Public Transport

[Tally]

It's looking like I am going to have to sell my car.

 

I can walk or cycle to work or to the shops. If I plan things well I could do a big monthly shop of heavy things and take a taxi home. But if I want to travel further afield, I will need to take the bus. The thing is that I have never taken a bus on my own except once, but its destination was the bus garage near my house so it was easy to choose the right one. It was horrible once I was on it though, because some kids at the back kept throwing things at me and laughing. I wouldn't know how to take the same bus from the bus station, or any bus at all really. There are so many going from there and I would not know which one to get. I also can't work out how to read a bus timetable. We have a tourist information centre next to the bus station where you can buy a timetable, but they won't help with specific questions like how to get to a particular location, and I might want to travel when they are closed, or plan a journey in advance.

 

I can catch a train OK, but I need to catch a bus to get to the train station. In the past I have used a taxi, but I couldn't afford it on a regular basis. I don't have anyone I could ask for a lift.

 

At the moment I can't really afford to go anywhere, so it wouldn't make much difference if I couldn't work out how to get there anyway, but I need to do things like visit my parents.

[NobbyNobbs]

travelling on busses isn't so bad as long as you're a bit picky over when you go. i live in a rural area so all secondary pupils have to get a bus into the schools in the city... i never go on those particular times because its crowded and noisy. beyond that its mostly elderly and as long as you dont sit in the disabled area they're okay... i got on the bus on two crutches unable to put one foot down and some old bloke still kicked me out of my seat because he didn't want to stand!

 

as for bus times, there should be a travelshop in the bus station that is the 'main' one for the area who can advise about journeys. otherwise most bus companies put all their timetables on their websites which i find easier than going to ask someone. can you read the timetables? they're a bit nuts looking, but pretty basic once you get the general idea. and if in doubt, most bus drivers are really helpful and will tell you what bus to get if you're on the wrong one, and times etc. you can always work out one-way and then ask the driver to give you times for the return leg when you're on there.

 

bus etiqette - seems to apply everywhere i've been, but might be different in huge urban cities -

elderly sit at the front, then block the aisle with wide bottoms, shopping trolleys and anything else they can think of. and they will ask you to move even if there is a seat free in the row behind!

young sit at the back being noisy and generally horrible

the middle is for the confused businessman and anyone else who doesn't fall into the two other categories.

 

i'm actually excited that i can get a free bus pass now, because i dont drive and like to be able to go where i want without waiting for my parents to be free. none of my family can understand how i put up with busses and dont want to get my driving licence, but i have endles patience so the time and delays dont bother me.

 

if you want any help working out timetables etc, feel free to ask

Edited June 13, 2008 by NobbyNobbs

[loobylou2]

Hi Tally, have you tried checking times etc online? Our bus company provides all the info you need, just type in your start point and destination and it will come up with a list of times and prices for you.

[Imposter]

These two sites might be able to help you...

 

Travelline South West England - Journey Planner

 

You can play a journey on here from postcode to postcode or street to street.

 

 

and also....

 

Devon Local Government Bus Info site

 

Up here I use gmpte.co.uk when I need to check bus times or train times.

 

Personally never really had a problem with using buses per se. I Like working out timetables and working out where I have to go.

 

Do prefer trains/trams/underground and there is no confusion over where to get off - which can be daunting about making an unfamiliar bus journey.

 

The main problem is where buses don't run to timetable - especially if it's a journey involving two or three buses and one being late puts the rest of the journey out of kilter.

 

 

I think the best bet if there are only a few specific journeys you need to make regularly like to the train station or the supermarket etc... is to bite the bullet and take the journey once or twice - ask the driver where to get off - Once you've done it once or twice, take care to make sure you look out for a memorable landmark to remind you where to get off (e.g. after the supermarket, or once you've passed through the 8th set of traffic lights, or whatever).

 

With regards timetable problems there are telephone numbers you can ring and just ask someone what time the next bus is.

 

I usually find the first few times of any journey (particularly on bus) can be daunting but once I know where I'm going, when to get off, etc... it's absolutely fine.

 

[justamum]

If you do a monthly shop, as I do, you order online and get the shop to deliver A taxi will not be cost effective.

 

I have a car but I am very rural so a trip to the shops needs to be cost effective. So I often buy stuff online and get it delivered.

 

You then take the stress of yourself and use the bus for those trips further afield and a day out...enjoyment rather than necessity

[Tally]

There isn't anyone who deliver round here, but the shop is very close. I normally walk there, but not when I need heavy things. A taxi is only �2, not scary, and it means I get to touch and sniff everything first

 

Thanks for all your help

[pearl]

JP has a free bus pass, do you qualify? We just had to get a letter from GP saying he is in receipt of disability services. Cuts out a lot of the stress of having money, right change, asking for destination etc.

 

Fret not - he was terrified at first but copes very well now. First time is always the worst. And if you are worried about schoolkids etc, always sit as near the front as possible, never upstairs on a double decker (this is MY bitter experience not JP's, as a convent school girl in conspicuous uniform I was a target for all the secondary modern kids on the bus home, that dates me!)

[Kathryn]

Good luck, Tally. I'm sure as Pearl says, journeys will get easier with familiarity. There are always a few unknowns which cause stress at first - where to get off was always my biggest worry. Most bus drivers are friendly and will tell you where your next stop is.

 

L worries about buses, but she has managed to do the journey to college a few times this year on her own, and found it easier than expected.

 

K x

[CEJesson]

Timetables are one of my forte's or obsessions so I know the precise times for many destinations. However even in this case this can go wrong as I have too many facts to process and end up missing buses and trains as a result!. I wish you luck with using public transport, it gets more daunting in places with a more frequent service.

[Tally]

I don't think I would qualify for a free pass. My GP says I am not entitled to any kind of support services. He might be wrong, but he is certainly not going to back me up in getting any.

 

I might try it next week, if I can work out which bus to take. The problem is that, around here, they all seem to have the same number.

[CEJesson]

I don't think I would qualify for a free pass. My GP says I am not entitled to any kind of support services. He might be wrong, but he is certainly not going to back me up in getting any.

 

I might try it next week, if I can work out which bus to take. The problem is that, around here, they all seem to have the same number.

 

Are you faced with the problem of 'multiple bus numbers' go to your destination? This can be bewildering especially when they take different routes to your destination.

 

For example if I went into Newark on Trent I have the 55 or 602 services but they go different routes. This isnt so bad but in some built up areas there can be loads of buses going to the same place!

[pearl]

This probs sounds ludicrously simple, but if I'm not sure a bus is going where I want it to, I flag it down & ask! Or someone in the queue will usually know. All else fails, I'll give you Mum's phone number, she studies bus timetables for fun

[Mumble]

If you've still got your car at the moment (provided you can get fuel to put in it!) why don't you 'stalk' the buses along their routes and you could write your own route plan/timetable, indicating where they go and where you want to get off (including landmarks before your stop and where the next stop is if you miss it).

 

Normally, too (though not always, especially if there is a one way system), buses come back the way the go with stops fairly close on opposite sides of the road, so if you do find you're going the wrong way, you can get off, cross over, and come back.

 

Pearl, we should get our mothers together - mine studies train timetables for fun!

[JsMum]

Can I ask why you have to sell your car?

 

 

I use public transport as I cant drive, and its hurrendus, the buses are late, or dont turn up, J goes crazy and the older generations perfume choice and he sits pegging his nose nearly bursting a gut, with red plumped cheeks,

 

today he told a generous amount of the eldest that they had far too many wrinkles scrunching his nose and mouth as to add to his displeasure!

 

he cant stand mobiles and if someone is having a rather loud conversation he counts out aloud and says " if I get to ten im going to tell that lady to get off her phone "

 

he tries to escape the bus as soon as it stations at the stop and acts as though he has been given doses of radiation gas.

 

Public transport is and I mean Expensive!

 

we do not save by been public transport friendly,

 

tickets are exstortionate,

 

J is 85p a trip, and his returns are 1:60 and then there is boundary lines that mean some returns are redundant after a nice black line meaning you either pay another 70p or walk the rest of the distance home.

 

There is also two distinct companies and you need seperate tickets so you dont benefit from having a weekly ticket, because the bus that comes isnt the ticket you have.

 

I hate public transport, cant stand it, I travel by Tandem as much as possible, but as Js broken his arm we are forced to after exhaustion has set in after walking for miles.

 

Have you been on a bus lately, there like roller coasters, on the bends your thrown, when the brakes are hit your tossed and by the time you reach the destination you might think youve just got off a theame park ride rather than a bus.

 

On occations the school children were daring each other to toss themselves out the top deck back window, only its an emergency window in the event of a crash, when the children did it, J was hysterical and it was a near death experience for the girl who went for the dare, not nice.

 

J has had panic attacks on buses, he gets very nervous on them and worries constantly if they will break down, if it stops for longer than a blink hes asking is the bus broken, are we trapped mummy, he is soo distressed.

 

 

I take J to school in a Taxi and its costing us �20 a week in just the fares there.

 

some days the bother is too great to get the bus home J insists on the walk ! now J doesnt walk, he runs, climbs and jumps, by the time I get home Im frazzled.

 

My transport allowance is as much as �40 a week and more if we go for trips on the train.

 

The day I can drive and afford a car, will be my dream come true!

 

I will cycle with glee at week ends.

 

JsMum

Edited June 16, 2008 by JsMum

[Tally]

I'm having to sell it because I have more outgoings than incomings at the moment. If I cut out the car-related expenses, I break even. Also, my car is now starting to develop problems, including rust, so it is going to start getting even more expensive to keep it running. I had an accident in it a few years ago, and since then I am very nervous driving anyway. I don't even use it that much, and it often goes unused for a week or more. It's only for the occasional shopping trip or visiting my parents that I would really need to use the bus. I only drive for 4 hours at a time, so any further and I take the train anyway. Sometimes I take the train if I am not confident of the route. There are a lot of reasons to get rid of it, but money is the last straw.

 

I like cycling, but the roads around here are really not safe for cycling at all.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Tally

[bid]

I guess the thing to remember is that once you get into a routine with buses, etc, you will be fine...it's just like anything else (work, etc): terrifying at first but if you grit your teeth and go for it you will feel really chuffed with yourself in the end:

 

Good luck <'>

 

Bid

[warrenpenalver]

The one thing that REALLY annoys me about buses is them being EARLY!!!!! Once i finally work out the timetables i turn up a couple of minutes before the bus and on several occasions the bus has turned up early leaving me stranded!!!! A late bus is annoying but ok as you still get there eventually.

 

The other one that annoys me is rural or late night services where the bus driver seems to have authority to cancel if no one is onboard meaning im stranded further down the road as the bus never arrives!!!

[ScienceGeek]

I've had the problem of the buses not arriving at all, especially in Bristol. Trying to get from Clifton to Temple Meads late at night during Shabbos is impossible, they never turn up and so I normally end up having to get a cab instead. I hate buses as they are normally crowded with smelly, loud people and there isn't an opportunity to get up and move if need be most of the time.