Is the cost of commuting getting too much?

                                                                                         

Something like 1 in 6 people have considered quitting their jobs because the increasing cost of fuel prices means that their daily commute to work is costing too much.

People really are struggling to cope with rising fuel costs and would consider such drastic action to cut their monthly costs.

More and more people are chosing to leave their cars at home and try public transport or trying to car share with others, either work colleagues or friends, even next door neighbours.

The basic fact is that fuel prices have risen by 21 per cent over the last 12 months and experts are predicting further increases over the coming weeks and months. Every time I fill my tank I certainly notice the 1 or 2 pence increase from the last time. Things cannot carry on like this, surely!?

Last week there were strikes by tanker drivers which didn't actually cause a fuel shortage but reports in the media made people panic and start filling their cars and containers. Some people were buying upto 100 litres in one go and you certainly can't put all that in the average family car's tank! The actual figure was 1 in 10 petrol stations MAY have a shortage of fuel. But still people rushed out to fill their cars!

As for public transport most of the time I think you’re better off in a car. It depends where you live, in terms of proximity to a train station and then where you’re trying to get to. Some train journey’s I’ve researched take almost twice as long as the same journey by car! Ticket prices can be high especially if, like everyone who’s commuting, you need to travel in peak hours. If I had the choice it would be a car share scheme for me. I’ve just done a very quick peice of research and found this website offering you the ability to check for car share schemes in your local area, good idea! http://carshare.com/default.asp?region=6#carsharesites

People are also dreaming up more cost cutting methods when it comes to the car - 10 per cent are thinking about not driving their children to school, 15 per cent are thinking about down grading their car, 36 per cent are thinking about purchasing a car with better MPG, and unfortunately 51 per cent of people are considering cutting the amount they’d spend on servcing and MOT’ing their cars.

Of course you should also consider shopping around for car insurance online, make sure you take a few minutes to get the car insurance quotes online using one of the comparison web sites there are plenty to choose from!

About the author:
Simon Duffy writes for the Financial Blog a UK Finance Blog talking about all aspects of personal finance including loans, credit cards, tenant loans, credit cards, mortgages, and more!

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