The British car driver is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the car. Even if you have the greenest, most fuel efficient car on the market, petrol, insurance, road tax, maintenance and, as mentioned in our previous posts, parking costs (and fines), all make motoring a rather expensive endeavour.
And so, occasionally, the car driver (especially urban-based) will have a look at public transport as an alternative. But public transport is the hard place.
Trains
No longer enjoying public subsidisation to the degree it once did, most train fares have gone up by an inflation-busting 7% this January. It’s part of the government’s bid to offload the cost of rail travel onto the rail user. In the process they have already created the most expensive rail network in Europe. True, most rail passengers would agree that efficiency has improved, and that trains are far more comfortable, but with most trains limited to 125mph, it’s hardly an experience akin to the French TGV or the Japanese Bullet. But what matters to people most is affordable travel. And the way things are going, trains will never be that.
Buses
Buses are generally more affordable than trains, but are still a costly, inconvenient alternative – especially in a country that was not made for standing around in bus shelters. The fact that all bus firms are owned privately means that shareholder profits come before affordable fares.
Thankfully, the government does subsidise some routes, particularly in rural areas where locals cannot do without a bus service, so at least coverage is acceptable.
Star?
So if you don’t have access to a helicopter, a heli-car, a private jet or a rocket pack, you only have trains, buses or private cars to choose from. And despite the financial pressure on car drivers, for most people it remains the most affordable and convenient way to get around (especially with perks like vehicle recovery breakdown insurance from startrescue.co.uk). In other words, the rock is preferable to the hard place.
So until the government prices out everyone from all transport modes, and compels them to travel by shanks’s pony instead, the car, as Clarkson says, will remain the star.
Breakdown Cover from 
