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I agree that it should 'horse for courses' - many people live in areas where public transport is just not economically viable, and, in today's fast-paced, busy world, not feasible for the majority of journeys.
A good example of this is my journey to my last workplace (in Stevenage) - I could go by train - a 5 min walk at my end (Royston [Herts]), a 20-odd min train journey, but then a 25-30 min walk at the other end as my then workplace was on an edge-of town industrial/business park. If I was lucky I could get a bus for that last bit of the journey, but it's a round town service and thus I could end up getting there later if it was delayed. Overall time, including waiting for the train and likely delays - 1hr 5mins.
Only two reasonable choice of train that would guranatee me getting to work on time for the most part, one leaving 12 mins earlier than by car, the other 22 mins earlier. Cost (train journey only): ~£7.50 per day (abour £10 if the bus far was included)
The car journey takes (door to door - parking at work right outside the office and, for me, available spaces 99%+ of the time) 45-50 mins on a bad/busy day, 35-40 mins normally, 25 mins when the schools are out (approx. 18 miles each way). Cost (fuel etc): ~£10 per day. I required the car as part of my job, so depreciation could be reduced by using it more for work (as the cost would be reimbursed), reducing the daily cost nearer to £8.
As I had to have access to my car to go to work meetings, site visits, etc and often at very short notice (my boss wouldn't look that favourably in me having to travel nearly an hour to go and pick it up, wasting valuable time), guess which option I chose?
This, of course, would be (and was) different when I was working in London or Cambridge, where traffic is very bad in the rush hour, parking in almost non-existent and where it is available, it's extortionately expensive, when there is a reasonably decent (for the most part) public transport alternative that would get me there in half the time compared to driving, albeit for about 25-30% more money for the London commute, much less so when parking charges are factored in.
Essentially most of the choices come down to convenience and cost. WIth some jobs or living in some areas, especially in the suburbs and more rural areas, having a car is essential. You just cannot function or get/keep a job without access to one. It's far different if you live in or work in a larger city with extensive public transport, where the economies of scale make it viable, especially when the implications of getting stuck in traffic are factored in.
Ironically, its almost the opposite way around in the sticks, where alternative road routes are often easily available, whereas they aren't for public transport, where in a city you can just hop off at the next (nearby) stop and get on another bus, train or tube, in the event of a major hold up/incident.
If I lived in a major city, then I'd probably not own a car, but hire one as required for certain journeys, perhaps going more of the way by public transport, except for some holidays in the UK or where I needed to take extra gear like golfing equipment, etc that I wouldn't be able to carry all by myself with the rest of my luggage.
Sadly, programmes such as this show just how out of touch much of the London-centric metropolitan elite and their MSM friends are with much of the rest of the UK. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
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