An example of why we don¡¦t want to use public transport
Discussion
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Reminds me of my 'great idea' of going from the South Coast by train and tube to a concert at the O2 one Saturday night. I convinced my other 2 mates that it would be much easier.
Got to the train Station in plenty of time. The train we wanted was advertised as turning up on time. No announcements to tell us otherwise. No written information, nothing. Basically one would assume the train would arrive, depart and get us to Waterloo at the advertised time.
Wrong.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until we got over halway to Woking, that the guard casually came on the tannoy to announce that due to engineering works, we would be diverting to Waterloo round branch lines through Surrey. A one hour journey turned into nearly two hours
But it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant we'd miss the support acts.
Until we got to Waterloo. Off we trotted across the concourse to the Jubilee line that would take us to the O2.
All closed, with a hand written sign saying the Jubilee line would be closed all weekend for engineering works! f
king arrrrggghhh!
In the end we got a cab that cost us Christ knows what, and got to the O2 so late, all we saw was the last hour of the headline act.
Public transport in the UK? Bunch of arse.
In fairness, they do tell you about the closures of the Jubilee line on the internet, though the fact that you should check to see what tube is actually running at the weekend is a damning enditement to the state of things. It's safe to assume that the Victoria will probably work. An, er, that's often it.Got to the train Station in plenty of time. The train we wanted was advertised as turning up on time. No announcements to tell us otherwise. No written information, nothing. Basically one would assume the train would arrive, depart and get us to Waterloo at the advertised time.
Wrong.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until we got over halway to Woking, that the guard casually came on the tannoy to announce that due to engineering works, we would be diverting to Waterloo round branch lines through Surrey. A one hour journey turned into nearly two hours
But it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant we'd miss the support acts.
Until we got to Waterloo. Off we trotted across the concourse to the Jubilee line that would take us to the O2.
All closed, with a hand written sign saying the Jubilee line would be closed all weekend for engineering works! f
king arrrrggghhh!In the end we got a cab that cost us Christ knows what, and got to the O2 so late, all we saw was the last hour of the headline act.
Public transport in the UK? Bunch of arse.
In the main, commuter trains get you to work on time. Mainly. They also cost a fortune and unless you go for 1st class, they don't get you a seat.
Weekend services are often a total mess and I avoid them, even though it's effectively zero cost for me I'll often drive as it's plain not worth it.
Train staff also don't seem to realise that they opperate a service to the public. This is actually one of the worst parts, a little smile or maybe just actually doing the job properly would be nice once in a while.
I met a Danish bloke who came over here to work, he was 32 years old and had never needed to learn to drive in Denmark as apparently they have a very slick, affordable reliable and intergrated public transport system.
After a week here he was doing driving lessons and now drives everywhere.
He was also stunned when he first got on the bus to be charged nearly a fiver for a 30 minute bus ride. His comment was "but its a bus not a taxi"
After a week here he was doing driving lessons and now drives everywhere.
He was also stunned when he first got on the bus to be charged nearly a fiver for a 30 minute bus ride. His comment was "but its a bus not a taxi"
CampDavid said:
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Reminds me of my 'great idea' of going from the South Coast by train and tube to a concert at the O2 one Saturday night. I convinced my other 2 mates that it would be much easier.
Got to the train Station in plenty of time. The train we wanted was advertised as turning up on time. No announcements to tell us otherwise. No written information, nothing. Basically one would assume the train would arrive, depart and get us to Waterloo at the advertised time.
Wrong.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until we got over halway to Woking, that the guard casually came on the tannoy to announce that due to engineering works, we would be diverting to Waterloo round branch lines through Surrey. A one hour journey turned into nearly two hours
But it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant we'd miss the support acts.
Until we got to Waterloo. Off we trotted across the concourse to the Jubilee line that would take us to the O2.
All closed, with a hand written sign saying the Jubilee line would be closed all weekend for engineering works! fking arrrrggghhh!
In the end we got a cab that cost us Christ knows what, and got to the O2 so late, all we saw was the last hour of the headline act.
Public transport in the UK? Bunch of arse.
In fairness, they do tell you about the closures of the Jubilee line on the internet, though the fact that you should check to see what tube is actually running at the weekend is a damning enditement to the state of things. It's safe to assume that the Victoria will probably work. An, er, that's often it.Got to the train Station in plenty of time. The train we wanted was advertised as turning up on time. No announcements to tell us otherwise. No written information, nothing. Basically one would assume the train would arrive, depart and get us to Waterloo at the advertised time.
Wrong.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until we got over halway to Woking, that the guard casually came on the tannoy to announce that due to engineering works, we would be diverting to Waterloo round branch lines through Surrey. A one hour journey turned into nearly two hours
But it wasn't the end of the world, it just meant we'd miss the support acts.
Until we got to Waterloo. Off we trotted across the concourse to the Jubilee line that would take us to the O2.
All closed, with a hand written sign saying the Jubilee line would be closed all weekend for engineering works! f
king arrrrggghhh!In the end we got a cab that cost us Christ knows what, and got to the O2 so late, all we saw was the last hour of the headline act.
Public transport in the UK? Bunch of arse.
In the main, commuter trains get you to work on time. Mainly. They also cost a fortune and unless you go for 1st class, they don't get you a seat.
Weekend services are often a total mess and I avoid them, even though it's effectively zero cost for me I'll often drive as it's plain not worth it.
Train staff also don't seem to realise that they opperate a service to the public. This is actually one of the worst parts, a little smile or maybe just actually doing the job properly would be nice once in a while.
Yeah, I learned my lesson that checking on the net first before committing to weekend trains is what has to be done.But as you say, I don't live in London and had no idea that I might have to check that the tubes I wanted to use were actually going to be running??!!
And that doesn't excuse the train diversion either - turns out that this would not have been advertised on SWT's website. So it's pot luck - and another reason why it's better to rely on the one thing you can - your car!
CampDavid said:
I live in Bedford, I stand most mornings
I pay £4000 a year to get to the city
I'm perminantly in a bad mood
Learn and feel the force as to where the doors open onto the platform.I pay £4000 a year to get to the city
I'm perminantly in a bad mood
Or get a Thameslink train in and choose whatever seat you want. Slower naturally so get to the station for a train 15mins earlier.
I certainly don't miss that commute, especially as I had to get to the Wharf. Starting at 8am made it slight less mental. But my drive across aberdeen is either 15 or 30 mins to do 5miles, the traffic here has no plan or regulation daily.
Edited by -Ad- on Wednesday 25th April 19:58
My local 'Partnership for Transport' runs a travelcard system split into zones, where you purchase a season ticket for the zones you need to travel through. It's advertised as an easy, integrated, cheap way to use multiple modes of public transport.
If you want to go from here to Glasgow by train, you can buy zones 'ABCDG', for example.
Want to get the other train, which departs/arrives from the exact same platform, takes nearly the exact same time to get there, but is half an hour offset from the first train? It takes a different route so you need to pay for another zone... 'ABCDEG'.
Want to get the bus because the trains are off? Ah, it takes the motorway which crosses through zones 'ABCDFG'.
So if you want to any flexibility in getting to your destination whatsoever, you need to pay for 'ABCDEFG', regardless of whether or not you ever alight in the extra zones. The extra zone the bus passes through is all motorway, so you couldn't even get off ffs!
If you want to go from here to Glasgow by train, you can buy zones 'ABCDG', for example.
Want to get the other train, which departs/arrives from the exact same platform, takes nearly the exact same time to get there, but is half an hour offset from the first train? It takes a different route so you need to pay for another zone... 'ABCDEG'.
Want to get the bus because the trains are off? Ah, it takes the motorway which crosses through zones 'ABCDFG'.
So if you want to any flexibility in getting to your destination whatsoever, you need to pay for 'ABCDEFG', regardless of whether or not you ever alight in the extra zones. The extra zone the bus passes through is all motorway, so you couldn't even get off ffs!
I'm suprised by all the bad luck experienced by the PH'ers. I as part of my job have to use public transport, Trains , trams , tube , buses. everyday of the week. Today for example I had to get from Bradford to Rawtenstall via Halifax, Todmorden and Bacup. All buses arrived within a minute or so (they use the same roads as we do so suffer the same hold ups) and all arrived at the destinations within 5 minutes.
I rarely have to wait long periods of time to get trains either, although must say that the further south you go the more chance you have of being delayed especially in the south east.
I have worked in Austria and must admit that this country's post 1950 integrated transport system is outstanding, but the country has less people in it than there is within the M25.
Some of the engine systems are over 25 years old others in the North are touching 40 on the trains, how would we fair if we were driving '85 b-reg or '72 k-reg escorts as our dailies.
Having said all that when it goes wrong it usually goes absolutely totally tits up. but hey I been held up more on the M1, M25 etc. this past year, and for more time than any public transport I've ridden on.
But what get me is this example of pricing. Geddington(near Tring) to Sheffield 1 way £126.45.recommended route leave 16.04 arrive 19.48BUT Geddington to Bletchley £4.40 Bletchley to Bedford £6 Bedford to Kettering £8.20 Kettering to Leicester £14 Leicester to Sheffield £21.20 leave 16.04 arrive 19.51. Thats what fecks me off.
I rarely have to wait long periods of time to get trains either, although must say that the further south you go the more chance you have of being delayed especially in the south east.
I have worked in Austria and must admit that this country's post 1950 integrated transport system is outstanding, but the country has less people in it than there is within the M25.
Some of the engine systems are over 25 years old others in the North are touching 40 on the trains, how would we fair if we were driving '85 b-reg or '72 k-reg escorts as our dailies.
Having said all that when it goes wrong it usually goes absolutely totally tits up. but hey I been held up more on the M1, M25 etc. this past year, and for more time than any public transport I've ridden on.
But what get me is this example of pricing. Geddington(near Tring) to Sheffield 1 way £126.45.recommended route leave 16.04 arrive 19.48BUT Geddington to Bletchley £4.40 Bletchley to Bedford £6 Bedford to Kettering £8.20 Kettering to Leicester £14 Leicester to Sheffield £21.20 leave 16.04 arrive 19.51. Thats what fecks me off.
My day job involves a 250 mile weekly commute. The journey usually takes between 40 mins to an hour on a bad day. It cost me roughly £120-150 per month on fuel so I thought perhaps a train would be a cheaper alternative. I liked the idea of having an early snooze listening to music, reading the news an generally not having to worry about idiots on the road.
The best train ticket I could find would cost £157 per month plus whatever parking would be. I would have to leave home earlier, wait 20 mins for a connecting train then get to work later.
The next best train would be from the next town, a 15 min drive in the opposite direction! It would still cost me £137 plus whatever fuel to get to the station/platform.
If the trains were say 30-50% cheaper than car I would put up with with idiots on trains. But for now I will carry on burning my own fuel for as long as it lasts.
The best train ticket I could find would cost £157 per month plus whatever parking would be. I would have to leave home earlier, wait 20 mins for a connecting train then get to work later.
The next best train would be from the next town, a 15 min drive in the opposite direction! It would still cost me £137 plus whatever fuel to get to the station/platform.
If the trains were say 30-50% cheaper than car I would put up with with idiots on trains. But for now I will carry on burning my own fuel for as long as it lasts.
Mr Gear said:
What's all this nonsense about public transport being terrible "outside the capital"?
It's fking terrible INSIDE the capital too!
Beats driving around London though. It's f
king terrible INSIDE the capital too!I drove from Bromley to Notting Hill last Saturday afternoon - never, ever, ever, ever will I drive in London again.
Very much depends where you are. Where I live I can walk 3 minutes to the bus stop where there's a bus every 10 minutes, more at peak times. It's a 3 minute walk at the other end to work. At peak times it's quicker than driving thanks to the bus lanes. I still drive because I like drive, I'm lazy and (off-peak, when I travel) it's a few minutes quicker by car. That's not in London, but it is of course in a city (Sheffield).
I used to live in London though. There I didn't even bother owning a car, in part because the public transport is so good and in part it's because I was young and an awful lot of the time I was off my tits an incapable of driving anyway
I used to live in London though. There I didn't even bother owning a car, in part because the public transport is so good and in part it's because I was young and an awful lot of the time I was off my tits an incapable of driving anyway
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Yeah, I learned my lesson that checking on the net first before committing to weekend trains is what has to be done.But as you say, I don't live in London and had no idea that I might have to check that the tubes I wanted to use were actually going to be running??!!
And that doesn't excuse the train diversion either - turns out that this would not have been advertised on SWT's website. So it's pot luck - and another reason why it's better to rely on the one thing you can - your car!
We live on the Pennines between Leeds and Machester , to travel to either of these city's takes fking hours on public transport . It's so fking bad we can travel for free ( coffin dodgers bus pass) and we still use the car because up to two hours to travel fifteen miles is not an experience we want to repeat.
king hours on public transport . It's so fking bad we can travel for free ( coffin dodgers bus pass) and we still use the car because up to two hours to travel fifteen miles is not an experience we want to repeat. Public transport in britain compared to most other countries i've been to is virtually third world in every aspect of quality and service, it's bloody embarassing.
I never rely on anyone but myself to get me anywhere, none of the fkers can be trusted. Topslicing chinless fking s, to a man.
I never rely on anyone but myself to get me anywhere, none of the f
kers can be trusted. Topslicing chinless fking s, to a man.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff