An example of why we don¡¦t want to use public transport
Discussion
oyster said:
Mr Gear said:
What's all this nonsense about public transport being terrible "outside the capital"?
It's f
king 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.
Today it took me 1hr 30 mins door to door because I got the train(s). But under normal circumstances, I don't need to wear a suit, so I take my motorbike and it takes 55 mins, costs infinitely less than the train and I am guaranteed a seat and no missed connections!
Bike wins every time. Heck, I can beat the door-to-door times on my bicycle! That only takes 1hr 20 mins, and best of all, it's free!
sday12 said:
I thought you said you moved out of London?
Originally from London, lived in East London till 2000 moved to Epping and still worked in South Kensington/Knightsbridge then moved to near Saffron Walden. For all intents and purposes living in Epping was the same as living in London to me, whatever the actual county is.
Jeez.
The Crack Fox said:
mickymellon1 said:
Welcome back to the UK where being st and crap levels of service are the accepted norm
Or, more accuratly, where essential services such as public transport were privatised years ago allowing companies to milk people dry with no commitment to providing anything resembling an acceptable service. Train ticket to London during rush-hour anyone ? Most (all ?) of continental Europe has trains owned and run by the state for no profit and look how good that is ! Nationalisation, anyway ? Do the f*cking water, gas and electricity companies while you're at it please !t and crap levels of service are the accepted normNegative Creep said:
The Crack Fox said:
mickymellon1 said:
Welcome back to the UK where being st and crap levels of service are the accepted norm
Or, more accuratly, where essential services such as public transport were privatised years ago allowing companies to milk people dry with no commitment to providing anything resembling an acceptable service. Train ticket to London during rush-hour anyone ? Most (all ?) of continental Europe has trains owned and run by the state for no profit and look how good that is ! Nationalisation, anyway ? Do the f*cking water, gas and electricity companies while you're at it please !t and crap levels of service are the accepted normThe fault is down to the way it's run. Companies have to bid for the franchise so the government make a massive profit, they then have to comply with certain levels of service, times etc, while having most of their ticket prices set for them. They have little control of their staff as it's all union based so they can't re-arrange their resources to match their needs.
The only way to profit is to cut quality; there's no financial benifit to the opperators in trying to keep customer's happy so that's the route they take
All i can say is that in the last 2 days of using public transport it goes like this.
Train from pengham to cardiff central on time 11am arrived at cardiff on time half hour later would take 45mins driving.
Cardiff central to paddington was there 15 mins before it should of arrived at 12pm left on time got to paddington on time 2hrs10 mins latter a good hour quicker than driving and a hell of a lot cheaper than driving.
Tube from paddington to wembley it did have problems with a unexpected problems which meant we had to switch trains half way not a major problem.
15 mins walk to hotel at 3.30and i can see why buses are late in london when its quicker to walk how anybody can drive in london let alone live in london is behond me. Oh i went to see jeff dunham at wembley if you want to know why i was in london.
The return was the same so for me public transport via trains are very good but i can see why bus services are so bad after witnesing the traffic. Even around me in the valleys the bus services are ok would i use them regulary no as its cheaper and quicker to drive to work.
But i don't use them regulary so don't know what they are like all the time.
Train from pengham to cardiff central on time 11am arrived at cardiff on time half hour later would take 45mins driving.
Cardiff central to paddington was there 15 mins before it should of arrived at 12pm left on time got to paddington on time 2hrs10 mins latter a good hour quicker than driving and a hell of a lot cheaper than driving.
Tube from paddington to wembley it did have problems with a unexpected problems which meant we had to switch trains half way not a major problem.
15 mins walk to hotel at 3.30and i can see why buses are late in london when its quicker to walk how anybody can drive in london let alone live in london is behond me. Oh i went to see jeff dunham at wembley if you want to know why i was in london.
The return was the same so for me public transport via trains are very good but i can see why bus services are so bad after witnesing the traffic. Even around me in the valleys the bus services are ok would i use them regulary no as its cheaper and quicker to drive to work.
But i don't use them regulary so don't know what they are like all the time.
Bill said:
MG CHRIS said:
snip
So it worked well and took you 4.5 hours. Cardiff to Wembley out of rush hour is what? 2 hours 20 maybe? And it was cheaper because you booked a year in advance...Plus the main advantage is that i don;t have to worry about my car parked in london trying to find my hotel and i can drink and not worry about driving.
Marquis Rex said:
Advocates of public transport, bus drivers and train drivers (all over paid) and those who use public transport should be publically flogged!
No, people who run the systems should be publicly flogged until we get a system that works, which means people will actually use it and the roads will be less crowded for the rest of us to enjoy.MG CHRIS said:
i refuse to drive in london and pay congestion charge.
You'd have to get properly lost to stumble into the congestion charge zone on the way to Wembley 
The last time I drove into central London it was cheaper (for two) despite congestion charge and two hours on a meter. And it was quicker. And I've missed a flight despite allowing 3 hours for checkin because of train and tube delays.
It can work, and it can be cheaper but even journeys involving London don't always work out better.
Marquis Rex said:
Advocates of public transport, bus drivers and train drivers (all over paid) and those who use public transport should be publically flogged!
No, people who run the systems should be publicly flogged until we get a system that works, which means people will actually use it and the roads will be less crowded for the rest of us to enjoy.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff