BUS CHAT

I also like the buses because there is a stop literally outside my block, as opposed to the whole 7-8 minutes!!!!! it takes me to walk to the tube station.
 
SDF said:
I get the bus everyday. Edinburgh has a terrible train network, and the trams don’t (currently) go anywhere either. The buses here though are brilliant, and most importantly they’re clean.

Glasgow’s train network is so much better, so when I’m there, I generally avoid the buses. They’re definitely not looked after the same way the ones in Edinburgh are. Kim would not approve.
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The buses in Glasgow are pretty bad. They’re run by a monopoly of First Buses and the routes are solely decided by profitability. There’s many of them but it’s very expensive compared to some other places, £2.40 for a single fare that will take you anywhere more than a few stops but hardly anyone pays by cash anymore. The buses are busy due to lots of people having passes that get them free transport.

Our train network is excellent though - I think we have the second biggest suburban network outside of London. For me it takes 12 minutes to get to the city centre on train and I live fairly far out from the city centre - a good 4 miles - there’s an express bus that maybe takes 15-20 minutes depending on traffic but my house and office are closer to the train station so I always travel that way.
 
I only ever use the bus if I'm heading out to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital which is basically a bugger to get to by anything other than road. Too far to walk, no reasonable train route and nowhere to park yr helicopter.

last time I was on it was about 10 days ago and a scary bloke who was asking me questions at the stop starred at me the whole time and then got off at my stop rather than in the city centre (which is what he'd been asking about) and a jakie who complained to the driver that he was late sat down beside me and started telling me which lawyer to go an see if I needed my benefits put up.

Mild, by the usual standards.
 
Agree with SDF that Edinburgh probably has the best bus travel outside of London - it potentially might be even better because the buses are clean and generally reliable while i’ve been let down a few times in London by buses not lining up with times on Citymapper, etc. They are also VERY SLOW because of traffic.

I don’t take buses that often in London since I am so close to the DLR and Overground where I live which take me almost anywhere I want to go faster. That said, if i’m feeling a bit tender, I will sometimes opt out of the Tube if I know the train will be packed, or because a station at either end / for transfer is really unpleasant because of huge amounts of stairs or long walks between lines.

Fellow Moopists that know me IRL also know that I cycle a lot using my annual pass for the Boris Bikes. People ask me why I don’t just get a bike but the convenience of being able to just DUMP the bike when i’m done with it is a BIG factor here. This has helped me to get my bearings in London. The thing about travelling on the Tube is that you never get a sense of place between your start point and your destination.

Glasgow is the only other city whose transport system I know pretty well and I agree with most that has been said. Avoid the buses if humanly possible, trains are great, as is the subway if you happen to live close to the limited route.
 
Kate said:
I also like the buses because there is a stop literally outside my block, as opposed to the whole 7-8 minutes!!!!! it takes me to walk to the tube station.
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This is what I love about the Paris metro. There's literally a station everywhere. The stations are closer than in London which means transport time is a bit longer. But it's so practical.
 
Anyway, I'm a metro girl through and through. I don't think I've ever thought I needed a car, outside of certain occasions there's no need for one here. Buses are slower but are quite practical for certain routes. And I love love trams but they're just outside of Paris mostly.
 
Kalabaliken said:
The buses in Glasgow are pretty bad. They’re run by a monopoly of First Buses and the routes are solely decided by profitability. There’s many of them but it’s very expensive compared to some other places, £2.40 for a single fare that will take you anywhere more than a few stops but hardly anyone pays by cash anymore. The buses are busy due to lots of people having passes that get them free transport.

Our train network is excellent though - I think we have the second biggest suburban network outside of London. For me it takes 12 minutes to get to the city centre on train and I live fairly far out from the city centre - a good 4 miles - there’s an express bus that maybe takes 15-20 minutes depending on traffic but my house and office are closer to the train station so I always travel that way.
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Sounds exactly like First here. Cunts.
 
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Glasgow Subway is very good for me - about 5-6 mins walk from my front door to the nearest station and a little less from the nearest stop to my work and the office itself. Handy when it's peeing with rain and/or blowing a gale.
 
octophone said:
First are absolute robbing bastards. £4.60 for a return from town to the hospital. McGill's charge £2.65.
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Is McGill's an alternative provider? There is no alternative in Bristol.

And OH, you can't get a return ticket either.
 
I used to get the bus a lot when I was a student and lived on what I believe to be the busiest bus route in Europe, but these days I get the tram everywhere.

Ag said:
The Paris Metro stinks of piss.
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I remember being surprised at how grotty the Paris Metro is.
 
octophone said:
They are, yeah. No return tickets? That's fucking violence.
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You can get a day ticket for a fiver.

I mean I use the app and buy a monthly ticket, which is fine for me as I need it pretty much every day. But if you don't, a fiver it is. And when you think of the people who are most dependent on public transport, a fiver is a fucking lot of money if you're on benefit or minimum wage.

And effectively another of those fucked up situations where the poorer you are, the more something costs you.
 
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octophone said:
They are, yeah. No return tickets? That's fucking violence.
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They did away with return tickets here too, you can only get All Day ones now with unlimited travel. It works out ok if you are doing more than 2 buses a day, but if not it's expensive. Although a student one is £4, and I've got a matriculation card, so can get that, even though I am only in uni 3 hours a week!
 
Kalabaliken said:
They did away with return tickets here too, you can only get All Day ones now with unlimited travel.
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Oh so is THAT what First mugged me for then? Cheeky bastards!!

Worse still, I hope that doesn't give the Subway ideas.
 
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