f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

It will come as no surprise to any of you that I don't do public transport unless as an absolute last resort. I especially loathe buses, but with all this talk of a grener world and the advance of public transport I thought in a momnet of madness that I would actually try a bus to go and pick up my car from a service.

I queued at the stop and waited. The bus was of course late, buty only by 7 minutes. I handed over my tenner for a £3.20 fare to be told by the surly miserable excuse for a driver 'I haven't got change for that'.

I stared at him and at the tenner and said 'I'm sorry I thought it was a ten pound note not a piece of gold bullion'. He just grunted and said 'if that is all you have got then I can't do anything' I pointed to the plethora of £1 coins in his side of the ticket machine and he still insisted he couldn't chnage it and then told me I was holding other customers up. So I told him I thought he was a miserable **** and that is the last time I will ever try and use a bus!

Public transport - for the despearate only!!!

Long live the car!!!

banny sti

iTrader: (68)

So eloquently put

BOB.T

I dropped my van off for service a decided to try public transport...never again!

I managed to get a lift from the garage to the railway station so that saved one bus journey. Then I, luckily, arrived at the railway station just in time for the train. From the train I had to walk half a mile to the bus stop, good planning guys! Then from the bus I had to walk part of the Pennine Way (100 yds ) to get home. It would have cost the same or less in the car, the car would have been quicker, I wouldn't have had to walk.

Public transport - go from near where you are to near where you want to be at a time which doesn't suit you...with scuffers!!!

Doobs Scoob

iTrader: (2)

Get a cab! Cheaper most of the time, faster and drops you where you actually want to be!
Think about it.. If it costs an extra £5 would you not pay that to save all that grief!!

boxst

The payment side should have been sorted out a long while ago -- it is very easy to install machines that take debit cards and then all this change nonsense would stop. Perhaps with the NFC equipment that is being built into the latest phones that may also help.

Can't do anything about the phlebs though

Steve

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

I did

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Sometimes people just need telling

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

I don't use the bus due to arseholes like this (nsfw)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMACp...eature=related

I was once stuck on a bus for 30 friggin minutes due to some fare dodging muppet, sh told the bus driver she needed to get her purse off her friend upstairs and never came back down. The bus driver just sat there repeating that he would not be moving until she paid her fare

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Last time I went on one was with J4ckos mate on a night out, took ages to get into Manchester, Buses stop more often than incontinent canine lampost enthusiasts, walking is quicker and they have that perculiar lurching acceleration.

If you really must use public transport, trains are where its at and that is only if you cant shuffle on your bare **** across Dog **** and Glass as a first choice.

EddScott

Last time I really used to bus was from Witney in Oxfordshire to London for some chrimbo shopping. The house my mother has in Witney is within walking distance of the bus stop and you can buy a ticket to london from that bus.

Change in Oxford and on the road to London. All rather painless.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Ah but that's becuase all roads and therefore buses lead to London

CEL

iTrader: (1)

Couldn't agree more. Peasant wagons are completely the last resort!

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

That was where I went wrong, I had a shower this morning. No wonder he wouldn't let me on

Fantom

I had the same thing happen to me F1. Had some car alarm problems so couldn't use my car. I walked 3 miles to work knowing that I would get the bus home. However I didn't think that £10 would be a problem but it was!
They bus has at least 20 people on board so he had plently of change but would not accept my £10.
I was soooo tempted to just pay £10 for the fare home but I walked 3miles instead.
I'll try my best to never use a bus for as long as I live

urban

iTrader: (1)

Actually - thats a fantastic way to describe it.

Nutzz

Most of the buses in London are cashless...................either pay before you board, or Oyster Card.

I know they have always been reluctant to take notes in London and had the right to refuse.

TopBanana

Same thing happened to me so I got on without paying.

hodgy0_2

bought a tube ticket from Mansion House to Aldgate, which is less than 2 miles,-£8.60, -- the ticket guy did apologise though

The Zohan

I did look at using buses for the ten mile journey to work a while back - being a bit greener and actually walking to and from the bus stop, etc. It would have involved taking 3 buses at a cost of 3.80 each wway & per day and taken some 2 approx hours.

so the choice was 2 hours stuck with the great unwashed, no choice in where i sat or who with to travel a few miles at a cost of nearly 4 each way or use the car or quad - that was a tough choice - not!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

When I dropped my Monaro off at Star City for warranty work I had to find my own way back home (they couldn't even give me a lift to the station ), so walked it. Found a bus stop, but had no idea of what route went where or when the next one was due.

So carried on walking. I purposely stuck to mains roads and avoided walking through the Heartland's/Neechells residential estates as a shortcut for fear of encroaching on some gang member's "patch" because I was wearing the wrong colour coat. I approached a second bus stop as a bus was comming past so I ran up and tried to flag it down....git drove straight past!

20mins later I was at the train station. I walked into the ticket office to be greeted with a pleasent/strong whiff of weed, and what appeared to be a Afro-Caribbean ladies tea party. The room fell silent as if a stranger from out of town had walked into a bar in a Spaghetti Western film. I enquired on my ticket to my destination only for the lady not to understand my not-so-local dialect (I live 20miles away). And then not having heard of the destination train station either.

I eventually purchased my ticket and walked out towards the platform...upon hearing the door shut the "tea party" resumed. I then waited 10mins for the train, not bad. Jumped on, only a few stops to New street where I'd change. Then the train was held up for 10mins, as the platform wasn't free. Got to New street and went to the main concours area to try and find what platform my next train was supposed be on.

Confused by the array of screens and yards of time tables that line the walls all written in small print, I gave up and asked at the information desk. Who were helpful and told me the train was due to leave in 2minutes, so I rushed to the platform and jumped on. Only for it to be delayed for a further 5mins due to another train blocking the platform exit.

Now I realised I had to change again, as there is no longer a direct service to my station. So had to get off at Smethwick and change train. I waited 15mins for it to arrive. I'm on the home run, I'm nearly there.

20mins later I'm at my destination, only to realise that the local circular route bus from the train station goes in the opposite direction - meaning it would be quicker to walk. So again I walk....half a mile up a steep hill along a busy main road on a 2ft wide footpath.

So total journey time: About 2hours, to do 20miles..It took me 40mins to drive there.

Cost was £2.80, so not too bad. However, it would have cost me under £5 to drive the Monaro! (20miles @ 24mpg with fuel roughly £1.1 a litre back then).

Lucky it didn't rain. But never again...next time I got a lift to pick the car up.

Clarebabes

A company I was working from a couple of years ago took away free parking in the centre of Northampton. So rather than spend over £7 a day, I decided to use the bus, but not from home because that wouldn't be convenient. I used to park my car as near to a bus stop as possible which was free and had no restrictions after dropping my daughter off at school and then walked 1/2 mile to the next bus stop because it was cheaper if you got on there

I wrote a diary for a couple of months in which I detailed the particularly stupid decisions made by bus companies and the incidents I was experiencing.

Think I have it somewhere......

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Post it up please or edited highlights Sounds interesting!

Clarebabes

Was a while ago!

5th December 2006

Morning

After another wait in the morning for the 22N to appear at Sainsbury’s as per the timetable, I gave up and walked across the road and sat in the bus shelter for the 27. It was pouring with rain and because of some selfish vandal who had taken it upon themselves to smash some of the Perspex panels, I got soaked. The rain even managed to seep its way into the shelter and land on my head! I must have looked quite funny sitting under a bus shelter with my umbrella! The bus arrived at the time indicated on the display and I arrived at work at my normal time, wet and cold.

Evening

At 4.30pm, someone had told me that the bus station was shut at lunchtime due to an unknown circumstance. As it was my turn to pick Hollie up from my friend’s house, I decided to leave a bit early in order to get the 5.00pm number 27 back to collect my car from Sainsbury’s car park. When I got to the bus station, the display said there was a 20 minute delay on the bus, so I had to think quickly. Do I try and get another bus, or do I ring my friend and hope she doesn’t mind hanging onto Hollie for a bit longer?

I decided to try and get another bus, and lo and behold, the elusive 22N was just pulling in! I couldn’t believe my luck as I managed to squeeze myself onto it along with all of the other passengers just trying to get home. I could just about get a seat and tried not to squash the lad sitting next to me too much, but as my legs are quite long and I had a few shopping bags, I had to stretch out into the aisle, hoping I didn’t trip up any unsuspecting passengers. Within 15 minutes I was back at Sainsbury’s. I ran to my car and drove to my friends to collect the little one. I was tired and angry as always – why is it so hard to travel on public transport?

Clarebabes

7th December 2006

Morning

Today I tried a different tactic. I wondered if the sight of my car at Sainsbury’s every day might cause a clamping issue or worse, so I looked for somewhere else to “park and ride”. Where I found wasn’t ideal, but I was running out of time because it was nearing the time the bus was due. I parked right opposite Homebase – where the bus stop is – but in a layby of a service road which runs parallel with the main road where the bus stop is. I wasn’t keen on leaving it there all day, but what choice did I have? It was too late to take it back to Sainsbury’s, so I had to risk it.

The bus arrived at the right time for me, though I think that it is actually later than the advertised time. I shall have to watch out for this…

Evening

At work today, I thought I’d have a little look on a website to see if I could get information on any buses that do go near Sainsbury’s so I wouldn’t have to leave work early every time it is my turn to collect Hollie. When I managed to find a comprehensive website, it said that the X4 that I have been getting in the morning is going to finish on the 21st January 2007! I’ve only just found this service and they’re going to cancel it! I can’t believe it. I hope they’re going to replace it, otherwise I don’t know what I will do.

Clarebabes

Buses stink, and that's a fact.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Tubes stink, and some of them are so far underground that they frighten the **** out of me.
Then, (and this is not meant to wind anyone up) as if that fear wasn't bad enough, you see, (how shall I say) an Asian chap with a rucksack get on.

Tubes are generally so busy that its roasting warm, people are bumping into you, you can't get a seat and you've got to hold some handle that is covered with 50 million bacteria

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

Managed to persuade our girls to travel the short journey by bus from our Surrey village into Guildford. Its a decent area, it'd be good for them and what could go wrong?

No sooner had they got on than a small group of kids started abusing them, resulting in our eldest being spat on. The driver nor any of the 'adults' on the bus did anything...

So now if they want to go anywhere its in a 20mpg CO2 factory. Public transport - its s***.

DoZZa

iTrader: (4)

lol, I know exactly what you mean.

The last time I used a bus, about 4 years ago.

I got on a double decker with my then 2 year old son and his grandmother.

I pressed the button to request a stop, so did other passengers.

The driver proceeded to slow right down for the stop, the bus nearly came to a complete stop so I picked up my son and started to walk towards the steps from the top deck.

While I was half way down the stairs, the driver decides he is going to move off from the stop and accelerates off. No passengers had got off the bus! The doors had not even been opened, he could only have been stopped for 2 to 3 seconds before moving off.

Now I had to grab one of the rails with one hand, while holding onto my son for dear life in the other.

An elderly lady had to grab hold of my son as I was losing my balance with my son dangling in the air while the driver continued to accelerate away even though most passengers on the bus where shouting at him to stop!

While my son was in the safe arms of his grandmother, I proceeded to question the driver about his actions.

Which resulted in me punching him in the face.

Which resulted in me going to court.

Which resulted in me paying the w@nker driver compensation!

I will NEVER use a bus again.

Trains I can deal with , but buses, paaah, what a load of ****.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Look I know it wasn't funny but LOL at 'Which resulted in me punching him in the face'