The UK has multiple options when it comes to public transport. There are bus, rail, plane and ferry options but depending on the route and destination have various prices attached to them. Whilst driving around in cars is hugely popular and has been growing in number over the years, there are still ample options for those who prefer to help the environment a little bit. There are multiple plane routes across the country those these tend to be a little pricier and by the time the wait in the airport is over, not much difference in time either.

The Bus Service

This is one of the more popular options especially for those travelling in cities. London for example has an excellent bus service available that runs multiple routes at highly regular intervals, many with only a wait of five minutes before the arrival of the next bus. The local bus service covers the whole country of which there are really only five different companies left running them; Stagecoach, National Express, Go-Ahead, FirstGroup and Arriva. For long distance journeys there are coaches mainly provided by Megabus and National Express with Scottish buses operated by Scottish Citylink.

Railway Options

There are two separate sections to the Rail network in the UK. There is Northern Ireland and one for Great Britain. The second has now extended its range and is connected to Europe via the Channel Tunnel. The National Rail Network is the company that runs the trains. Now comprising just over ten thousand miles of rail, this is significantly reduced from fifty years ago when there used to be triple that at thirty thousand miles of rail.

The rail network of Great Britain is actually the oldest of its kind in the world. There are five main lines that operate as high-speed lines and these are the Midland, West Coast, East Coast, Great Western and Great Eastern lines. They all start from London and spread out to cover the entire country. If in doubt, head to London to get somewhere else in the country.

Three cities also offer Rapid Transit systems. The most well know of which is of course the London Underground. Other cities that can offer this transport are Glasgow and Tyne and Wear Metro, which operate in Newcastle and the surrounding area. Less common are the light rail links situated around the country. Very popular in earlier centuries, they have slowly declined and now only a select few cities offer them.