IMHO the problem with the bus fare cap is that it’s too high. £2 sounds great until you realise it’s per-person and per-journey, so if there’s three of you and you’re only going a couple of miles, a minicab might end up being cheaper!
If I wanted to get a monthly bus pass here (Canada), it would cost more than that I currently pay for insurance and gas for my car. Taking single trips would be quite a bit more than a monthly pass.
The pass would also be considerably more than investing in an e-scooter or e-bike, and absurdly more expensive when compared to riding a bike around.
I’m surprised that your insurance and gas cost is so low. A TTC monthly pass is only $156. You must have very cheap insurance and use only a small amount of fuel.
I’m on a pay-as-you-go plan with CAA, so insurance is dirt cheap… something like $50 for 1000km of driving (that amount covers both my wife and I). My previous insurance was close to $150 / month, even if we didn’t use the car, so that was a total ripoff.
Gas also depends on how much I drive. Since I choose to bike everywhere within a 20km range, it means I’m not driving nearly as much.
If I had to take my car EVERYWHERE, including very short trips (<3km away), then it would cost more for sure.
But it’s really hard for me to justify the cost of a bus pass in lieu of other modes of transportation.
Given your usage why would you even compare the cost of your car to the cost of a monthly pass? Most bus passes are calibrated to make sense for people using transit as their primary means of transportation. You use your car much less than that, so to make an apples-to-apples comparison you’d need to compare your car costs against the same number of trips on transit.
so to make an apples-to-apples comparison you’d need to compare your car costs against the same number of trips on transit.
I do agree. For what distances would we be comparing?
If it’s for less than 5km, it would make far more sense to opt for a bike, e-scooter, or just walk. If it’s more than 5km, then I can see it making more sense, but only if these trips are frequent (i.e. daily commutes) since you are still paying for a pass even if it’s not being used.
The average commute, according to Stats Canada, is around 8km, and they say only around 7% of all car commuters needed to go further than that. The average car trip, outside commuting, tends to be even shorter distances.
Does <8km justify a bus pass costing $150 a month? I don’t think it does, but maybe it’s a good deal for some.
Pay as you go fares would make more sense for those who aren’t commuting daily, but even those rates are getting too expensive to consider over walking, or biking.
That’s actually ok! The real issue is low occupancy cars: when you start carpooling the benefits really add up. A petrol car with 3 ppl is (from an emissions perspective) equivalent to a diesel bus with ~30 ppl.
IMHO the problem with the bus fare cap is that it’s too high. £2 sounds great until you realise it’s per-person and per-journey, so if there’s three of you and you’re only going a couple of miles, a minicab might end up being cheaper!
No joke!
If I wanted to get a monthly bus pass here (Canada), it would cost more than that I currently pay for insurance and gas for my car. Taking single trips would be quite a bit more than a monthly pass.
The pass would also be considerably more than investing in an e-scooter or e-bike, and absurdly more expensive when compared to riding a bike around.
I’m surprised that your insurance and gas cost is so low. A TTC monthly pass is only $156. You must have very cheap insurance and use only a small amount of fuel.
Yeah, I should add at least some context. LOL
I’m on a pay-as-you-go plan with CAA, so insurance is dirt cheap… something like $50 for 1000km of driving (that amount covers both my wife and I). My previous insurance was close to $150 / month, even if we didn’t use the car, so that was a total ripoff.
Gas also depends on how much I drive. Since I choose to bike everywhere within a 20km range, it means I’m not driving nearly as much.
If I had to take my car EVERYWHERE, including very short trips (<3km away), then it would cost more for sure.
But it’s really hard for me to justify the cost of a bus pass in lieu of other modes of transportation.
Given your usage why would you even compare the cost of your car to the cost of a monthly pass? Most bus passes are calibrated to make sense for people using transit as their primary means of transportation. You use your car much less than that, so to make an apples-to-apples comparison you’d need to compare your car costs against the same number of trips on transit.
I do agree. For what distances would we be comparing?
If it’s for less than 5km, it would make far more sense to opt for a bike, e-scooter, or just walk. If it’s more than 5km, then I can see it making more sense, but only if these trips are frequent (i.e. daily commutes) since you are still paying for a pass even if it’s not being used.
The average commute, according to Stats Canada, is around 8km, and they say only around 7% of all car commuters needed to go further than that. The average car trip, outside commuting, tends to be even shorter distances.
Does <8km justify a bus pass costing $150 a month? I don’t think it does, but maybe it’s a good deal for some.
Pay as you go fares would make more sense for those who aren’t commuting daily, but even those rates are getting too expensive to consider over walking, or biking.
That’s actually ok! The real issue is low occupancy cars: when you start carpooling the benefits really add up. A petrol car with 3 ppl is (from an emissions perspective) equivalent to a diesel bus with ~30 ppl.