There have been a few times when we went by car instead of train as it was cheaper.
I wonder if train travel could be made cheaper.
Ah, a weekend morning coffee discussion …
I say two things:
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People have an irrational way to look at the cost of a car. Nobody ever considers full cost. A fairer comparison could possibly be train vs taxi.
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We almost always take the car
If you’ve bought a car for a particular purpose (travelling to a workplace which is not reachable by public transport for example) then the marginal cost of using it to take a family with children over 16 away for a weekend is going to be so much cheaper than taking them on the train.
Many people get a car anyway as part of an employment deal so it’s only the marginal cost of fuel which they need to pay.
There are costs to society of using a car over public transport such as noise and air pollution.
Losing passengers on public transport as they are unwilling to pay the high fares just means that fare prices have to rise for existing customers as there are so many fixed infrastructure and personnel costs which need to be met, irrespective of the number of passengers.
Is that actually the case in Switzerland? I for example don’t have a company car, but a “car allowance” which is pure cash. But I have a fuel card. So in my case, it is the other way around.
It’s basically the same thing in different terms - the point is those large costs associated with car ownership are not coming out of your own pocket leaving, for most people, a marginal cost which is cheaper than a train ticket - especially when not travelling alone.
I don’t know, that is why I was asking.
My impression was the most people do buy a car out of their own pocket. Let’s say they spend 50k for some boring new car. After 3 years, the value is half. That is 8k per year or 700 CHF per month. Twice the cost of a GA only for depreciation. It is totally bonkers.
Of course, then we can talk sunk cost … like it does not exist.
I was a bit sceptical of the statistic quoted. From my research, petrol prices have risen about 100% in Switzerland since 1990. Car prices are more difficult to compare as cars have improved considerably in performance. Still a basic VW Golf looks to have approx doubled in price over the same period. So I am not sure how the 24% figure was calculated. Switzerland is great in that living without a car is possible for many, it saves me money ( I reckoned a car cost all up 5000 a year) and gets me out on my bike. The article is politically relevant because of the obvious subsidies that public transport requires.
Yes, I’d agree with you there.
Absolutely no sense in economic terms in having a car over using public transport.
But then all the other factors come into play - convenience, time saving (could be the opposite) and so on.
I do know people who don’t have a car but hire one when they really need one and that does make economic sense but is not so convenient.
Or let’s say, you spend a more reasonable 24k (like we did) and use the car for 12 years. Even if depreciated to zero would be 2k per year. Or 166 chf per month.
Much cheaper than GAs for each adult and each child, esp. if you consider price rises on GA over 12 years.
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Yes. One can rationalize every decision. I also normally don’t buy new.
Convenience is the biggest factor for me and for that a car wins hands down.
Ok, we chose to live where we do which doesn’t have the best public transport links outside of school/work hours but we love where we live and wouldn’t change that. It does however require some organisation if we want to travel by public transport so we usually go by car for longer journeys or bike for more local stuff which doesn’t involve transporting things.
Even if we do travel by train we usually drive or cycle to the station to catch the train.
Also with some companies you can get a discount on buying a new car. We did for ours via husband’s company.
Fuel prices have fallen since 1990? I would have said they have doubled.
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Fallen relative to the cost of other essentials?
They could have doubled in price but become cheaper in real terms.
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But then the cost of transport would also have fallen.
The cost of car transport has fallen, for sure, because you get 100 km out of 6l today, but used to get half of that in 1990.
On the topic, we’re one of the “weird” families that ditched our car a few years ago and we only use public transport. On the rare occasion that we need a car, I can rent something fancy and have some fun and its not even because its cheaper overall (it is), but its less hassle. Daily, our GA cards take care of work travel, random, “urgent” travel is with mobility and planned car travel is whoever has a discount on a fancy BMW/Posrche/Mercedes 
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Dont know if it interests you guys, but remember when Germany went all 9Euro ticket, then it was 49 Euros and now the Länder are complaining that they cant afford it anymore.
Now they want to revamp the entire network, meaning that in the meantime trains have gone back to the… the… Uhhh! Ok, its never been so bad, cancellations, late, more cancellations and even later, pared with a lack of staff mean that train fares have risen to screw…the…train levels.
Ever since becoming an AG the Bundesbahn hasn´t had a break.
Switzerland has one of the most dense public transport networks, it is very easy to function without cars, the low use of taxis is a proof of this.
I would say car use here is rarely a financial choice. The people who use a typical car (excluding some extravagant shows of wealth) are those who need a car for work (white van cases), some elderly for whom it represents their independence or those for whom it is impossible to reasonable use public transport.
In the last category I would put families with young children.
Taking an example in Vaud, it is common for pre-school kids to be sent to a creche in a neighboring town/village, maybe 3-4km (10min) with a car, but requiring walking + bus + train (1stop) + bus to use public transport, impractical or impossible to do twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, pushing a parm/stroller. With two kids, it is common they are sent (at least initially) to different creches due to lack of spaces. Then, once bought, the car has the added benefits : it can be used elsewhere, becoming more time efficient eg supermarket shopping, doing errands etc.
There were articles a year ago, about the reduction of the number of families doing a “day out in Lausanne” has dropped since most of public parking spaces were removed to make bicycle lanes, as the cost+incovenience for a family living 20-30km away to use public transport was discouraging.
Of course more bicycle lanes are a good thing, but not much use for a family of 4 with a pram coming from far away.
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LOL. My impression around here is that everyone uses cars all the time because it is convenient and that AMG sound is so nice. The exception is commute into Zurich where the traffic is just mad and the train twice as fast.
I still have a couple of Doctors in Geneva and I always tale the bus, train, tram/bus for these. I get supersavers as I’m able to book in advance. I certainly don’t pay more than the cost of the car plus parking and I know the time I will arrive.
It does take longer than driving outside of rush hour but it is much less stressful.
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