[aronpye]

Which UK cities? A London year travel pass costs £2,568, so public transport is hardly cheaper either, plus it’s a whole lot less convenient. Unless you enjoy spending all of your time in an urban group think bubble with the only option is to use public transport to travel to more of the same.

[cameronh90]

While I disagree with GP about this applying to most cities in the UK, it's certainly the case that most people in inner London (Z1-3) don't own a car. The people who do own cars mostly don't use them for commuting. Kids seem to be the biggest reason people get a car.

Driving in London is expensive and inconvenient. Parking is extortionate, there's the congestion charge, road taxes, fuel duty and insurance. A car is something you get if you're reasonably well off or you need it for work (e.g. you're a tradesman).

Travelcards are expensive too - London is just expensive unfortunately. But that's a Z1-5 travelcard I think you've quoted. There are other ones and IME a lot of very poor people cycle, use the bus pass (£900) or get a Z2-6 (£1800) then walk from there, if indeed they even work in the centre. Also there are discounted rates for the travelcard depending on circumstances.

[iso1631]

Do you live in London? Or visit?

In 2017, pre pandemic, there were only 166,000 annual travelcards sold.

No idea where your £2,568 comes from.