking the day of the car was numbered but then progressing technology enabled them to drill in places they never thought of before which eventually brought prices back down.

He said there is lots more oil out in the Gulf left yet its just a matter of getting to it, and technology is now at the stage where this is possible. Now they can't drink their oil... they have to sale so its likely that price per barrel once they start getting more out again will fall a little rather than rise past $80 which would keep it more static again like it was 70-late 80's with the only increases being what our government decide to place on it.

That does not mean to say it will get cheaper, the problem here is the way its taxed... tax on tax which is totally unfair.

This also does not mean that just because it hasn't reached the stage where people NEED public transport that our government should neglect to make improvements. Anybody that thinks the public transport infrastructure in this country is satisfactory has no clue. Look at how we compare to some of our EU friends like Germany... we have a long way to go yet.

There are alternative energy solutions available, but no research for that really gets much funding as of yet, the governments of the world will continue to reap the profits from what we have until things really start to go pear shaped.

Does this mean I will stop driving? Never! They will have to prize the car keys from my dead body. Will I reduce the amount I dirve? Yes! But ONLY when they make trains etc a reasonable price, you can fly most places for less than the train which to me just seems silly given the fuel involved.

[Fin]

Tax to drive on the road, tax on the insurance you must have to legally drive on the road, duty and VAT on the fuel you use...

Somone has to pay for MP's expenses I suppose.

[ALD0]

I filled up Super unleaded this morning.
£52!

The same amount of litres cost £34.79 when I fist started driving, an that wasn't all that long ago!

[dakini]

what the question of "when will you give up dirving" doesn't consider is that the cost of public transport has gone up tremendously in the last few years.

over the last decade and a half, i've now lived over here for a few stints of 3 to 9 months at a time, and it used to be pretty cheap to nip up on the train or coach to visit a friend in birmingham or down in bristol or wherever ... now, except for a few well-travelled routes, prices have skyrocketed. i specced a train ticket oxford to holyhead for doing MTI ... the cost was going to be just short of £200 for an open return ticket! that's more than the base fare for my transatlantic flight was.

rising petrol costs get passed on in so many ways other than jsut driving ... public transport costs go up, food costs go up (bc shipping costs more), etc. that's to say the answer isn't necessarily "go public transport" instead of your own car ... since public transport prices go up when the cost of using your car does.

[Fin]

Quote: Originally Posted by dakini (original)

what the question of "when will you give up dirving" doesn't consider is that the cost of public transport has gone up tremendously in the last few years.

over the last decade and a half, i've now lived over here for a few stints of 3 to 9 months at a time, and it used to be pretty cheap to nip up on the train or coach to visit a friend in birmingham or down in bristol or wherever ... now, except for a few well-travelled routes, prices have skyrocketed. i specced a train ticket oxford to holyhead for doing MTI ... the cost was going to be just short of £200 for an open return ticket! that's more than the base fare for my transatlantic flight was.

rising petrol costs get passed on in so many ways other than jsut driving ... public transport costs go up, food costs go up (bc shipping costs more), etc. that's to say the answer isn't necessarily "go public transport" instead of your own car ... since public transport prices go up when the cost of using your car does.

Hop off at Colwyn Bay and I'll drive you to Holyhead. You should never go on your own, the locals are nuts

[RooniusMaximus]

I think it's impractical for anyone to even consider giving up their cars once they've become accustomed to them.

The post about how we managed 30 years ago is pretty much negated by the fact that because we now all have cars, we all have jobs which are farther away than they were 30 years ago.

For me, my 60 mile round trip is done via a Train and my bike (pushbike). At something like £250 a month for the privilege, it would be bheaper to drive (in petrol terms), but £8 a day for congestion charge and god knows how much on parking would make it non-viable.

I sympathise though. While I do have options, not everyone is so lucky. My wife has a similar length journey and while I can leave my desk and be in the house in under an hour with bike/train her journey by public transport would be 3+ hours each way.

[Lorri]

Quote: Originally Posted by RooniusMaximus (original)

I think it's impractical for anyone to even consider giving up their cars once they've become accustomed to them.

The post about how we managed 30 years ago is pretty much negated by the fact that because we now all have cars, we all have jobs which are farther away than they were 30 years ago.

Good point... lifestyles have changed so much since those days. How many of us shop locally too?!

[Goonery]

Today I made a serious effort to discover if the bus was a viable means to get me to work and back, and I found out that I can have unlimited travel on any of the routes any day of the week for a monthly charge of just over £70. Gets me to and from work at decent times and is almost door to door, so I can read the paper or use the Ipod on the way.
Now I currently do about 30 miles each day to work and back which is about a gallon of petrol if I drive sensibly, so I reckon about £30 a week on fuel + the wear and tear on the car means I'm spending around £150 a month using the GP.
I've decided to try the bus for a few weeks and see how it goes and save about £80 a month into the bargain.

I can see the GP getting well used at weekends , and I'll be able to drive it a bit harder with all the money I'm saving.

[ALD0]

Quote: Originally Posted by Goonery (original)

Today I made a serious effort to discover if the bus was a viable means to get me to work and back, and I found out that I can have unlimited travel on any of the routes any day of the week for a monthly charge of just over £70. Gets me to and from work at decent times and is almost door to door, so I can read the paper or use the Ipod on the way.
Now I currently do about 30 miles each day to work and back which is about a gallon of petrol if I drive sensibly, so I reckon about £30 a week on fuel + the wear and tear on the car means I'm spending around £150 a month using the GP.
I've decided to try the bus for a few weeks and see how it goes and save about £80 a month into the bargain.

I can see the GP getting well used at weekends , and I'll be able to drive it a bit harder with all the money I'm saving.

And thats exactly what the government want...

[nylo]

I haven't given up driving, but I'm certainly a lot more conscious about the drives that I take. A couple of years ago (when I didn't have a house to fund, granted) I wouldn't have thought twice about jumping in the S and disappearing down 70 or 80 miles of back roads just for fun.

I've curtailed a lot of that random driving now, and have started to cycle or run if it's viable

[PmP]

predicted to last until theres a recession in the stock markets. Some people say christmas, some say 4-5 years!

[Hugo]

Sickening petrols up 50 per litre in 8 years of me driving. Public transport would probably cost more, train would be £7 return plus a bus, to go 22 miles return. Plus an extra hour traveling

Couldn't give it up!

[mooneymini]

Living around where I do, there are plenty of places of work where people would not be able to get there using any form of public transport.

There is no way at my place of work that anyone could get in using public transport, and anytime we have been hiring for a job, they just have not been able to employ anyone who cant drive or hasnt got a car.

Its a pain when someone brakes down!

We havn't had a car all this week so I have had to borrow one of my parents cars, otherwise I'd end up living at work!

I dont mean to be overly rude or too controversial- but does anyone actually like/respect Gordon Brown right now?

[airbusA346]

I'm sure I heard someone in the news the other day say that the government can't do much about the price of petrol, but errrrr where does nearly all of the money go from petrol......... TAX!!!!

Then in the news the other day, they said that the government are getting a windfall of 1.25 Billion pounds because there is such a difference between the price of a oil in the budget and what it is at the moment.

[LMB]

It won't be long before petrol theft becomes come place.

[airbusA346]

Quote: Originally Posted by LMB (original)

It won't be long before petrol theft becomes come place.

Think that might be quite hard in some places, because they are starting to use stingers.

[Harpo]

Quote: Originally Posted by LMB (original)

It won't be long before petrol theft becomes come place.

What's the point in stealing petrol?

Far easier for low-life with a baseball bat to ambush you, smash the window, then your skull, leave you in a bundle in the road and drive off until the fuel runs out.

Then do it all over again.

[Shaun]

Had the classic done for petrol twice years ago they were so easy to get into I had to do it myself once when the key froze in the lock.

[Lorri]

Quote: Originally Posted by LMB (original)

It won't be long before petrol theft becomes come place.

Domestic heating oil is already being stolen... it was on Radio 2 this afternoon