Brits who travel abroad would hire a car rather than use public transport to get around when on holiday, according to new research from car hire comparison site carhiremarket.com. As many as 58% of Brits questioned cited numerous reasons why they would choose car hire over trains, trams and tubes when holidaying, including safety, language issues and comfort.

Confusing transport systems (21%) along with not being able to speak the mother tongue (22%) topped the list of reasons for shying away from public transport and hiring a car instead. Being unable to find their way around public transport systems followed, with 18% of the vote, with safety and lack of comfort also concerns for Brits who would chose to be behind the wheel of a car when overseas.

Interestingly, youngsters seem to be far less confident about using public transport than the more adventurous older generations! Only 12% of over 55 year olds cited concerns over the safety of public transport compared to almost 22% of those between 18 and 24. As many as 27%of younger travellers were worried about getting lost, but the well travelledand fearless over 55s are not so anxious, with only 16% having concerns over losing their way.

Even when it comes to comfort the more mature adults would happily take a bumpy ride, with only 14% saying this was an issue with public transport compared to more youthful holiday makers (24%)!

Andrew Shorrock, Product Manager at online car hire comparison website carhiremarket.com, comments: “Even though most public transport systems abroad are very safe and easy to use, this survey shows many of us have concerns about using them, due to confusing systems and not speaking the local language. Hiring a car abroad can be extremely advantageous in terms of comfort and not being tied to public transport time restrictions. You can even hire a car in some locations for as little as £8 a day*, which could be a great saving compared to buses or trains if travelling with a family.”

*dependent on location and time of year.