Too many vehicles on uk roads

[Grassland Blue]

Buses are fine if I want to go to Bury.

They're absolutely shite if I want to go to (say) Shrewsbury or York. And for some journeys, they simply do not exist. For example, try going to Barnsley or Sheffield by bus. Good luck with that.

I was referring to services in the Manchester area tbf.

 

[flook]

With the apps that track the vehicles, buy a ticket and even show how full it is, there’s never been a better time for buses since deregulation.

You'd think wouldn't you, however, trying to be greener a few weeks back I decided to get the bus into stockport for friday beer night from home, rather than my usual Uber. Went onto the stagecoach app, and the only ticket I could buy was £6. Now obviously i'm not expert on buses, but my understanding was the price was capped at £2 per journey. Checked with a mate who confirmed that was the case, so I decided to pay on the bus.

Trundled down to the bus stop 5 minutes before the on time (according to the app) bus. 20 minutes later, I'm going to be late, it's raining and the bus still hasn't turned up. The app is now telling me the next one is due in 15 minutes. So I book my Uber.

Uber is there in 2 minutes, I'm at the pub on time, and it cost me about £9

I tried the bus again a few weeks later for the stockport beer festival, with almost identical results.

So, in summary, public transport is, in my admittedly limited recent experience, just as shit as its always been

 

[flook]

I think we need a no child policy for two generations.

You really haven't thought that through have you

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

You'd think wouldn't you, however, trying to be greener a few weeks back I decided to get the bus into stockport for friday beer night from home, rather than my usual Uber. Went onto the stagecoach app, and the only ticket I could buy was £6. Now obviously i'm not expert on buses, but my understanding was the price was capped at £2 per journey. Checked with a mate who confirmed that was the case, so I decided to pay on the bus.

Trundled down to the bus stop 5 minutes before the on time (according to the app) bus. 20 minutes later, I'm going to be late, it's raining and the bus still hasn't turned up. The app is now telling me the next one is due in 15 minutes. So I book my Uber.

Uber is there in 2 minutes, I'm at the pub on time, and it cost me about £9

I tried the bus again a few weeks later for the stockport beer festival, with almost identical results.

So, in summary, public transport is, in my admittedly limited recent experience, just as shit as its always been

Yes it sometimes fails still. We don't have any Stagecoach services near us so I don't know the app but I now only use the Bee Network and TransDev apps. There is another service I could use which is Diamond Buses I think but it's a poor route so I don't use it and it will be a BN route next month anyway. At one stage it used to be 4 apps - TransDev, Diamond, Go and Vision - which was a nightmare switching from one to another deciding which was the best bus to wait for. I have seen an improved service in the BN network area regarding 'ghost' buses (those that show on the app but don't arrive), whether that will continue remains to be seen. However if time is of the essence then obviously taxis are always going to be a better option. If you're happy with £18 (I assume £9 each way) vs £4 (£2 each way, although the £5 day ticket is better for flexibility) then that's fine.

That said, a lot of areas will need to see more passengers to justify the services and better services to attract the passengers. Very difficult to fix that.

 

[flook]

Yes it sometimes fails still. We don't have any Stagecoach services near us so I don't know the app but I now only use the Bee Network and TransDev apps. There is another service I could use which is Diamond Buses I think but it's a poor route so I don't use it and it will be a BN route next month anyway. At one stage it used to be 4 apps - TransDev, Diamond, Go and Vision - which was a nightmare switching from one to another deciding which was the best bus to wait for. I have seen an improved service in the BN network area regarding 'ghost' buses (those that show on the app but don't arrive), whether that will continue remains to be seen. However if time is of the essence then obviously taxis are always going to be a better option. If you're happy with £18 (I assume £9 each way) vs £4 (£2 each way, although the £5 day ticket is better for flexibility) then that's fine.

That said, a lot of areas will need to see more passengers to justify the services and better services to attract the passengers. Very difficult to fix that.

I'd much rather pay the £4 than 18, though in all honesty, it would be bus there and taxi back, but the main priority is actually getting there.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

I'd much rather pay the £4 than 18, though in all honesty, it would be bus there and taxi back, but the main priority is actually getting there.

I have noticed in the Bee Network app that only day tickets (£5) plus some longer day ones are possible so yes you would need to pay on the bus for a single. Eventually they will be looking at tap on tap off and so you could do journeys by tram one way, then by bus return and the price be capped but it's a while away yet.

Still better than standing at a bus stop and having no idea if the buses were even running.

 

[PaulPowerScreamer]

I find the repeated assertions that public transport is absolutely terrible really strange. I don't drive, have never lived with anyone with a car and virtually never use taxis so I've used public transport almost exclusively for more than 40 years and have very rarely had any problems.

I had a job a few years ago which required three bus journeys each way every day (I'm not saying I recommend this btw, I wouldn't take a job that far away again). I was late for work twice in two years - there were people who drove to the same place who were up to 30 minutes late at least once a week (often more) because of traffic. It always felt like the expense and sheer hassle of owning a car just isn't worth it.

 

[bluemoon32]

Public transport in the West Midlands ( where i live & work during the week) is pretty good but when i go home every weekend to South Wales its a fucking disgrace down there & getting worse every year.

 

[give it to gordon]

Kids chauffeured to school and back...record levels of childhood obesity...wonder if there is a link?

Yea the kids go to school learn about global warming than waddell out of school inti the 4x4 !.

My journey time joung to work ( car share ) is more than halved in school holidays. The amount of kids going to school in cars is ridiculous. The place is gridlocked at the start and end of school time.

 

[Kompany Car]

I find the repeated assertions that public transport is absolutely terrible really strange. I don't drive, have never lived with anyone with a car and virtually never use taxis so I've used public transport almost exclusively for more than 40 years and have very rarely had any problems.

I had a job a few years ago which required three bus journeys each way every day (I'm not saying I recommend this btw, I wouldn't take a job that far away again). I was late for work twice in two years - there were people who drove to the same place who were up to 30 minutes late at least once a week (often more) because of traffic. It always felt like the expense and sheer hassle of owning a car just isn't worth it.

But it depends where you live. Suburbs of a big city, no issues. Rural areas, many people have never seen a bus, never mind used one, because the service is so poor.

I spent years commuting in and out of London and public transport was fantastic, why anyone needs a car within 20 miles of London assuming they work in the City, I dont know. If only everywhere else had a world class transport system where if you missed a bus or train you only had to wait 5 minutes for the next one. Most people in rural areas would be happy if they had a bus once an hour that didnt stop at 8pm.