Petrol sales fall 20pc

[BTB 500]

My annual season ticket from Bracknell area to central London (Strand) costs £51 per week. I'd probably spend more than that on fuel alone if I drove in, add the daily con. charge, parking, mileage-related depreciation, etc. and the train is a clear winner on cost grounds for my commute.

 

[Alfie]

Last summer when we were travelling to cornwall we had too many people going that would fit in the car. So we investigated rail travel.

For a child (15 years old) the cost from Woking to Newquay was £127. Change four times (we could just about get it down to three at a push) and takes 5.5 hours plus travel to/from stations. Have to stand around waiting at train stations and then sit or stand in a pretty unpleasant environment.

The same child flew to Newquay from Gatwick for £42. Took 2.5 hours door to door (1 hour flight). Had a nice seat and was served complimentary food.

Now, I reckon that if an airline can fly someone to Cornwall in comfort with all the maintenance charges associated with that vehicle for £42 then the train companies have an awful lot to learn.

On the flip side, when we went to Portsmouth for the day we chose to go on the train from Woking. It was significantly more expensive and a lot less convenient than driving but we did it for one reason alone. My son hadn't been on a train journey before and we thought it would be a nice experience for him. The train was clean enough but still primitive.

I would never use public transport as my means of travel to work no matter what the cost of fuel. I'd rather cycle, walk or get a segway Now theres an idea

 

[prprandall51]

My annual season ticket from Bracknell area to central London (Strand) costs £51 per week. I'd probably spend more than that on fuel alone if I drove in, add the daily con. charge, parking, mileage-related depreciation, etc. and the train is a clear winner on cost grounds for my commute.

That's a very good price - and interesting to hear. I also understand that London Underground is significantly cheaper if you buy an upfront commitment (Oyster card?). However, shouldn't a public transport system also be affordable to those making occasional journeys?

As a matter of interest, Bill, do you know the daily rate for Bracknell > London?

 

[Dieselman]

Who else - if not government - would you blame?

I'm not looking to blame anyone, just to come on here and shoot the breeze reading a few stories and articles.
This thread was about the volume of petrol being sold going down, it would be nice to keep it somewhat along those lines..

 

[Alfie]

My annual season ticket from Bracknell area to central London (Strand) costs £51 per week. I'd probably spend more than that on fuel alone if I drove in, add the daily con. charge, parking, mileage-related depreciation, etc. and the train is a clear winner on cost grounds for my commute.

I agree with this. In this example it is very good value for money and time.

Extrapolating this up means your annual ticket would be circa £2,500. That does seem awfully cheap. I'm sure that season tickets from Woking are way more than that and its a similar distance. Are there any discounts / conditions attached to that fare?

Mind you the other thread you have going tells of the nightmare when it all goes wrong....

 

[BTB 500]

As a matter of interest, Bill, do you know the daily rate for Bracknell > London?

Not offhand sorry, obviously it's less off-peak than in the rush hour.

 

[BTB 500]

Extrapolating this up means your annual ticket would be circa £2,500. That does seem awfully cheap. I'm sure that season tickets from Woking are way more than that and its a similar distance. Are there any discounts / conditions attached to that fare?

Mind you the other thread you have going tells of the nightmare when it all goes wrong....

£2696 per annum, but that's rail only (not a travelcard for tube or bus as I don't use those on my commute).

I travelled from Woking to Waterloo for 20 years (stopped in Jan 2007), I think the season ticket cost was very similar.

Yes it's a nightmare when it goes wrong ... but the same can occasionally apply when commuting by car (roadworks, diversions, accidents, breakdowns, punctures, etc.).

 

[Ratz]

Train travel for me in Manchester is £6 per day to travel 22 miles which I reckon is conservatively 2/3 of a gallon of diesel or £4. But it's not just the cost, it's the reliability when I need to take or collect my son from nursery(soon to be school). On a random 3 days earlier this year the train was cancelled or failed on 2 occasions or a 33% failure rate. Of course I could get caught in traffic in the car - conclusion for now is I cycle when I can(weather permitting). When the congestion charge lands I'll review again because the talk originally for Manchester was to include Motorcycles in the charge which rather smacks of exploitation to me.

 

[Dieselman]

When the congestion charge lands I'll review again because the talk originally for Manchester was to include Motorcycles in the charge which rather smacks of exploitation to me.

I can see both sides of this, they take up less room but do still polute at a rate not that far behind a car. Maybe a 33% charge should be levied.

If this is all you are thinking of using a M/cycle for then look at an electric scooter/motorcycle as I'm sure they would be exempt on emissions grounds. Fun as well and cheap as chips to run.

 

[Gucci]

Without getting political, it's interesting that with the way things are going, it's errrmmm, the rich that will be left with the roads to themselves - along with skint companies. Hardly the ideals laid out by the La.... ooops, nearly went there

 

[Vickster]

That's a very good price - and interesting to hear. I also understand that London Underground is significantly cheaper if you buy an upfront commitment (Oyster card?). However, shouldn't a public transport system also be affordable to those making occasional journeys?

Anyone can obtain a pre-pay Oyster card (£3 deposit), stick a few quid on it as and when and get the cheap rates on tubes, buses, DLR, tramlink

 

[Gucci]

Anyone can obtain a pre-pay Oyster card (£3 deposit), stick a few quid on it as and when and get the cheap rates on tubes, buses, DLR, tramlink

True, but what about the day visitors and tourists who are clearly ripped off? I think it's a bit embarrassing when you see tourists trying to work out why the price on the ticket screen equated to their air fare to Heathrow?

 

[timskemp]

Can you qualify that.? The sale price makes no difference to the value of the duty charged as that is a fixed sum per litre.
The vat changes but that is only 17.5% of the value so has only changed marginally and certainly won't make up an additional 20%.

Say the value of the fuel + duty has risen from £1 to £1.15 then that will make 0.15*17.5% = 2.6p difference.

How does that raise the overall tax value by enough to cover a 20% reduction of duty and lost vat due to reduced sales?

The rise gives a massive increase in profits to the oil companies, many of whom (unlike many other big companies in the uk) pay corporation tax. Billions of tax. The increased pump price increases VAT revenue. People putting their transport costs and fees up push prices overall up, increasing VAT revenue.

No, I can't quantify it, but I don't see the chancellor crying into his (3 quid per pint?) beer over it.

 

[jeremytaylor]

West central Scotland/Glasgow.

I did Glasgow-Bridge-of-Allan not long ago for something like £5.70 and that's a 60 to 65 mile round trip.

Sounds like another case of England subsidising Scotland.

(Runs and takes cover)