I carried out a detailed study in pubic transport the other day. Actually, it wasn’t that detailed, it was a data point of one, one journey.
I went to visit my mother, who lives near Bristol in England. I live near in Galway in Ireland. It’s perhaps 300 miles as the crow flies, if even a crow can fly that far, except that there’s the Irish Sea in the way.
I had decided to go via public transport, rather than a car. Normally I would drive to the departing airport and hire a car from the destination airport. The public transport option was cheaper and better for the planet. It would simply cost more of my time, a very precious commodity as far as I’m concerned, but there you go.
These were the legs of the journey:
- Walk to local train station, 10 minutes
- Train to Galway, arriving 45 minutes before coach trip to airport
- Coach from train station to airport, supposed to take 95 minutes, but took nearer 120
- Arrived at departing airport 2 hours before flight
- Flight to Bristol airport (1 hour)
- Bus to Bristol city centre (wait 10 mins, 30 minutes journey)
- Bus to my mother’s neck of the woods (no wait, 45 minutes journey)
- 10 minute walk to mother’s house
Total elapsed time via public transport: 10 hours exactly
Total elapsed time if I was driving both ends: around 5 hours
I think 10 hours is far too much to travel from one neighbouring country to another. So do most other people I guess, judging by the amount of people who, if they have access to a car, take one.