1st Class Stamp

As I've said in another thread, it costs me £7.70 to get to Sheffield and back (Derbyshire Wayfarer senior and I still have to get to Burton by bus or bike) and £7 return from Sheffield to Barnsley compared to about £15 in diesel. I sometimes go on the train because I enjoy it but the difference in cost is zilch if I'm on my own and clearly makes no sense if Anne comes with me. The upshot of this is that driving is clearly the cheaper and most convenient option and tells me that rather than being ripped off at the pump, it is far too cheap and actively promotes motoring at the expense of the far cleaner option of public transport. Train and bus fares need to be reduced massively by subsidy and tax on fuel increased to incentivise public transport. This will reduce pollution and road congestion. It will probably never happen though because it will be deeply unpopular with people who have become dependent on their cars. Personally I walk or cycle whenever possible, get the bus if there is one (which usually there isn't) and use the car as the last resort.

 

Not the same business. Royal Mail and Post Office have been separate businesses since 2012 and, in reality, even when they were both under RMG Post Office operated independently with its own CEO from around 2002. Horizon always was a Post Office only system.

 

We were looking at going to York for a day trip from Doncaster. It would have been ~£20 each for a 22-minute journey each way. It was far cheaper to drive to the Designer Outlet and use the Park and Ride.

 

Can't beat a nice brisk walk.

 

When I go back to St Petersburg I don't have a car and it's rarely an issue. But the public transport system there is exceptional. Living in Lincolnshire now, I'd seriously struggle without a car. Even in Lincoln, the main city (albeit a small one) the public transport is abominable.

 

£20 each? That's nuts!

 

Yes, unless you live in London it is truly awful. The result of 50 years of underinvestment in it and overinvestment in roads, (Tory and Labour governments) making the private car by far the most attractive option. Just what the planet needs eh?