[dazc]

I often hire a car to travel long distance in the UK since trains are so expensive and with flights you really need to book very far ahead to get a decent price. With flights also I never find a convenient outward and return trip that will not involve staying overnight.

[isostatic]

And that's a great choice. They're door-to-door (if you have the car dropped off at home), and costs are easily understood too - cost of hiring the car and cost of the petrol. This can be as low as 10p/mile, plus say £60 for the car for the day

The downsides of hiring the car

- time isn't very useful while you're driving (compared to on a train/plane where you can work, or read, or watch netflix)

- usually slower - especially with city centre to city centre

- parking stress

- Driving is tiring, and more dangerous. A 3 hour drive, then an 8 hour day, then another 3 hour drive.

Choice is wonderful.

Ideally I'd have something that costs 5p per mile, runs every 5 minutes, is is door to door, and I travel on my own sofa with 300mbit wifi, power, and waiter service.

However as that's not possible I, as a consumer, can choose what's important for me for a given journey. Sometimes that's the train, sometimes it's the plane, sometimes it's a coach, sometimes I'll drive