How will we ever persuade employees out of their cars and onto public transport? I’m thinking ahead to a time when workplace parking prevents us from driving to work and parking onsite; to a time when the cost of travelling by car compares with that of taking the bus or train, and when hopefully the latter become more convenient and reliable than they are now.

I recently took the bus for a simple local journey. The bus turned up, only a little late, and I paid a ridiculous amount of money to squeeze into a seat with even less legroom than a Ryanair jet, and be frightened out of my wits by the elderly female driver, who probably races stock cars at the weekend, if her performance on the road was anything to go by. I walked the return journey.

Yet on a recent holiday abroad, I took the bus to a destination some 40 minutes away. Finding the right bus stop was relatively simple; buses were frequent, and air-conditioned, clean and so, so cheap. I paid the equivalent of £1.50 each for our journey. And there was not a nutter in sight, either in the driving seat nor among the paying passengers.

I looked at reducing my carbon footprint by catching the bus to work. My car costs 44p a mile to run, including fuel and depreciation, and its cabin is a comfortable place to be. I have freedom of choice when I go who I

take with me, and what music I listen to. The bus fare is around twice what it costs me to drive, even with a season ticket, and takes longer. And swinging from a handhold among a throng of noisy schoolchildren, while being subjected to listening to someone else’s music, at either end of a stressful day isn’t ideal. But if I could get a seat, and a comparable cost with the car, I’d consider it – and probably wear earplugs. As it is, I’m still using the car.

Maybe the train then? My last serious attempt at rail travel was to Birmingham from London, a journey made at short notice. Most seats were pre-booked, although empty, and for the first half an hour I sat with other similarly disadvantaged passengers, on the floor of a dirty corridor. Eventually the conductor came along and agreed we may sit in the empty pre-booked seats. The current fare for that journey is £158 return in rush hour. Why on earth would I take the train when I can do it cheaper, and often quicker, by car, and possibly even helicopter! You know those TV adverts for cheaper fares – well I checked the Train Line website to see how early I needed to book to get a cheaper fare at peak times. I gave up before I found an answer, but it was over a month in advance.

Assuming my Birmingham trip was made starting from, say, Guildford, then the road trip is not only significantly quicker – given normal road conditions – but an awful lot cheaper, and I can go door to door. Rail fare £120, mileage at AFR rates just £29. Or I could hire a shortpterm rental car and refuel it and it would still be cheaper than the train. Stick a work colleague in the car and the cost to the company is even less. And if the firm is paying the fixed costs of a company car anyway, why even suggest travel by train? The only advantage is that one can at least try and work on the train.

True, there is far more journey planning information available now, but people still need the right incentives. Comfort, convenience, services which run to time and, above all, affordability. While we are learning to place environmental issues higher up the agenda, as travel managers we must try to balance the elements of cost, convenience and CO2. Current surveys show that most commercially minded fleet managers still put cost above the environment. I wonder what price will fuel have to reach before we ditch the car?