How much is YOUR time worth when travelling?

[Michael.Y]

Are you going to watch it on TV in Glasgow

No. As a member of the FAW Supporters Club, I get priority to away tickets.

 

[Starmill]

Since I often buy travel for the sake of it, and not because I actually want to go anywhere, does that mean I should reimburse the TOC when my trains are late? They have, after all, provided me with more time on a train.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Something which I was thinking about when discussing a long train journey

If you could go from A to B and it cost say £50 and took 4 hours, but there was an alternative to go from A to B via C which costs £40 but takes 5 hours, which would you go for?

At which point does a monetary saving win over additional time? Do you have a magic "rate per hour", or a formula you use?

For me, it is not just about price.
If the hypothetical A to B via C journey involved a change of train, and the connection time was under 10mins, I would look closely at the potential interval if the train from A gets to C late.
The possibility of, say, an hour's wait on a cold platform (especially if there's nowhere to get a cuppa) would most likely make me favour the direct train.
Delays happen. Once you introduce a second journey, doesn't the possibility of being caught up in one increase ever so slightly?

 

[richw]

For a quicker journey I would pay up to my current hourly wage to save that time, so if a more expensive route saves me an hour, I would only be willing to pay up to 1 hour equivalent of my salary for that quicker route
If my hourly wage was £20 per hour, I would be willing to pay an extra £20 for every hour saved in a quicker journey. (this isnt my hourly salary, purely hypothetical)
Unless I was in my rush and then I would pay however much more it requires.

 

[Goatboy]

For a quicker journey I would pay up to my current hourly wage to save that time, so if a more expensive route saves me an hour, I would only be willing to pay up to 1 hour equivalent of my salary for that quicker route
If my hourly wage was £20 per hour, I would be willing to pay an extra £20 for every hour saved in a quicker journey. (this isnt my hourly salary, purely hypothetical)
Unless I was in my rush and then I would pay however much more it requires.

How is your hourly wage relevent unless you can work additional hours in the time saved?

 

[richw]

How is your hourly wage relevent unless you can work additional hours in the time saved?

because in reality the time saved would enable additional hours to be worked, I only travel longer distances where the time vs money scenario is appropriate is for work purposes, so the quicker I get there the more wage I can earn. however it isnt worth paying more than I'd earn for getting to destination earlier.

 

[ainsworth74]

Although at least one gets a seat when flying!

Can't remember the last time I did a long distance journey and didn't get a seat for all of it

 

[Goatboy]

Can't remember the last time I did a long distance journey and didn't get a seat for all of it

Congratulations for avoiding Cross Country

 

[D1009]

Congratulations for avoiding Cross Country

Well I travel frequently on XC, and can't remember the last time I was forced to sit next to someone, never mind having to stand. But then being a man of leisure I can allow myself a wide choice of trains and avoid the busiest times completely.

 

[TDK]

I think that everyones time, is very similar to what they are paid per hour.

For someone on £6 an hour, they would value their time at a similar amount and similarlly for someone on £20 an hour.

This of course excludes the external factors, but could be used as a base.

If my travelling time is longer I actually make £22.69 per hour more at the end of the week in overtime

 

[Sammy h]

I think it depends on the situation? Work vs leisure?

The other day I was at Euston. As I can travel for Virgin for free as I work for them I went to Sheffield via Stockport which obviously only cost me a Stockport-Sheffield priv ticket instead of a Euston to Sheffield priv single which is much more.

Although I think the journey time was quite similar if I remember rightly.

 

[cuccir]

Here's the things I'd take into account when it comes to 'pricing my time':

1. What am I not doing? If I wasn't travelling, would I be doing something more productive/enjoyable?
2. To what extent is the extra travel interesting? Are there routes or places which are new to me?
3. How tired is the extra travelling going to leave me?
4. Will I want to/be able to do anything else while travelling?
5. Will the extra travelling time incur costs (food, coffee, newspapers?)

Having an hour's wait in a new city is probably worth to me than an hour's relaxation at home on a Sunday evening, even though I'm spending more time travelling.

A lot of academics have now started to reject the notion that travel time is 'wasted' or 'empty' time that should be priced a zero value, as has been traditionally done in economics. Of course, in planning new transport projects that 'travel time = wasted' formula is maintained as it shows best value for money in policy documents...

 

[GodAtum]

It all about perceived time for me. The less time I spend traveling the better. For example I have 2 choices to Guildford: ECR - Redhill or ECR - Claphan Junc. I always go via Clapham as it seems faster.

 

[Be3G]

A lot of academics have now started to reject the notion that travel time is 'wasted' or 'empty' time that should be priced a zero value, as has been traditionally done in economics. Of course, in planning new transport projects that 'travel time = wasted' formula is maintained as it shows best value for money in policy documents...

I think it varies wildly. Someone commuting in a standing-room-only sardine can to London is obviously going to get much less value from their travelling time than someone whose commute is a leisurely one-hour intercity journey in first class. (Oh to be able to afford a first class season…)