End the free travel pass? Possible solution?

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

The cost of the car plus the road tax plus the nct plus the insurance plus the petrol works out cheaper?

If we talk Bangernomics then its pretty close.. Lets try add this all up:

For example: Pick up a reliable old Micra/Japanese car or even a Fiat Punto or Volkswagen Golf [if you know what you are lookin for] with a 1 litre engine for less than a grand with a fresh NCT. Maintenance costs roughly: replace an oil filter for less than a fiver every 10 km but you can still drive the crap out of the Micra regardless. Replace the oil at the same time as the filter for 25 euro but you can be sloppy about this too.
So thats roughly 30 euro per year for filter and oil
NCT : 55 euro
So maintenance : 30 euro per year for Oil change
Tax : 199 Euro per year
Insurance: 300 to 350 per year. I got mine for 300.... but 250 the year before and I'm not an old man with years of driving experience by any means.
Lets see what else can go wrong...
Vandalism : someone breaks your wing mirror or wiper: let say 30 euro per annum in a scrapyard to replace
Replace a few bulbs in the headlights: Typically 10 euro per year and many small motor factor shops will do this for you if buy it off them and ask for help.
Tyres wear out before NCT : You can get them for 25 euro each second hand so thats a 100 euro every 2 years or 50 per year

In total that comes to:

1000 up front + per annum[ 30 oil related +199 motor tax +300 insurance + 55 NCT + 30 general maintenance + 10 bulbs + 50 tyres]


You are looking at a 1000 euro up front cost and a annual cost of 600 in fees and charges which I was not really conservative about in estimating. After that its all plain sailing and a much more enjoyable experience. I know where to park in the city centre for free too. The clamper is everywhere but there are secret locations left for illuminati such as myself where the parking signs and rules do not apply

In the end you will be able to sell the Micra for at least 500 back. Who knows more , many people are in love with them and they are becoming more collectible as they age. They dont tend to break down. In this economic climate they and a lot of reliable cheap to run cars are actually holding their value and reselling for the same amount.

Once you invest the capital cost, then each journey is significantly cheaper than public transport plus you get to carry all your crap with you, you dont have to rely on doubling up your journeys, you are always there on time and you are not bound to a timetable. You wont lose your new job by always being late thanks to Dublin Bus. You dont have to walk for 15minutes from a bus stop to your job/school etc. You can use Googlemaps as an example to calculate costs

Directions :
Dundrum Town Centre to the Howth Road. Avoiding Tolls, use compact car as an example and inputting the current cost of Fuel as 1.49 euro and you get Est. fuel cost: €1.93 [ and this is calculated in heavy traffic]

I seem to remember the Dart or Luas for a much shorter journey costing twice that. Bus fares are becoming astronomical too. This is just for one passenger.
If you add a second passenger then the upfront cost is negated by the day to day cost savings. Whats the cost of a Dart or the Luas ? I seem to remember it being the guts of a fiver per person. In a car each additional passenger anywhere is already absorbed into the up front cost.
If you have a family e.g a wife and a child then the bus is lunacy, battling in the rain with a buggy. If you have hobbies, sports , the gym interests etc , good luck carrying ten bags on your back everywhere on a bus for the day. Googlemaps suggests 22 minutes by car. Public transport takes an hour and 10 minutes. From my experience of public transport I expect longer. I expect unreliable. I expect traffic diversions due to water protests, fire engines and car crashes etc.

The alternative to a car for someone on a budget is a motorbike or a bicycle, not public transport. Public transport is too expensive. Too often hypocrites point to successful public transport in Prague , Amsterdam, Budapest etc without pointing out that a large measure of its success is its cost. How Dublin Bus can implement above inflation, especially above fuel inflation increases in ticket prices during a protracted recession when a 100,000 or twice that lose their jobs is beyond me.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of comparisons but it indicates my thinking. E.g weekly bus pass roughly costs 30 times 52= 1560 euro. I remember the cost of Luas and Dart to be worse . In my car version you own an asset and have a good time while competing on cost , especially if you take a passenger with you or have a hobby.


God I hope this is not too much off topic ...


edit: you cant compete with public transport if you feel ashamed/paranoid/insecure on account of your number plate year and car model and hence 'need' to spend 10 grand a year on a car but if you are budget conscious then despite being taxed unfairly every which way, you still have a far higher standard of living with a small cheap car.

donutheadhomer wrote: »

Just a little - my point was to keep the ould ones out of trouble - keep em away from the RA

Well you did manage to somehow connect most of our harmless and innocent old grannies with the Ra... so ...

Let 'em have it. Man old people (and not as old people) are dangerous drivers. Let the bus/trains shuttle them around.