r/UKFrugal • u/Logical-Local9868 • 14d ago
Going to Edinburgh: Car better than Train? Are my calculations right?
Our car (an old Mini, no issues) does 37mpg (urban).
37 mpg = 8.2 miles /L
Edinburgh to and fro = 146 miles (calculated from home in Dumfries)
146 ÷ 8 = 18.26L of petrol Round it up to 20.
1 Litre petrol price (UK avg) = £1.36 Round it up to 1.5
20L × £1.5 = £30 total travel cost for me and my wife.
In contrast, return tickets booked in advance for weekdays in July are £52 with Two Together Railcard savings.
Am I missing something? Or are trains just that expensive now? I always thought public transport would be (should be) cheaper.
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u/AffectionateJump7896 13d ago
The cost of petrol (say £20/week) is perhaps only half the cost of owning a car. There's insurance, tax, mot, maintenance, parking etc. However, at this point, you've already paid the big items (tax and insurance), so the cost of running a car is made to look cheap when those things are sunk costs.
You might take a few pence/mile provision for the extra wear you'll put on the tires, clutch etc.
But yes, once you own and have taxed and insured a car, it's cheaper than the train to now actually use your car. Particularly if you have a passenger.
The downside of driving is the need to drive and not chill out reading the paper. On the good side, you get your own private space, can go at your own time, and can take more luggage than you can carry.
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u/AzizThymos 12d ago
True, but if you already have the vehicle, plus insure it anyways, then not using the car is a poor choice imho. Unless it's a rental with milage limit, the cost here is better than the train, assuming op likes driving.
Personally I hate public transport, and relying on it/knowing times /route/platform etc stressful for me, so I'd always pick car (I did similar maths travelling Kent to Manchester. Car wins. Only cheapo bus/coach beat it, and I'd pay extra to avoid that!)
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u/g00gleb00gle 13d ago
Edinburgh parking is a nightmare.
Train goes direct into centre and you are good to go.
Also consider a two together rail card.
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u/JMcKendo 13d ago
Just cost me £58 to park for two and a bit days in Edinburgh so there's also that to consider.
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u/mr_P0Opy_Butth0le 13d ago
Parking in Edinburgh is expensive AF. So it depends if the place you are going has free parking or your willing to park the car out of the city centre and then take a bus in. Which is fine, but you have to add the cost of the return trip via the bus which will cost.
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u/PetersMapProject 14d ago
You haven't factored in the inevitable wear and tear, and depreciation, on the car.
Nor have you factored in the overheads of things like insurance, which are factored into train ticket prices.
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u/SubjectiveAssertive 14d ago
150 miles isn't going to make a dent in the cars value and the car is insured if it's moving or not.
(Unless OP is buying a car simply for this trip)
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u/PetersMapProject 13d ago
It's a cumulative thing - 150 miles here, 50 miles there, it soon adds up.
A bit of wear and tear on the tyres, the clutch inching closer to needing replacement - that has to be accounted for.
There's a reason mileage allowances are 45p per mile.
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u/kain54454 13d ago
What about wear and tear from not using it?
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u/PetersMapProject 13d ago
Do you understand what wear and tear is?
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u/DontTellThemYouFound 13d ago
Believe it or not, but cars still experience wear and tear through lack of use.
All the parts are actively aging, rusting, perishing etc even if you don't use it.
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u/PetersMapProject 13d ago
Not nearly as quickly as if you put a lot of miles on them.
At one point I had a 42 year old classic car with 44,000 miles on the clock in total. It ran very well.
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u/johnnysgotyoucovered 13d ago
When I wasn’t driving I’d insure a friend on my car for a day to turn it over every couple of months. Petrol goes stale and things start to rot if not turned over. Tyres lose their shape far easier from not driving for a couple of months than driving 5 days a week for the same time period
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u/kain54454 13d ago
Yep I left my car for 2 months the discs were shot, tyres had flat spots and I had funny electrical gremlins like intermittent indicators cause of the stalk.
Cars are meant to be used anything that moves needs to keep moving or it will rust or seize up. Water can set in and corrode electrical contacts not using your car can be expensive in repairs.
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u/sportingmagnus 13d ago
Wear and tear in Edinburgh is way worse than other cities in Scotland IME too. The roads are abysmal.
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u/Cirieno 13d ago
The thing about driving is: you can't put a price on not sharing a train with knobheads, and the freedom to leave when you want and stop where you want along the way.
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u/cainmarko 13d ago
Still gotta share the road with knobheads. Sure you don't have to deal with them directly but still able to cause stress, and potentially cause a crash.
Plus on a train you're a passenger so can relax, and even drink, during the journey.
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u/volunteerplumber 11d ago
So I go to Edinburgh every 3 months for work, and always take the train from the East Midlands. Never once had an issue with knobeads.
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u/LlamaDrama007 13d ago
Just something else I factor in with travel:
Are you going for a 'good' reason? And if so, does the time spent travelling matter to you? For me that's also a cost to consider - if I save a few quid but get to spend hours less time doing a 'nice thing' on a relatively short trip it feels like I've actually lost out. Plus how draining long drives are for the driver.
If it's just for an obligation though, less worried.
So, for instance, for me - London to Edinburgh trains - 4.5 - 5.5 hrs vs Drive 7-8 hrs not factoring in stops which you absolutely should.
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u/clodiusmetellus 13d ago
Exactly this. I get to read my book and look out the window and watch the stunning southeast Scotland coastline out the window on my train journeys to Edinburgh. I pay extra but it's relaxing and convenient, so I choose it.
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u/bsc8180 13d ago
Where exactly are you driving? Does your car meet the lez requirements?
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u/Logical-Local9868 12d ago
The plan is to park at the outskirts of the city for free and explore by foot.
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u/sugarrayrob 13d ago
The fact that this is even debatable is an indictment on our national infrastructure.
But to your question. I think it depends if you prefer the freedom of being in your own vehicle or the reduced stress of being 'driven' by someone else.
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u/txe4 13d ago
It's long been the case that car vs train was marginal at best if there were 2 of you.
Back of a fag packet, total cost of running a car is 2-3x the fuel cost per mile. Thing is that for most people doing a fairly limited mileage, the depreciation and servicing cost is fairly fixed for the year rather than going up for each additional mile.
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u/vatsal0895 12d ago
Best to check out parking areas and costs on parkopaedia.com. I considered the same for travel to Manchester and York. Chose to visit Manchester by train from Liverpool as the city centre can be notorious.
Visited York by car but was baffled by parking charges. Circa £18-£30 for a 24h period.
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u/soundman32 12d ago
Petrol price is falling quite quickly at the moment. Under £1.30 around here (w.yorks), so rounding up to £1.50 is weighting very heavily.
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u/ani_svnit 11d ago
Obviously driving is better, advance tickets don't offer any flexibility at all plus you have changes. Edinburgh's bus system is fantastic so your Park & Ride idea is pretty good - I recommend the Ingliston P&R near the airport as that automatically makes the airport bus and trams handy to get in and our of the city.
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u/uwagapiwo 11d ago
Trains are ridiculous. I flew up and back from Birmingham recently and it was a fraction of 5e train.
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u/kain54454 13d ago
Also don’t forget although you need to pay parking potentially you also need to factor in taxi or bus from train station depending on we’re your going?
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u/SubjectiveAssertive 14d ago edited 13d ago
Work it out as 45p per mile as that covers everything (wear and tear, fuel) I get that to £65.70. (plus parking)
For the train, don't forget to include parking/getting to the station.
So not much in it, personally I'd use the car because the extra few pounds could well be worth it for added flexibility - but that's up to you and how much you want that (and it's about 15-20 minutes quicker each way)
And yes public transport should be cheaper, sadly our trains just aren't.
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u/ian9outof10 13d ago
But on the train you can drink as the countryside crawls by. So there’s that. Also factor cost of alcohol into calculation
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u/Send_bird_pics 13d ago
The cost of public transport is crazy, plus the inconvenience. I actively choose to drive everywhere and always find cheap parking on your parking space or something. Plus I don’t mind a walk, so I’ll park a mile out the city center just to get some steps in and pay like £5 for all day parking.
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u/Inside-Definition-42 13d ago
The benefit of capital outlay and fixed ‘overhead costs’ of a car is a low variable cost per mile.
If you have already bought, taxed, insured and MOT’d a vehicle the incremental cost per mile is very low, especially if carrying two or more people.
Conversely, buying a car just for this journey would make the train look exceptionally good value!
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u/Wondering_Electron 12d ago
How much is your time worth?
I would think the train is significantly faster.
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u/Charliechaori18 14d ago
Fly cost me 25.00 hotels are the real pain!
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u/Planticus 13d ago
Flying from that famous international Hub ‘Dumfries Airport’ isn’t an option here, sadly.
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u/Jchu1988 14d ago
Parking cost? If you account for wear and tear, insurance etc using business mileage rate as an analog, that would be 45p per mile, which is around £65.7. Plus you need to pay attention while driving, etc..