(21 Feb 2020, 6:04 pm)Andreos1 wrote Mines a decent sized car too.
It has to be for the things I need it for (and when MrsC wanted the Christmas tree).
Pennies in tax, good mpg and a decent size. It's one of the reasons I got rid of the old one.
The time saved when driving somewhere, allows me to do my work when I get there.
It still doesn't offer an incentive to use the bus, however much I may want to.
We were looking at getting a new one (we were looking at the Outlander PHEV, or a newer X-Trail), but for what we use it for the inside would get wrecked within the week, plus cars seem to be getting bigger on the outside but smaller on the inside! Plus, 38mpg (45-50 on the motorway) isn't really too bad.
(21 Feb 2020, 6:14 pm)mb134 wrote I'm reasonably out of touch with parking charges in the NE, though last I remember Newcastle was free after 5?
Up here the main shopping centre is a flat £1.50 after 18:00, with many other parking places free after 19:00. First sell an "evening ticket" for £3 after 19:00 - no real use to anyone with a car as parking is cheaper and the distance First cover nobody is realistically paying more than £1.50 in petrol (bar one route). I guess the hope for bus companies is that people want to have a drink, which rules the car out completely. Then, however, they need to be priced considerably less than a Taxi and be reasonably convenient.
There is no bus from where I live down home to the Metrocentre, I'd have to change at Haymarket/Eldon Square onto another operator - taking my bus fare to nearly £10. In comparison on that journey my car will do about 45mpg, keep me warm, play the music I want through speakers, and smell of whatever air freshner I've got in - and take less than half the time.
Further, myself and majority of the people I know have a reasonably large chunk of mobile data per month so WiFi - which isn't always straightforward to get onto in the first place - becomes obsolete. Plugs, when they work, are handy but who's taking a USB cable with them on an evening out? Surely you stick your phone on charge while getting changed etc from work, and as most phones have quick charging these days that's you up to 50%+ in about half an hour.
Tables are nice, but again, if there's 4/5 of you are you really going to choose the bus over a car if someone is willing to not drink for one evening? There's also the possibility of tables not being available, people listening in on conversations, someone wanting the window open in the middle of December etc...
I suppose it really depends where you live. GNE have quite a few 'long distance' routes direct to the centre of Newcastle so the evening ticket is often cheaper than the single during the day. If you live near the city centre, it doesn't make sense, if you live out in the sticks, then it does!
Plus, if there's a group of 4, it's only £6.50 which like I said, is a pretty good price (assuming they all get on and off at the same stop)