Cost of living differences

I'd have to agree that the trains are overpriced.  My 25 mile commute to work costs £10.50 per day.  No commuter discounts.  No advance fares.  Driving that same distance each day costs less, even with high petrol prices.  I have a car-share arrangement with a colleague, she charges me £20 a week to ride with her.  Both of us would rather take the train (traffic is a nightmare in Bournemouth) but we just can't afford it.  Whenever she goes on holiday it costs me £35!

Perhaps it's due to my location or the fact that I can always book in advance, but for me the trains always work out more cheaply than driving. I use one of those petrol trip calculators, and fuel is always pricier than going by train. Just yesterday, I booked a train to London for a couple of weeks from now and that came out cheaper as well.

Maybe it is where you live? 

As for renting a car, it is entirely my fault, but since I don't drive a manual prices for rentals suck.

We would love to travel by train more often. It's a great way to relax and see the scenery. But it really is prohibitively expensive for many trips, particularly if you have to tack a cab ride on the far end.

I just got my OAP rail pass!! It does make a difference. (Doesn't work for taxis though). As we are car-less we pretty much have to rely on the railway.

As we are car-less we pretty much have to rely on the railway.

I read this as "As we are careless we pretty much have to rely on the railway," and couldn't work out what on earth being careless had to do with it! 

I read this as "As we are careless we pretty much have to rely on the railway," and couldn't work out what on earth being careless had to do with it! 

Well, we're pretty careless too 

car less