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Thought this was an interesting article The Dallas Morning News did up. They sent 4 writers from Dallas to Austin by different modes of transportation. They had to evaluate each mode of transportation and break it down by price, price per person, gallons of gas used per person, time, convienence.
What's the best way to go on your summer vacation? | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/061408dntex1aroadtrip.4018880.html - broken link)
Nice article, Momof2dfw! An interesting comparison, for sure. Gotta say that I've always loved the train if I couldn't be at the wheel. I oticed that BOTH road-bound travelers had negative things to say about trucks, though...
A car will always be the most economical and most flexible choice. Even in the UK, where fuel is expensive, it was still cheaper to drive everywhere than to use the mass transit system. But in the UK, they made driving inconvient, lack of parking and congestion charges in London, but without the prefabricated incovience, driving is still cheaper.
thanks for the info! we will be driving from illinois to florida for a vacation. with the family of four, it seems the only way we can afford to travel
I think you have to considered the cost of evryhting especailly on a long trip. Motels and meals can get expensive when traveling on long trips. When going by car I would go by the allowance given to many employers as this reflects wear on vehicle etc.I still prefer to go by car if possible and have the time.
Nice article, Momof2dfw! An interesting comparison, for sure. Gotta say that I've always loved the train if I couldn't be at the wheel. I oticed that BOTH road-bound travelers had negative things to say about trucks, though...
A ha! You caught the same thing I did, nope I wasn't too pleased either. However, what to expect from some "desk jockey"?
Nice article, Momof2dfw! An interesting comparison, for sure. Gotta say that I've always loved the train if I couldn't be at the wheel. I oticed that BOTH road-bound travelers had negative things to say about trucks, though...
I noticed that but I also noticed they mentioned the "slow Hyundai in the fast lane". Sorry but THOSE drivers are more irritating and can cause MORE dangerous and deadly problems than most truckers. BTW, don't know how often you get to drive that stretch of highway but it IS crowded with truckers. Being that a lot of it is only 2 lanes in each direction and it is one of the main routes for NAFTA (URGH!!!) it is congested and all of the trucks, regular traffic AND the creepers don't mix well
I would go with Trains for regional trips, but the good ones are so overpriced! Bus travel, however, is still a pretty cheap option for me - the Chinatown buses from Boston-NYC-DC are ultra cheap. Last time only cost $25 one way from DC-NYC.
I wish we had those cool "bullet" trains here in the U.S. Hopefully we will someday.
I noticed that but I also noticed they mentioned the "slow Hyundai in the fast lane". Sorry but THOSE drivers are more irritating and can cause MORE dangerous and deadly problems than most truckers. BTW, don't know how often you get to drive that stretch of highway but it IS crowded with truckers. Being that a lot of it is only 2 lanes in each direction and it is one of the main routes for NAFTA (URGH!!!) it is congested and all of the trucks, regular traffic AND the creepers don't mix well
When I was in our long haul fleet I ran I-35 a fair amount. And I'm sure it's even worse now as NAFTA trucks have increased... Yep, inconsiderate/oblivious drivers of ANY vehicle are frustrating and dangerous!
Bus: My Spain and Morocco trip in May and June was primarily by bus. I traveled about 1,500 miles this way. To be exact, the longer buses I took were San Sebastian - Madrid (Continental Auto); Madrid - Granada (also Continental Auto, I believe); Tangier - Meknes (CTM); Meknes - Rissani (CTM); Rissani - Marrakech (some smaller line).
Bus travel in Spain is generally cheaper than train travel, although you can get very good deals on the national railway system (RENFE) if you reserve online more than two or three weeks ahead. Comfort on the buses, however, is well below that of trains.
In Morocco, the buses are less comfortable in Spain, take a very long time (something like 30 mph average) and the one from Rissani to Marrakech did not seem to have any climate control, either way: it was very hot on the edge of the Sahara in Rissani outside, and inside it was no better, and by the time we got into the mountains, it was freezing.
One major annoyance was that three of my four long bus rides were at night, depriving me of seeing the country during the day.
Train: I unfortunately did not get to ride the train in Morocco, but did twice in Spain, once on RENFE's Larga Distancia train (long distance) and another on their Media Distancia train (medium distance). Even though I was in the cheaper "Turista" rather than "Preferente" class, the long distance ride from Barcelona to San Sebastian was amazingly comfortable, and simply...awesome. There was a CLEAN bathroom, a dining car with reasonable prices and an awesome potato omelet with cheese bocadillo (sandwich on french bread), and comfortable chairs that reclined. Not to mention that occupancy was low, and I had a ton of room to stretch and relax. That was awesome! The price was expensive...$60 for a maybe 300-350 mile ride, but if I would have reserved earlier I would have only paid a little over $20.
The Media Distancia train was far less comfortable. However, I met nice people on there.
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