Weighing up rail vs car for commute - advice needed!

tortoisesaver

I'm a doctoral student at southampton uni and moving back to south london (walking distance to Clapham Junction stn) in april for personal reasons...
I could be on placement anywhere in Hampshire for my training, but most likely is Basingstoke, Winchester, or Southampton area. I have to be at Southampton uni on mondays throughout the year (except July/Aug) and Fridays are a study day usually for me....therefore, I'll have to commute to an other place tues-thurs whilst on placement, and commute to Southampton 4 days per week for teaching blocks....to top it all off, it is possible that I'd need access to a car whilst on placement 3 days a week (depends on placement and have no idea yet)
Still with me?! :eek:
So....I've spent hours looking at all the costs, rail travel vs car vs rail+car club.....
I have a YP railcard (mature student!) and have checked if season tickets are better idea.....but with only 3-4 day week and YP card not applicable on season tkts, it's actually cheaper to buy a day return every day.....no advance tickets on the whole of this route (why not....?)
It looks like it's going to cost me £270-£300 per month for rail travel, whereas with 10p/mile assumed for petrol, it'd be £150/mth for petrol (not incl running costs).
So, would I be better off getting a car and commuting?? Even living in zone 2 london?
Also, if I do have to have access to a car for placement days, it looks like buying a car is the only way to go.......unless anyone has any other ideas? I've checked out car clubs and rental and the costs are huge...
Help!

Any advice would be welcome...

hewhoisnotintheknow

cars, trains are horrid things that rule your life

You could buy a really sound little saxo diesel or similar for £800

epz_2

i just got a lease on a volvo s80, much bigger than you need for £195 inc all tyres, maintenance and tax so there are some alternatives out there.

Frankly it would need to cost several hundred more for me to consider public transport, the extra time, loss of flexibility and illness train commutes cause just arnt worth it.

Honestly even if it were costing you slightly more i would think of it as an investment since you will have more time to devote to your studies.

Jolaaled

.....although, you could spend the time on the train studying..so it's not wasted time, IYSWIM

AdrianHi

Jolaaled wrote: »

.....although, you could spend the time on the train studying..so it's not wasted time, IYSWIM

I back in London for work this year, back on the train where in the mornings I can go back to sleep :cool: and in the evenings read, watch a video on the laptop or even do something constructive. There is the stress of having to catch the train on time but on balance it's a less tiring route. Not that I can drive to central London anyway.
Unfortunatly you need the car on placement which is going to push you towards getting a car.
You need to count a lot more than fuel for the costs of a car. If it's £150 for fuel you can bet it's going to be another £150-£250 a month for tax, insurance, servicing, tyres, repairs, parking. If you can replace the car with the train completely the train will be cheaper. The minute you need a car for any reason it's cheaper to buy that £800 Saxo or similar.

Hintza

epz wrote: »

i just got a lease on a volvo s80, much bigger than you need for £195 inc all tyres, maintenance and tax so there are some alternatives out there.

Frankly it would need to cost several hundred more for me to consider public transport, the extra time, loss of flexibility and illness train commutes cause just arnt worth it.

Honestly even if it were costing you slightly more i would think of it as an investment since you will have more time to devote to your studies.

Aye but epz you are talking about commuting in Scotland. Different kettle of fish down south!

If you think the M8 is bad give the M4 a try.

As for OP the only benefit I can see is you will be travelling against the flow going out of London.

I suspect though that living in London and commuting you have picked the most expensive option, unless of course you are getting free room and board?

I don't envy you.

Cardelia

Hintza wrote: »

Aye but epz you are talking about commuting in Scotland. Different kettle of fish down south!

If you think the M8 is bad give the M4 a try.

As for OP the only benefit I can see is you will be travelling against the flow going out of London.

It's the M3 that the OP will need, not the M4. Heading south on the M3 is generally fine in the mornings - when I commuted to Southampton about 18 months ago (albeit from Woking rather than south London) it would take less than an hour. There's a bit of a slowdown around J6 as all the Basingstoke commuters queue to leave the motorway, and if you're unfortunate enough to get to Southampton at school run time then the Avenue can also be a bit jammed, but generally it's fine.

I would be more concerned about getting past the M25: going past Richmond and Twickenham can be a nightmare in the middle of the day, let alone the morning rush hour. Then there's the south circular through Putney - I've never driven it in the morning, but I can't imagine it would be anything but clogged.

Anyway, if you do decide to take the train, don't forget to factor in the cost of getting from the station to campus - £2 daily for the bus. Same goes for your placements, unless they're walkable from the station. But if I were in your position, I'd definitely get a car. Also, think about whether you'd be comfortable sitting in a small car for 120+ miles a day - you might want to consider something a bit bigger than a Saxo.

AdrianHi

Don't know if this is an option, but a fold up Brompton bike or similar might be an idea for train plus personal transport. Decent 2nd hand Brompton will set you back a few hundred, though running costs not an issue.

tortoisesaver

Hintza wrote: »

I suspect though that living in London and commuting you have picked the most expensive option, unless of course you are getting free room and board?

I don't envy you.

It's not free....but not far off for london prices

Hearing all the opinions is very helpful so please do keep them coming.....I have thought about the option of a bike......the other option I may have is buying a VERY cheap car and leaving it at a colleague's house in the relevant town....that way I can still commute by train - and not cut into valuable studying (sleeping....) time
:rotfl:

I know it's the expensive option (living in London and commuting out) but my QoL will be soooo much better living with my BF
The debate continues....!