Why train fare is so expensive?

movilogo

To travel from Luton to West London on a weekday, it costs me £10-£15 in car (which includes fuel + Oyster tube fare + station parking charging in zone 3/4/5 of London underground).

Same journey on First Capital Connect train costs £22.40 (train) + £8-9 (tube) + £6 (station parking) = £30+

Even on a monthly basis, by car it costs me £270-£300 while on train almost £500.

Also, using train, my door-to-door journey time remains same as of using the car! (though I can snooze in train - provided I manage to get a seat).

I travel alone in my car. If I carry somone the per person cost will be even lower while in train he/she needs to buy another ticket at same price!

How come train fare is so expensive? Yet govt. want us to reduce CO2 and use public transport more often!!:mad:

PS: I know some of you might want to factor purcase cost of car, depreciation, insurance etc. but I need to keep my car anyway for other journeys. :think:

PPS: As per this site (http://www.ihatethameslink.co.uk/), train travel is not very nice either.

CarJacker

Thanks to contribute to my thread. Train fares are expensive, I think one of the most expensive in Europe. Shameful really. Where is all the money from the "green taxes" being diverted to? I would have hoped in to promoting public transport - rail subsidies etc, nope, the car scrappage scheme - to keep the car industry in business and new drivers means more tax duty on petrol, road tax etc etc.

Mids_Costcutter

You don't say whether your Luton to London journey is a daily one or just occasional? If the former, obviously a season ticket is one way to reduce the cost. Another might be to cycle to / from the station at one / both ends of the trip.

Why train fares are so high in the UK compared to other European countries? Well it's complex and not actually always the case, but generally it is. Passenger Focus’ 2009 Fares and Ticketing study provides some explanation and can be downloaded from:

http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/news-and-publications/press-release.asp?dsid=2530

boliston

movilogo wrote: »

To travel from Luton to West London on a weekday, it costs me £10-£15 in car (which includes fuel + Oyster tube fare + station parking charging in zone 3/4/5 of London underground).

A lot of people make the mistake of only thinking about FUEL when working out the cost of a car journey.

I believe that 40p per mile is the commonly accepted cost of motoring and used for things like expenses reclaims for employees using their car on business.

Fuel does not yet cost 40p per mile, probably less than half this amount, so other costs such as depreciation, wear and tear etc must make up the balance of the cost of each mile. They are still costs that have to be paid in hard cash, but because you don't pay the costs regularly like filling up with fuel, they are easily forgotten about.

KeithP

movilogo wrote: »

PS: I know some of you might want to factor purcase cost of car, depreciation, insurance etc. but I need to keep my car anyway for other journeys. :think:

Unfortunately, you cannot ignore that part of the cost. Similarly the railway companies cannot just think about their fuel costs. Of course they have to consider staff costs, cost of maintaining the trains, tracks, stations, etc, etc.

Using your argument, its quite reasonable to say...
"Well the train is going from Luton to London anyway. It costs them exactly the same whether I'm on the train or not. So there is no need for me to pay anything if I want to travel".

peter_the_piper

If the Government were to give out the franchise free to the best company then there would be cheaper fares. GB likes to squeeze all he can out then GB can tax cars to the hilt as this is still the cheaper option.

choc_mouse

I'd even say "Why is public transport so expensive?"

I took a local bus from my house to the train station the other day. It cost me £2.40 for a 20 minute journey. 15 years ago it was only 90p. The service is exactly the same yet prices have risen beyond what I'm really prepared to pay. Likewise for trains.

I've visisted many countries where public transport has been efficient (not known for long delays/strikes), regular (often enough so you don't have to wait more than 10 minutes) and affordable (say in the region of £1 for a local journey). I know it's a complicated issue and more involved than we're making it out to be but I feel the government should take control of the country's infrastructure before it forces us to be greener by raising other costs (e.g. fuel).

robstersgirl

Our local bus service offers a good deal for people travelling in groups , a day ticket is £3 per person (good value) but for £6 you can get a group ticket which carries upto 6 people ,adults or children, I often buy one as it's cheaper than paying for me and the kids and take random people from the bus stop on for free
Are'nt train fares cheaper if you book in advance or maybe buy a railcard??

movilogo

Similarly the railway companies cannot just think about their fuel costs. Of course they have to consider staff costs, cost of maintaining the trains, tracks, stations, etc

Depreciation - £1000 (assume buy new and keep for long time - so no unforseen repair cost)
Insurance - £ 400
Tax/MOT - £ 200
Service - £ 500
RAC/AA etc. £ 100
Other £ 200

---

Total £2400 per year or £200 per month appx.
+ fuel as required

Using £300 as fuel/parking cost + £200 as shown above, total monthly cost of motoring (all inclusive) comes to be £500.

Which is same as cost of using train every month.

This is for just me using the car alone. The car is also used by my family members at other times.

So, total cost of motoring per mile per person is still cheaper than riding the train per person for same distance.

choc_mouse

Yes, I have a 16-25 railcard, which makes train fares up to 33% cheaper; also the coach card for National Express. I try my best to get the maximum discount possible - though no longer a student It's good you have the group ticket where you live although normally I travel on my own anyway.

whatmichaelsays

movilogo wrote: »

Depreciation - £1000 (assume buy new and keep for long time - so no unforseen repair cost)
Insurance - £ 400
Tax/MOT - £ 200
Service - £ 500
RAC/AA etc. £ 100
Other £ 200

---

Total £2400 per year or £200 per month appx.
+ fuel as required

Using £300 as fuel/parking cost + £200 as shown above, total monthly cost of motoring (all inclusive) comes to be £500.

Which is same as cost of using train every month.

This is for just me using the car alone. The car is also used by my family members at other times.

So, total cost of motoring per mile per person is still cheaper than riding the train per person for same distance.

A train ticket depreciates far more quickly and more far dramatically than a car does.

Buy a £2,000 season ticket today and how much is it worth in 366 days time?