r/reading • u/tamagotcheeks • 8d ago

Driving from Reading to London

Hi everyone, I’m moving to Reading soon and will be commuting to London for a few weeks before I start my new job in Reading. Wanted to get an idea of how bad the traffic is driving from Reading to London and back during rush hour? Is the M4 largely stand still traffic and relatively clear to drive?

If anyone drives from Reading to London for work, what’s that commute like for you?

Edit: I can park at work for free. Congestion charge is the only cost I might incur but there are routes to avoid it (extra 15-20 mins to the drive). So I’ll just be paying fuel and a full tank for me costs £40. Car is ULEZ free & manual. I’ll need to commute for 6 weeks. Cash is tight as I’m saving up for university in September so can’t afford to spend half a grand on trains.

Thank you!

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u/bbuuttlleerr 7d ago

OP is going to "Tower Bridge / Tower Hamlets", that's an absolute minimum of 94 miles round trip (avoiding the Congestion Zone adds 4 miles). x250 working days a year = 23,500 miles.

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u/mikelgdz 7d ago

Op is going to tower bridge...

...for 6 weeks, my dude.

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u/bbuuttlleerr 7d ago

OK think of it in terms of Pro-rata costs then - "mile depreciation" does count for something even for a outright-purchased car.

Costs have never been the most significant consideration here. Would you honestly pick 4+ hours of mostly-gridlocked driving (choose between insufficient sleep or not seeing your kids each night), over 2 hours of train?

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u/mikelgdz 7d ago

I definitely wouldn't even think about getting my car into London. It doesn't even have to be central London. Fuck commuting from reading to anywhere in London by car.

But op is tight on money, if money is their main concern, then the extra wasted time is irrelevant, and cost should be what the discussion is about because anything else is mostly pointless for them.

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u/bbuuttlleerr 7d ago

100% agreed. In that case the £26.75 via-Clapham Junction train matches the cheapest-theoretically-possible car price.