Is this really unreasonable?

doire_2

Bangerchick wrote: »

There are plenty of people who already commute an hour each way, or more, to get to work. Especially people who work in London and probably other big cities too but who don't want to or can't afford to pay high rents. As long as it won't cost the Merthyr jobless more in bus fare than they'll earn, I think they should pull there finger out of their !!!!!! and get on with it.

Iain is that you?

lostinrates

missworks2jobs wrote: »

It is if it costs them more in travel/commuting costs.
I live 15-20 minutes (7 miles) from my workplace. We recently gave up our car to save on petrol, insurance costs etc. But now on public transport it takes me over an hour to get to work and it requires 2 different buses and also walking to the only bus stop on the nearby industrial estate in the dark in the early hours of the morning (or evening as its starting to get dark at 6pm now). I use a bus pass now because both buses are run by the same company, however its still £57 a month! If I was to pay for each individual fare (as I did at the start of the year when it was two different companies and the tickets were not transferable, it would cost me over £7 a DAY to get into work.

£1.30 for 1 bus and £2.60 for the second = £3.90 each way, which translates to £7.80. Thats £156 a month (5 working days, 4 weeks). That is a LOT of money especially if you're on minimum wage or if you've never had to budget for travel because you lived locally.

AND I dont live or work in a rural area, I live on a new housing estate in a big town just outside Newcastle and I work practically on the High street.

There is an expensive option to move, which will help some people: with relative job security.

Without wanting to get in to a who pays more my DH spends not far off what you spend monthly each WEEK. Not complaining exactly, this is our choice to live somewhere where this is a significantly big not just a normally big cost: but the fact of the matter is that he does it and a good percentage of people local to us do it, by train or car...the balance of a well paying job against the lifestyle we want is to spend a percentage of that take home money on transport. On varying degrees of scale...why shouldn't people consider this?

lostinrates

Malcolm. wrote: »

It's a good scheme. I think Cycling to work is probably best started in summer. Frosty weather and dark evenings aren't the friendliest of conditions.

Personally I'd plump for cold and miserable over hot and stinky.:o

tomterm8

Cycling would be much more of an option if the cycle paths weren't crappy*. To be honest, I have relocated hundreds of miles in the past for jobs. I don't think its unreasonable to relocate, hundreds, even thousands of miles rather than be unemployed, for a single person. If you are a single parent, it starts being a real problem. Down here, a heck of a lot of men travel an hour and a half into london every day.

So, if the public transport is there, it's not a huge problem I think... but it depends a lot on the person's circumstances. And, to be honest, I think some people might easily end up with a lot less money taking a job with an hour bus ride than if they stayed on benefits.



* OK, I said this just because I know it will get Generali into a tizzy.

Malcolm.

lostinrates wrote: »

Personally I'd plump for cold and miserable over hot and stinky.:o

I cycled in to work last Thursday, it was freezing, I picked up a chest infection. Fortunately there's showers at work, so I'm never stinky - I hope.

Hank_Rearden

lostinrates wrote: »

I know a lovely Polish woman who left her child with her mother to come here to clean. Through here I've met other people who came her for similarly professional jobs, varying from graduates with good English tuition to people with low skills and learning English here...or not. I know several West Indian origin families who came here originally to be fairly low level nurses...some of whom had families who followed later, some of whom made connections here. my mother arrived here with a young child and husband in the 60s.

We complain about other people doing just this, while exploiting it, yet don't have the gumption to do it ourselves often. amazingly, people from the Valleys of beautiful Wales have the same right to go to Cardiff..or ANYWHERE in the EU they can find work and a quality of life.

Absolutely - I've been reading this thread waiting to read someone making this point. For generations people have travelled to where there's work. Some to the UK, some away from it.

How about all those people who risk their lives to cross the Med in order to get work? That's what I call commitment.

We just don't have the economic advantage to be able to provide the life that some people seem to think is their right. The irony is that if some of them were to go out and work, then we would have more economic oomph to look after those that need it - the disabled, the elderly, etc.

tomterm8

There was enough of a fuss about Norman Tebbits "get on your bike" speach, I don't think any Tory MP is going to recomend getting on your home made coracle, and paddling to France. Although, given their retirement age is only 62, with much more money, it does have a certain appeal. If I could learn the d&&&mned langualge. C'est imposssssibele.

lostinrates

Malcolm. wrote: »

I cycled in to work last Thursday, it was freezing, I picked up a chest infection. Fortunately there's showers at work, so I'm never stinky - I hope.

Poor you, I hope you are feeling better now. I'm out in the cold these mornings, and today was a killer, I put pjs on under my outdoor clothes and swept for a couple of hours to warm up. But I love these cold CLEAR mornings, its when the rain and mud starts I get miffed. Still, is it worse on a bike than at a bus stop?

Malcolm.

lostinrates wrote: »

Poor you, I hope you are feeling better now. I'm out in the cold these mornings, and today was a killer, I put pjs on under my outdoor clothes and swept for a couple of hours to warm up. But I love these cold CLEAR mornings, its when the rain and mud starts I get miffed. Still, is it worse on a bike than at a bus stop?

Good to see you're wrapping up warm. Have you recovered yourself(?) - I remember you said you'd recently been ill with a few different things.

When cycling, you breath in lots of cold moist air and wear thin clothing. So yes, in terms of catching an illness, and depending on how long it takes for the bus to arrive (:)), it's worse than waiting for a bus.

lostinrates

Malcolm. wrote: »

Good to see you're wrapping up warm. Have you recovered yourself(?) - I remember you said you'd recently been ill with a few different things.

When cycling, you breath in lots of cold moist air and wear thin clothing. So yes, in terms of catching an illness, and depending on how long it takes for the bus to arrive (:)), it's worse than waiting for a bus.

Ahh, I see. that makes some sense. Unlike a bus when you wear layers and layers of clothes you wore to stand in the cold in, then have to keep on in the throng of sweaty, steaming commuters.:D TBH, until they make a bike with a seat like an armchair I don't see me using one to often (I have got a old ladies shopper bike with no tyres as a ''maybe I could try that'' whim)

Thank you, yes...not sure what's up with me, but I wrap up warm. I'm like the Michelin man before 8 am. My favourite item of clothing is a dreadful fleece thing that goes inside your clothes, and then you can do various things with the top, I tend to wear it a little like a balaclava. Its not a good look but its very warm!:o