Re: What's an average ticket price

Chris Tolley wrote:

> As stated, I was comparing with my expenses claim, which is a straight
> 40p per mile[1]. Your 320 mile round trip is therefore worth £144. On
> that basis, the fares you quote in the range of £50 *are* a bargain.

No they are not.

> I work for a church and aim to travel as cheaply as possible.

Fair enough. I'm a tightarse, and aim to travel as cheaply as
possible!

> I cannot dismiss the cost of the car on the basis that I would have
> one anyway. I only learned to drive in order to do this work. Without
> this work, I would *not* have a car.

First point - I think you are in a small minority in such a position.
For _most_ people, having a car is a "given", the question is whether
or not to use it. Sure, if you are balancing the cost of running a car
against the cost of each train journey, that will swing it towards the
train - but for most people that isn't the case.

I did clearly state in my previous message that it was _my analysis_
on the basis of already owning a car, which you seem to have
completely ignored. That is the analysis that will be more useful for
more people than yours, which is why I am sticking with it.

Second point - once you have bought your car, the basic purchase and
running costs _are_ sunk costs. You have spent the money, and you're
not going to get it back whether you use the car or leave it sitting
on the driveway. If you only drive a very low mileage, the cost/mile
will be much higher than 40p, because it is not giving good value. The
more you use it, the lower that cost will be.

What I am trying, probably not very eloquently, to say is that if
you've got a car, the cost _for that journey_ is nowhere near the
standard 40p/mile expense rate. Yes, the cost of running and owning
the car may be there or higher, and if you are claiming expenses then
it may be a fair claim, but the cost for _any one journey_ is still
only the marginal cost.

> [1] and as a former cost accountant, I can tell you that only just about
> covers the costs of running my car. Your arithmetic needs major revision
> if you are going to be able to speak with authority on this subject.

Who runs my bloody car? Me. Who manages my bank account? Me. Who is
qualified to speak about how much it costs me to run my car? I'll let
you guess that one.

Marginal cost of running my car (X-reg Rover 45)
Diesel @ 9p/mile [being generous]
Tyres @ 1p/mile [full set =£200, should last min 20k miles]
Service and repairs @ 2p/mile [total servicing and MOT cost is less
than £300pa, spread evenly over 15k miles - again, being generous]
Insurance @ 1p/mile [extra 1k miles adds c.£10 to premium]
Depreciation @ 3p/mile [at current valuation]

Total cost = 16p per mile, and that's erring very much on the side of
caution.

I have a passenger with me for the majority of my driving, which
equates to 8p per person per mile, which is the cost I used for
comparison in the previous message.

--
Stevie D
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