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Transport... Choo, choo! Oh no!

Scott

Former TS Team Member
Favourite Ride
Nemesis
Public transport in the UK... the bane of most peoples lives, or at least so it seems.

I feel like I am fairly versed in public transport considering I cannot drive, although I know that there are many people about who use it one hell of a lot more than I do. I have a mixed opinion on it to be honest as while I see some elements of it being appalling, there are other areas which I enjoy or find to be pretty good. This is what annoys me; some areas can be fantastic whilst others are frankly piss-poor.

The issue is that these large changes seem to vary massively across the country - something that could be slightly more excusable if it was only certain companies which were doing well. However, the quality can rapidly change within single transport companies! First are a great example of this... Some people enjoy their services (with the TransPennine stuff seeming to receive positive reviws generally) yet people like me think they are awful. Like, really, really bad. Their bus service in Norwich ranges from over-priced, dirty and late to extremely regular, reasonable and clean - and unfortunately I live on one of the over-price, dirty and late routes. Not to mention the fact that my route has now stopped going all the way through to the Hospital - meaning that elderly people with passes have to get off and make a change and those who pay now have to buy a more expensive ticket to take that change into account! It's not all like this with FirstBus though as when I was in York not too many years ago they had fleets of brand new busses operating tonnes of routes at what seemed like good prices!

Stagecoach are another... The services I've always experienced with East Midlands Trains and the citi buses in Cambridge have been nothing but fantastic (with a few exeptions of late with missed out buses) yet I know that in other areas of the country they run clapped out old buses and are generally looked upon as a negative company.

There is also the unreliability of local offerings in various areas. Here we have Anglian Bus as a rival to First. They gained a stronghold by mimicking First's key routes, using newer buses and undercutting their prices. The prices are now on par and its simply a case of 'getting whatever bus comes first' but I guess that makes me slightly lucky in having a decent local operator as opposed to having one or two major chains with a bus monopoly alongside a grotty local company that doesn't get much of a look in (see First and Arriva in Leicester against the minority Centrebus).

Basically, I wondered what other peoples experiences of the big companies are and whether they also think their services vary far too much across the company. The brand should provide equal status and promise across the country - rather than having a good effect in one area and a negative in another.

Thoughts?
 
It's simple how to solve the trains in my opinion, change the companies to one big company like Germany has so all money goes to the clueless goverment. Not build the 20 minute faster countryside route to London to save money and invest it in bigger trains with first class becoming more prominent for a few extra quid to spread out the crammed work trains which equates to more airy trains smelling of less B.O. Simples.

In 3 words. It's a farce.
 
It frustrates me just how this country isn't nationalised with public transport like France or Germany for example. Having to faff with all these many services and companies, no fixed prices, expenses for travel clearly not showing worth in the design and ergonomics of the trains themselves leaves little faith in the country ever getting better. Even with railcard and on a budget, the prices are still ridiculous for going even slightly into another county.
 
As with most things that are screwed up in the UK, it's all Thatcher's fault.
 
Yay for public transport, first group here are generally regarded as poor although i know elsewhere there known to be quite good
 
I hate public transport.

My car is all I need however trains do serve their purpose i.e. getting into Central London. Otherwise I drive practically everywhere.

;)
 
I've moved to Nottingham, with the largest municipal bus company here, Trent Barton and Premiere there seems to be a competitive market. The bus user really does get to make the choice, generally fares are lower than other surrounding areas, with higher frequency.

In fact I'd go as far to say Nottingham/London are on par with public transport.
 
Ah, public transport...Where do I begin?

Our main local bus operator in Cornwall is First, and they're OK, but their fares are rather high, and their older double-decker buses break down rather frequently. Once, we had to wait for two hours for a replacement bus to take us to college, and another time, the tyre blew while we were going through a residential area. Their newer buses aren't too bad, though, and their student fares from Tremough Campus into Falmouth are excellent value (60p per journey, rising to £1.50 after 9pm or £1 each if you're in a group of four). That's really the only good thing about them. Their services are normally on time, although the service pattern is, on some routes, shocking. The other main operator in Cornwall is Western Greyhound, and I find them to be a lot better. Their buses are largely a lot newer than First's, and whilst they're smaller, they're much nicer places to sit, and the fares are a damn sight cheaper, too!

Then we move onto trains. The main South West operator is FGW. They're not too bad, but often, the trains are left dirty, and they're old and grotty. Furthermore, some of the stations aren't very nice places to be (for example, the platform at St Austell heading towards Plymouth is grotty and the footbridge needs a lot of work. The staff aren't too bad, and FGW's high-speed trains have the frankly excellent entertainment carriage, which I always try and book seats for. :D We've also got CrossCountry, who also aren't too bad, but their high-speed trains are also often left dirty. The Voyagers and Super Voyagers are possibly some of the nicest trains I've been on in the UK, with the Pendolinos grabbing top spot for me. I've moaned about trains in the Virgin Trains topic, and I genuinely do think that it would be better for train companies to be nationalised, but that's a discussion for another topic.

In general, I think that public transport in the UK is good, but it could be so much better.
 
Thomas said:
I've moved to Nottingham, with the largest municipal bus company here, Trent Barton and Premiere there seems to be a competitive market. The bus user really does get to make the choice, generally fares are lower than other surrounding areas, with higher frequency.

In fact I'd go as far to say Nottingham/London are on par with public transport.

Don't forget the trams!
 
My main bus service operator is Trent Barton, I think their absolutely great! They just know what they're customers want. They have (in my eyes) cheap prices, comfortable and clean buses and great customer service. They're slowly updating all there fleet one by one and making them more modern and it just fantastic! All of their buses have they own unique colour and branding making them stand out over other buses, but still recognisable as being part of Trent barton. They don't use advertising on their buses for extra money either giving them more of professional and my tidy look and feel.
Their customer service is to die for and many company's could take a leap out of their book. Their drivers are always friendly, smiley and just make your day a whole lot better. And having cheap prices makes them a great choice in why you should use them.
I also have the tram in my area, which is also a great thing to have and is very convenient. But i don't know why, I just dislike using it. I don't know of its because I prefer buses but the tram is always a second resort after the bus.


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tothetowers said:
My main bus service operator is Trent Barton, I think their absolutely great! They just know what they're customers want. They have (in my eyes) cheap prices, comfortable and clean buses and great customer service. They're slowly updating all there fleet one by one and making them more modern and it just fantastic! All of their buses have they own unique colour and branding making them stand out over other buses, but still recognisable as being part of Trent barton. They don't use advertising on their buses for extra money either giving them more of professional and my tidy look and feel.
Their customer service is to die for and many company's could take a leap out of their book. Their drivers are always friendly, smiley and just make your day a whole lot better. And having cheap prices makes them a great choice in why you should use them.
I also have the tram in my area, which is also a great thing to have and is very convenient. But i don't know why, I just dislike using it. I don't know of its because I prefer buses but the tram is always a second resort after the bus.


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Couldn't agree more! For a £5 return ticket, I've been to Derby, IKEA, and a couple of local places as well, all the buses were new, clean, on time and good value. Definitely a fan!
 
When I lived in Wales, I despised public transport. Overpriced buses would arrive far too late constantly, so having a car was a necessity. London, on the other hand, has AMAZING public transport. I know that's to be expected as its the capital, but whether it's the tube or the buses, everything seems to run like clockwork, and the prices seem much more reasonable compared to back home, considering the distances you need to travel here.
 
I have been to london a couple of times on public transport, and it seens to get better the more urban it is. a trip of the same distance in london takes at least twice (if it runs where you want it) as long in rural area I live in.

I have driven in london twice, both for work. and it was a nightmare. so there is the point, Where there is a high usage then the public transport will be better.
 
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