Car, bus, bike or train – How do you get to work?

Despite government efforts to get more people on public transport to cut congestion and pollution, Britons would still rather hop in the car.

As governments around the world look for ways to get citizens out of cars and onto public transport for health and environmental reasons, a new YouGov survey reveals that it won’t be easy. Britons would much rather just jump in the car.

When asked whether they have a favourable or unfavourable view of travelling in various ways, 81 per cent expressed a positive view of being a car passenger, and 73 per cent said the same about driving themselves.

But only two thirds of Britons (67 per cent) have a favourable opinion of taking the train, and fewer than half like the idea of having to travel by bus (47 per cent) or coach (42 per cent).

At the very bottom of the transportation table come bicycles, which only four in ten (40 per cent) have a positive view of having to ride – compared to almost half (49 per cent) who feel the opposite. Women were less enthused by the prospect of riding a bicycle than men (32 per cent had a favourable view, compared to 49 per cent of men).

Despite attempts to boost bicycle use in the capital through ‘Boris Bikes’ and a smattering of new cycle routes, Londoners are even less keen on travelling by bike than people are elsewhere. Just a third (34 per cent) of Londonders like the idea of cycling to their destination, compared to 40 per cent of all Britons.

But people’s aversion to cycling isn’t necessarily down to laziness, as walking is seen most favourably of all transport options. Some 84 per cent hold a positive view of taking themselves somewhere with their own two feet, and only 11 per cent of Brits have a negative view of having to put one foot in front of the other.

The same survey run in London reveals different tastes in the capital than the rest of the country, with Londoners substantially less keen on cars. While 73 per cent of all Brits have a favourable view of driving themselves from A to B, this falls to just 44 per cent among Londoners. Similarly, the proportion of Londoners who like the idea of travelling as a car passenger is much lower, at 67 per cent, than in the nation as a whole (81 per cent).

At the same time, Londoners are much more warm to taking the bus – approaching two thirds (63 per cent) hold them in high esteem compared to fewer than half of all Brits (47 per cent).

And unsurprisingly, Londoners are more likely to like taking a metro system such as the London Underground (66 per cent) than their counterparts elsewhere.