Heres why people don't use Buses...

[Nelson_R32]

As some of you know, I have been 'trialing' a Bus Service that runs to Ipswich daily to take miles my the R32. This will save me approximately 100 miles a week.

First impressions were quite good; yes the Bus took longer due to the odd detour. But it was actually cheaper than running my previous A3 in fuel. The people on the Bus were also quite friendly and you could easily loose the extra 15 minutes it took chatting away

However, this evening I was waiting for the Bus as normal at the stop. There were 10 people at this Stop and two of us are waiting for the Ipswich Return Bus.

I see the Bus and wait for it to pull in, and point is it doesn't!! It just carries on at full speed to beat a set of Traffic lights...

...at this point me and the person who were waiting looked at each other stunned As if to say 'Was that our Bus, the LAST bus of the day?!?!'

I was just amazed, there could've been a possible 10 people stranded due to the arrogance of a Bus Driver

Anyway, long and short of it was I left with the option of a 2 hour train ride or to beg a lift from someone at work which luckily I could. I of course had the option of borrowing an Audi but REALLY didn't want to do this as my work have the habit of making it a guilt trip. I'm not sure what happened to the other commuter I spoke too...

I will be phoning the Bus Company tomorrow and probably putting in a complaint (not that I'll get anywhere, how many calls like that must they get in a day?!?)

Anyway, after a week of trialing the local Bus Service I can officially say that Buses are SHITE and I wouldn't recommend using them

So much for doing your bit for the enviroment...

[pingpongpo]

I only live up the road from you (I assume as you are in Ipswich) and I can't remember the last time I used the bus. Overpriced, crap timetable that seems to cater for the minority.

[Nelson_R32]

Yeah I think you live near Stowmarket? Where I got the .:R from

The fare on my route is fairly reasonable, as is the pick-up times. However, the fact they just didn't even bother to stop is just bizaare. I still can't get my head around it.

...and they wonder why people stick to there cars

[Scotty]

I've been doing trains for about 15 years and buses to and from the train station for the last 3-5 years (pre 3 years I was often picked up by car)

The only issue I had with the buses was the lack of integration with the trains...and then if the times did sort of work the bloody train would run late and I'd still have to wait ages. This is one reason why I recently bought a motorbike. Apart from this issue the buses were fine. They mainly ran to time and because of the bus lanes beat all the other traffic.

Oh! There was one other problem. If I was running late going to work I'd get a bus full of kids on the way to school. I can't think of any way worse to start the day

[AntW]

did you stick your arm out to signal to the driver that you wanted him to stop?

If not then I suspect the other person went home and had a bit of a rant about "the muppet who didn't signal for the bus to stop"

I know what you mean though, just as you think the bus isn't so bad... something happens that ruins it.

[patently]

I had to catch the bus to school every day for 7 years. Nelson - what you describe happened to me on a regular basis. It meant that a 20 minute journey that should in theory only take 50 minutes (!?) in fact routinely took 90 minutes.

Now, 20 years on, anyone who suggests that I take a bus gets a rude reply.

[RedRobin]

....I'm sure that all, if not most, of us here know how impractical it is to rely on bus services especially in rural areas. Authorities and bus operators have for decades been heralding the dawn of a gloriously efficient bus and public transport age, any of which simply never gets delivered in the real-world.

Central London is the only place I know which has an effective public transport system and even that is not without its problems sometimes.

It goes without saying that the green tin-gods are yelling for us all to travel by public transport and that government is merely trying to look good in an effort to secure votes.

[Cuprabob]

Totally agree public transport is great if you live in the city but once you move out to the rural areas it's a nightmare unless you only want to travel at peak times.

They shouldn't have shut all those rural train stations and then maybe we would be more inclined to use public transport.

I used busses quite frequently last year and it was a nightmare, always breaking down and at night full of drunken neds

[RedRobin]

About 3 years ago, my daughter started to use the bus to ride the 2-3 miles to school - Not only was it horrendously expensive but the buses were rarely on time and so the whole point of the exercise was negated. We quickly decided it was best for me to drive her to school and I do the day's food shop on my way back through town. She walks home from school with friends.

A couple of her school mates were attacked on the bus by a bloke with a knife last year - One was seriously hospitalised. I'm not saying that all bus journeys are as dangerous but....

[Chrisg]

I use the bus to get back to Slough Audi when one of the cars are in for service ( I get to take hers as well ! )

Always been OK, maybe a few minutes late but the whole journey is usually about 20 minutes including the walk off the Bath Road into the Trading Estate.

Single journey has just gone up to £3.... do sometimes get some of the local Girls School pupils going home to Burnham area

Agree that fine in Urban areas, in the country ...... you need something else

[Ari]

Aren't you supposed to stick your hand out for your bus so the driver knows to stop?

After all, there were 10 people at the stop and only 2 wanted the bus, so how's the bus driver supposed to know who's waiting for him and who's waiting for another bus?

Only alternative is that he stops at every single bus stop whether people are waiting for that bus or not, which would slow things down somewhat.