Which is cheaper: commuting by car or train?

So if you have no car loan payments , how much is it ? another stupid not well thought out survey.

Go self employed and work from home.

Several grand saved.

Simples ! Job Done ! End Of !

My regular 800+ mile day 'commute' to London - I can do this in 20-25 hours by train, and be in London or most places in Home counties by 08.00, and return to catch train home at 18.00. It costs just under £130, walk-up train fare and as little as £2.50 using overnight coach, compared to over £300 by car, and having to take at least 2.5 days to do it safely (with rest breaks). On the train I have also got the option of working or resting - which I cannot do when driving a car.

Of course I do drive but have not owned a car full time since 1976 - I did inherit my dad's old car and was delighted to sell it after just 6 months. For many who park at the station, walk for a fair distance and then catch the train, followed by a tube or bus ride to somewhere near their office and another walk, the conversion to bike-rail-bike can cut up to 60 minutes from the overall door to desk journey time (that's equivalent to 20 days extra you time per year) and you save - c.£1K (car park at station) c.£1.2K (London Zones 1&2) c.£5K if you get rid of the car that sits idle for 9-10 hours in station car park and 9-10 hours outside your house and c.£1K on reduced use of a gym. Yes a pay rise of at least £8K is potentially possible without an increase in your tax code or your employer's wage bill. True it has to balance against the greater amount spent on car hire, taxis, and bus/rail fares, but even being pessimistic, a typical UK household will boost their disposable income by over £2K per year.

I'm open to working with any TV production company on a make-over series which does a job on family transport consumption in the same way that we've been bombarded with home improvement shows

We also have a the lack of knowledge on the part of those blinkered by not using public transport, and other personal transport (walking/cycling) Alf Young of the Glasgow Herald assumed that it would take over 4 hours for journeys by public transport between Renton and Comrie (not specifying whether it was in Fife or Perthshire) and Dunbar and Twechar. In the first case a combination of train, coach and bike would take just over 2 hours - for Fife and 3 hours for Perthshire - not that different from driving and for the second case the 2 trains used take just over 30 minutes apiece and cost around £14 for a walk-up anytime fare, leaving you the choice of cycling, a taxi, or a local bus service, to determine how long you take over the hour and 15 minutes to use the 2 trains and wait for the connections, at some times of day this would be up to an hour faster than driving around the City Bypass and along the M9/M80

I'd want to see a lot more data - I'll bet they've included tax/insurance/depreciation etc. divided by commuting miles, disregarding all the other uses your car is put to. They have also failed to mention that if you commute by train in greater London, you will catch a cold at least once a fortnight. On a motorcycle, you may catch one a year (but not while on the 'bike).

All depends if you live near a station. Eg .Live in the borders work in Edinburgh nearest station edinburgh cheaper by car

This assessment is far too simplistic to be in anyway helpful.

Those owning a BMW 5 series are unlikely to be bothered about petrol costs! They would also be far more comfortable than train users.

A number of years ago someone had a survey and found 73% of rail user's owned cars!!!
So on that note how is this survey relevant, if they already own a car and leave it at park and ride or the train station? Surely it should be based on fuel and parking!!! Or am I being stupid?

I would use public transport if they did a 24 hour service that didnt take up to 2 hours door to door to go 24 miles!

never mind the cost by car more would use the train if they didn't rip you off