Key considerations for comparing car vs public transport

theoretica

If you try the public transport and decide you want to try out driving, how much would it cost you to hire a car for a month or something? Likely cheaper than buying one and then deciding you didn't actually prefer driving.

Ybe

theoretica said:

If you try the public transport and decide you want to try out driving, how much would it cost you to hire a car for a month or something? Likely cheaper than buying one and then deciding you didn't actually prefer driving.

Oh this is a great idea. Thanks. 

Ybe

SiliconChip said:

I'd assume that all of your commute journeys will be in the ULEZ, either now or from August when the zone expands, so you'll need to ensure that the vehicle you buy is ULEZ-compliant or factor in paying £12.50 every day that you travel to the office.

Another great bit of advice. All these things which are easy to forget. 

Wyndham

Don't forget the costs of running a car e.g. road tax, insurance. If you haven't had a car before, and don't have much driving history, then your insurance could be high.

I've done both options (though in a different part of the country). In the end the best way was to drive to a station and get the train from there, so you may want to consider a 'mix and match' approach? This meant I could both sing loudly to the radio, and get time to read

MilesT6060842

North London A406 to A4/M4 to near Heathrow..I have done part of that journey and it can be pretty horrible.

I would suggest using public transport for a week, then renting a car for 1-2 weeks to trial it. Then decide what to do.

For price, I can recommend small local agency Citirental (next to Swiss Cottage tube) although they are very particular on their processes (read carefully and comply precisely) and fussy about their cars (check very thoroughly--I take 15 minutes out and in--take lots of pictures on pickup/return and point out everything you see before you leave, even small.)   They will want a deposit up front, which they return about a week after the hire ends (they are very manual in their processes).

As part of that buy an annual car rental excess insurance policy from e.g. insuremyexcess as this will pay back in the week vs. other options for cover (and peace of mind);  you can then take Citirental's collision damage policy (£1100 deductible excess)

Ybe

Does anyone know what the M25 anti clockwise towards Heathrow is like in the mornings? 

MilesT6060842

Ybe said:

Does anyone know what the M25 anti clockwise towards Heathrow is like in the mornings? 

Look at the traffic view on Google maps, unless someone has ongoing experience.  And I think you need to be precise about M25 junction numbers (entry/exit) because the pinch points are quite localised. 

And depending on your precise destination near Heathrow it may be more relevant to use the A412 south from A40 through Yeading for your destination, i.e. North London via A406, then A40 (rather than A4/M4), then A412 to A4 (or Heathrow outskirts on other local roads. 

Suggest you review all the routing options on Google maps o the web for congestion, at the relevant time of the day so Google can show you what's busy and what's now (setting arrival time at other times of the day isn't a perfect representation of actual experience although Google uses historical speeds).  May also be worth looking at Waze app/web for current/future (Waze is also owned by Google but I think still presents a different view).