Until public transport is appealing, reliable and cheap it simply remains a significantly far less appealing option. Here's my situation:
1) I need to have a car for some journeys, it's inescapable for me. I have a car 'on monthlies' so that cost is fixed, along with insurance - it's also fully maintained on its contract. Total fixed cost is around £5k/yr even if it doesn't turn a wheel. Fuel is the only variable, I spend around £80-100/mo typically.
2) I
could get the train to work. It takes nearly twice the time (around 45 mins total instead of 20-25 by car). Here are the costs of a ticket:
Weekly: £40
Monthly: £150
Annual: £1,568
It also assumes that the train is actually running as cancellations and delays seem to be more the norm than not.
My commute is probably 80% of my driving so my fuel cost spent on that is around £60-80/month. If I take the train I'm still paying for the car to sit at home doing nothing, it also costs me twice as much as the fuel for the journey and takes twice as long. In the cold, dark and wet winter it's a pretty unpleasant walk each end compared with a nice warm comfy car. There's simply no scenario where the train is the more appealing option.
In the summer I'd be happy to cycle to work - it'd take me a bit longer than either the car or the train but it'd be doable. The problem is I'd need to shower when I arrived and there aren't facilities for that in the building. It also is a far less appealing option in the pouring rain or in the middle of winter when I just want to get to work, do my job and get home. So I have a petrol car and I drive - it's quickest, easiest and currently still the cheapest option.
I'd be well up for an electric car when my existing car heads back, however I live in an apartment block (no way of charging) and park on-road near work (also no way of charging). I'm in the process of trying to shift the needle with my fellow freehold owners about putting in car charging at home but unfortunately most of them are older and selfishly don't see why they should shoulder some cost (or tolerate disruption) when it comes to finding a way to get charging points installed for the building as they'll never use it. THIS is the sort of thing that will be the biggest hurdle to electric adoption rather than the cars themselves. I even said to one of them the other day that a wise man still plants the acorn even though he knows he may never sit under the tree that grows from it but it won't change his mind.
An electric car would be ideal for what I need if only I could charge it. Perhaps when it's possible to charge it 80-90% in 10 mins at a public charger somewhere it'd become viable.
Of course the
best option would be to work from home - unfortunately we don't seem to be able to adopt that mentality as a country, even though we did it for the better part of a year (and broadly successfully in my case).