Cash-conscious commuters are choosing public transport

David Woods, 27 August 2008

Workers are more likely to take the bus to work rather than drive because of the credit crunch.

Bus company Arriva has reported a 10% increase in passenger numbers from January to June this year, leading to the conclusion that commuters are saving money by taking public transport to work.

Anders Jensen, marking manager at ClickAJob, explains that employees are looking for ways to cut out commuting costs altogether. He said: "Working in your local area has all kinds of advantages as well as saving. Reduced travelling time, for instance, makes a huge difference to the quality of work-life balance, especially when commutes are as long as one-and-a-half hours each way every day.

He added: "Of course the savings make a huge contribution to coping with the credit crunch too -maybe that blue sky holiday is safe after all."

However Andrew Cope, chief executive of Zenith, does not believe that the credit crunch has had an effect on company cars and fleet as yet. He said: "We have not seen a noticabledifference in the corporate market. In the retail market less people might be buying cars at the moment and driving less, but this is not happening in the fleet world."

In addition the slow economy has encouraged workers to save on lunch,- Sainsbury's has reported an increase in lunch box and sandwich sales.