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Why does anyone commute into town centres in cars?

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  • October 16, 2018 at 10:10 am #29050
    road

    I know there’s always going to some people who ‘have’ to commute in cars for some reason or another but it just seems madness after what I witnessed this morning.

    Luckily I don’t work in a town so my commute is fairly rural and congestion is perhaps a tractor in the way but I went into York as I had a early appointment at the hospital and it was just utter grid lock.

    I was on the motorbike and came off the A64 at the designer outlet to massive queues, down the outside to the front and carried on like that, cutting to the front all the way to the hospital. It was just like a 3 mile queue into town. I’d have never made it on time in a car.

    I really can’t imagine doing that EVERY day and never get that lightbulb moment. All you’d need would be a moped.

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  • October 18, 2018 at 3:21 pm #929221
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    Anonymous
    PRSboy wrote:
    ChrisB200SX wrote:
    People drive because public transport totally fails to meet requirements and there are far too many dangerous drivers let loose on the roads, among many other reasons.

    Yup, fair point.  Also in my case lack of infrastructure, namely something as simple as a shower at the office.  I ride the 15 hilly miles to work in the lighter months for fun, but only when I can look like a sweaty scruff in casual dress on Fridays, after a mop down with a flannel…

    If I had a shower at work I would undoubtably do it more, but the prospect of riding the twisty country potholed roads in the dark is worrying, seeing the speeds folk pass me on those lanes.

    When I worked at a place without showers I used to cycle to a nearby swimming pool and do a few lengths after my ride before starting work. It was great and I was fit as a butcher’s dog without smelling like one.

     

     

    October 18, 2018 at 1:38 pm #929219
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    PRSboy
    ChrisB200SX wrote:
    People drive because public transport totally fails to meet requirements and there are far too many dangerous drivers let loose on the roads, among many other reasons.

    Yup, fair point.  Also in my case lack of infrastructure, namely something as simple as a shower at the office.  I ride the 15 hilly miles to work in the lighter months for fun, but only when I can look like a sweaty scruff in casual dress on Fridays, after a mop down with a flannel…

    If I had a shower at work I would undoubtably do it more, but the prospect of riding the twisty country potholed roads in the dark is worrying, seeing the speeds folk pass me on those lanes.

    October 18, 2018 at 1:12 pm #929217
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    ChrisB200SX

    I’m self-employed and

    I’m self-employed and currently commute Reading to Camberwell.
    I used to walk to bus stop, bus into town, train into Paddington, underground to Victoria, overground to Camberwell. This was costing my business nearly £500 per month. GWR services are appalling, any delay on any of these links and I’d be looking at 2hrs 30 minutes or more, in either direction. Best I did was a little under 2 hours, with everything working perfectly. It was binary.
    I then bought a Brompton, instantly cut 25 minutes off my commute into Reading and more time saved after Paddington. I think I was doing the journey in about 1hr 30. Assuming GWR wasn’t massively failing, cancelling trains and being very late and slow service, which it often was. I rarely bothered to try to get a seat. Still cost £435 per month.
    I now drive and wish I had done so from the start. It takes a bit longer (was quick during school holiday), 2 hours to 2hr 45mins. Sometimes a little quicker coming home. Especially if I leave quite late. This would cost me about £170 in fuel each month and £110 in parking, but I can claim £774 mileage each month for 10,000 miles then £430 per month after 10,000 miles. I’m financially far better off and not throwing money at GWR. Also now driving an electric car which is costing me virtually nothing in electricity at the moment, would normally be £50 per month.

    I would much prefer to be cycling if I could find somewhere affordable to park once I’ve got to the end of the M4.

    People drive because public transport totally fails to meet requirements and there are far too many dangerous drivers let loose on the roads, among many other reasons.

    October 18, 2018 at 12:31 pm #929215
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    LastBoyScout
    Simon E wrote:
    LastBoyScout wrote:
    Mostly what John Smith said above – because it just isn’t practical for many people me.

    Fixed that for you.

    Leave it alone, it was perfectly fine as it was – I was generalising for “many people”.

    If I’d meant “me”, I would have said “me”.

    October 18, 2018 at 12:15 pm #929213
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    vonhelmet
    Daveyraveygravey wrote:
    fenix wrote:
     

    Manufacturers sell you cars on the basis of scenic open roads. Not traffic jams.

     

     

     

    There’s an ad on the radio at the moment for a Mercedes of some kind.  The only thing they mention in the “body” of the ad is that you can talk to it.  FFS!

    Well, you probably get lonely sat in a massive car on your own in a queue for hours on end.

    October 18, 2018 at 11:59 am #929211
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    Daveyraveygravey
    fenix wrote:
     

    Manufacturers sell you cars on the basis of scenic open roads. Not traffic jams.

     

     

     

    There’s an ad on the radio at the moment for a Mercedes of some kind.  The only thing they mention in the “body” of the ad is that you can talk to it.  FFS!

    October 18, 2018 at 10:55 am #929209
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    Simon E

    alansmurphy wrote:

    alansmurphy wrote:
    However, my car solution is an electric bike, I’ve looked cheap, I’ve looked Halfords and one of my friends has a £3k Orbea which is a beaut. Just found out for 2019 this is coming out in a Claris model for £1,800, a relative bargain. With a disability, knee operations on the very near horizon and if I run it for 2 years after C2W inclusion it’s likely to cost me £15 per week tops.

    Rockin’! wink

    This is why e-bikes are the future. They allow people who can’t / won’t ride a purely human-powered bike to get about. They should revolutionise local deliveries and would surely be a great help in hilly towns.

    They are not cheating, just as lifts and escalators are not cheating or catching a bus / riding a bicycle instead of walking is not cheating. They are great.

    October 18, 2018 at 10:34 am #929205
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    Simon E

    John Smith wrote:

    John Smith wrote:
    The average commute outside London is 12.4 miles. That is over an hour for most people.
    That average is meaningless. There are lots of cities and urban areas outside London where many commutes are a lot shorter than that. Even in Shrewsbury (pop. 60,000) plenty are driving half that or less, the town is not even 6 miles across between the furthest points.

    And we shouldn’t only talk about the daily work/school commute as it’s only a part of the picture. Many people living in urban areas make additional journeys which could be done by bike.

    John Smith wrote:
    Simon E wrote:
    John Smith wrote:
    If we want to encourage people to stop driving councils need to stop treating car parking as an income stream
    Why should car parking not be an income stream? Those cars spend all day on valuable land which could be better used for houses, parks etc.
    Because it is illegal. Money from parking and related activities is supposed to be ring-fenced for roads and transport, so what councils do is creatively re-label things as parking and take income intended for other bits of transport maintenance, and then shunt that money to something else, so that they can make a surplus from parking and launder the money in to other pots, when they are not supposed to, but this means that they can reduce council tax, to gain votes, and increase charges on people that are not in their constituency.
    Councils “launder” the money?!? Oh dear!

    If councils want to charge people that are not resident in the constituency for coming into it, polluting the air etc and using the parking facilities – just like those who live there – then I’m all for it. A theatre will charge the same price for someone living across the road as they do for a visitor from another county / country / continent.

    You’re coming across as an entitled, blinkered car-centric type with a chip on his shoulder.

    LastBoyScout wrote:
    Mostly what John Smith said above – because it just isn’t practical for many people me.

    Fixed that for you.

    October 17, 2018 at 11:03 pm #929207
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    Anonymous
    alansmurphy wrote:
    I don’t drive, I recreationally cycle >3k miles a year.

     

    My daily commute has just increased by 15 miles per day and I’ll be honest that if i could drive there’s some days I would. Having said that I got a lift today and it took longer in the car, I didn’t get that excitement of whizzing down a hill and my crisp to exercise ratio is all wrong.

     

    However, my car solution is an electric bike, I’ve looked cheap, I’ve looked Halfords and one of my friends has a £3k Orbea which is a beaut. Just found out for 2019 this is coming out in a Claris model for £1,800, a relative bargain. With a disability, knee operations on the very near horizon and if I run it for 2 years after C2W inclusion it’s likely to cost me £15 per week tops.

     

    And I know if I leave for home and the wind is against me, I can still make it home with an average speed at 15.5mph, quicker than the car!!!

    I’d love to get a ‘speed’ e-assist velomobile with 3 wheels and a decent capacity for luggage so I can do 50+ mile journeys to friends and family in any weather without busting myself inside out. Currently it’s still 3h15 by train to my folks door to door, by car it’s actually less and less stressful, I’d be prepared to average circa 30mph over the 155miles.

    Something like this – which is a chinese built electric car concept without all the gadets, massive lights and likely weighty door plus photovoltaic cells on the outside would be worth a trial. 

    October 17, 2018 at 5:33 pm #929203
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    OldRidgeback

    Hmm, I’m curious how many of

    Hmm, I’m curious how many of the people I see on my commute really need to travel by car. Yep, some people may have serious mobility issues and some may be carrying stuff in their vehicle. Some may also have to transport kids to school as part of their commute. 

    But I’m still fairly certain that a significant proportion of those using cars simply don’t need to and could use other methods instead. People use cars because they have them, not necessarily because they are the best solution.

    So many of my colleagues moan about their car journey. “Buy a motorbike,” I say and then they rattle off excuses about them being cold or wet. “Well I commute by motorbike and it’s fine,” I answer. Quite a few of them could also cycle and use the train (as I do when it’s really cold/icy), but prefer the comfort of their cars, despite the inevitable traffic jams.

    October 17, 2018 at 5:02 pm #929201
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    kraut

    dottigirl wrote:

    dottigirl wrote:

    What a lot of people don’t understand is that cycling is for lazy people.


    Lazy people in a hurry. Who don’t like crowded, unreliable public transport.

    October 17, 2018 at 4:04 pm #929199
    0
    fenix

    In the past the car was

    In the past the car was fantastic.  Clean and dry and not too much traffic – so you could happily use it going into town. 

     

    But now car ownership is much more prevalent – its no longer easy to drive into town, but people haven’t twigged this yet.  

     

    Manufacturers sell you cars on the basis of scenic open roads. Not traffic jams.

     

    It’s going to take a while for people to work this out. 

    October 17, 2018 at 3:20 pm #929197
    0
    alansmurphy

    I don’t drive, I

    I don’t drive, I recreationally cycle >3k miles a year.

     

    My daily commute has just increased by 15 miles per day and I’ll be honest that if i could drive there’s some days I would. Having said that I got a lift today and it took longer in the car, I didn’t get that excitement of whizzing down a hill and my crisp to exercise ratio is all wrong.

     

    However, my car solution is an electric bike, I’ve looked cheap, I’ve looked Halfords and one of my friends has a £3k Orbea which is a beaut. Just found out for 2019 this is coming out in a Claris model for £1,800, a relative bargain. With a disability, knee operations on the very near horizon and if I run it for 2 years after C2W inclusion it’s likely to cost me £15 per week tops.

     

    And I know if I leave for home and the wind is against me, I can still make it home with an average speed at 15.5mph, quicker than the car!!!

     

    October 17, 2018 at 3:17 pm #929195
    0
    Crippledbiker

    vonhelmet wrote:

    vonhelmet wrote:

    Crippledbiker wrote:
    vonhelmet wrote:
    Crippledbiker wrote:
    For 12mi to take over an hour would require an average speed of below 10mph
    Do you even maths bro? For 12 miles to take over an hour would require an average speed of below… wait for it… 12 miles per hour.
    …You’re right, my apologies. Not sure how I managed that one, the only thing I can think of is that I left the 10 minutes on the calculator from checking my average speed over the anecdata. No need for the arsey attitude, though. Oh, and by the by; I do happen to struggle with maths, so the belittling is greatly appreciated, thanks.
    Apologies, I was just reading back and thinking it might come off as a bit harsh.

    Apology accepted; I was a bit overly defensive there, you may have touched a nerve…

    Right, let’s forget about that and move on.

    October 17, 2018 at 2:55 pm #929193
    0
    vonhelmet

    Crippledbiker wrote:

    Crippledbiker wrote:
    vonhelmet wrote:
    Crippledbiker wrote:
    For 12mi to take over an hour would require an average speed of below 10mph
    Do you even maths bro? For 12 miles to take over an hour would require an average speed of below… wait for it… 12 miles per hour.
    …You’re right, my apologies. Not sure how I managed that one, the only thing I can think of is that I left the 10 minutes on the calculator from checking my average speed over the anecdata. No need for the arsey attitude, though. Oh, and by the by; I do happen to struggle with maths, so the belittling is greatly appreciated, thanks.
    Apologies, I was just reading back and thinking it might come off as a bit harsh.

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