SPCR

A straight up poll.

Sure do, and I enjoy driving it.

Yes, i love cars I kind of need one too since i can't use public transport. I drive about 15.000-20.000km in a year so not that much.

lived in japan for 2 years, didn't own a car.......didn't need to.......no car changes *everything* - lets go to dinner you say? okay, which one of the 40 resturants in within a 15 minute walk would you like to go to?

the things are setup in america, if you don't have a car you're screwed, but each time I see the price of gas go up I think "just a little higher baby, come'on...lets ditch this gas addiction and stop shoving money down the throats of cuntries that have no business absorbing the wealth they currently do....let's reorganize our cities and put more friggin Italian resturants within walking distance of my apt!!!"

Yes I own a car, I dont use it a whole lot as I actually walk to work because its quicker than trying to find somewhere to park.

I will use my car a whole lot more soon (moving house) as walking is not an option, so finding somewhere to park will become a pain in the arse.

The main reason why I own a car is because London public transport is shyte, totally overpriced and way to slow. An example, when I visit a friend 1/2 way across London it takes me 45 minutes, and costs no more than £5 (both directions) in petrol. This compared to the cost of £7 one day and another £7 the next day is outragous, and this is double as I take a friend with me. The timescale is also 1.5 hours.

Later today I will be using my car (with 2 passengers) whilst visiting another friend, this also takes 45mins in the car, or will take 1-2 hours by bus(es) and cost £1 per bus per person.

London transport have just put up their prices for a bus ride £2 per journey(regardless of length) if you use cash, or £1 if you use a pre-pay card (called Oyster), this is a 25% jump for cash, and a 20% jump for Oyster.


Andy

Andy: To be fair petrol isn't the only cost associated with a car. There's also wear&tear, value dropping, insurance, parking costs (depending on where you live. In Sweden it costs), repairs...

True, petrol is not the only cost, but the rest of the costs can easily be offset by the time that is saved by using a car instead of crap public transport.

For me the cost of Road Tax, and insurance is very high, because I dont drive my car much, servicing costs likewise are a set figure, and wear and tear is minimal.

The real crunch question is whether the individual is willing to spend a premium sum not to have to sit next to a stinky nutcase (bus special) not to have to stand up on a packed train with 50C temperatures.

The UK government is trying to get people to use public transport more, but they are raising prices while not raising the service, and they are not any faster, and their are few if any new routes.


Andy

The UK government is trying to get people to use public transport more, but they are raising prices while not raising the service, and they are not any faster, and their are few if any new routes.

Yeah, exactly; they don't want people to use their cars, but the trains are ridiculously expensive, never run on time and very overcrowded, and the buses are slow and never go where you want to go; and outside the big cities it is even worse!