Your Local Bus Service, Good or Bad?

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Xamence
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Your Local Bus Service, Good or Bad?

Post by Xamence »

I was wondering what people's views are on their local bus services. (Btw, I checked the rules and don't find anything in the way of them; if there is, please tell me :wink: )

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My bus service, I think doesn't run enough. It runs every 20 minutes, and believe me, I live in an overly populated village... Some other routes in the city run more frequently. An example being route 5, which runs every 10 minutes, in, to tell the truth, not a very big village.

Fortunately, the buses arrive at schedualled, after a new bus timetable was made. However, these timetables are more difficult to read; they're a little confusing. But they do run on time usually, which is good.

The company is called Stagecoach. These buses do look nice, but the cleaners really do need to do a better job. The buses run as school buses as well, and we all know what those journeys can be like. It's generally kids being disrespectful. This really bugs me; I always take a bus into town, and they look like a pigsty, literally, covered in mud. :(

A good aspect of Stagecoach is nice, cheap(ish) tickets. A single into town is about 75p (English money), which would be around 3 miles. A return ticket would be £1.40, which, as you can see would be a better deal. Stagecoach buses also have other tickets. For example, a Dayrider, which is a day ticket, takes you wherever you want around the city. It's Winchester. This ticket would cost £2.70. Good price, I think considering... A Megarider would be £8.80. This means you can go around Winchester for a week; again good price. And a Goldrider is something which allows you to go anywhere in South England for a week (discluding London) on Stagecoach buses. This is £16. I think that is really good price.

So, overall, I think my local bus services are generally good.

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What are your opinions on your service?
MarkTheDaemon
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Post by MarkTheDaemon »

Over on the Isle of Wight (UK) the bus service is really bad!

Overpriced and the attidude of some of the drivers leaves a lot to de desired!
Its a thumbs down from me for our local bus servce

An intresting discussion topic though :wink:


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phantomk
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Post by phantomk »

Hong Kong has second to none transportation services. Canada doesn't have a half decent transportation system. Sure in the city you have half decent transportation, but if you stray 10 miles out of the city, you will find next to nothing.
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Xamence
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Post by Xamence »

In Winchester the buses have routes which will stray quite a distance from the city too. Something I forgot to add.
the rat
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Post by the rat »

I belive so strongly in public transport that I didn't learn to drive until I was 31.

I learnt to drive because public transport in my area got so bad. I mean really bad. We are talking taking your life into your hands bad.

And because of the wonderful way the British government set it up there is no commerical competition, the passengers get no say, the prices go up, the services go down and only when someone is seriously injured or killed with anything be done.

It's a disgrace.
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Post by tttia »

Shocking.
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Anon
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Post by Anon »

Our one is OK, but then again I can't compare it to anything else. Bt, the bus nstop we use is on a major road in Christchurch, and busses are quite infrequent. Which is a pain because I'm not old enough to drive, and most distances are too far to bike :(
p3980
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Post by p3980 »

Anon wrote: Our one is OK, but then again I can't compare it to anything else. Bt, the bus nstop we use is on a major road in Christchurch, and busses are quite infrequent. Which is a pain because I'm not old enough to drive, and most distances are too far to bike :(

Not old enough to drive? Say, how old are you then?
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brooklynGuy
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Post by brooklynGuy »

i'm 30... don't drive. subway... bus... ferry... cab... walking... it's all good.

--robbie--
Darth Wong
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Post by Darth Wong »

phantomk wrote: Hong Kong has second to none transportation services. Canada doesn't have a half decent transportation system. Sure in the city you have half decent transportation, but if you stray 10 miles out of the city, you will find next to nothing.

Hong Kong is also the most densely populated land on Earth, thus making it ideal for mass transit. Canada, on the other hand, is one of the least densely populated nations on Earth, which vast open spaces.

In Toronto, the bus service is quite good, but it's no substitute for a comprehensive subway system, which is what this city really needs. Our subway system has not really changed in decades, even though the city has been continuously expanding throughout that time. They try to make up the mass-transit shortfall buses, but as I said, more buses are a poor substitute for subways.
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Post by Swizec »

The buses here (City Buses) are quite good, the new ones are mighty comfy and even have air conditioning, the older ones are hellpits with wooden seats though
they run on schedule mostly, but that's not so important as msot of the busier lines are a 5minute wait at most. There are some for which you have to wait a long time, but that's usually because there are less people waiting.

The buses around city are actually run by the same company so I think pretty much the same stands, except then you have to pay tickets that are priced according to the length of the journey, no idea how much though.
It's good that the City ones have a unique price of 190tolars, think is, with that money you can travel anywhere from 200 meters to 30kilometers, depends on where you're going and from where.

I have to say I don't ride the bus more than twice a week, and even then I'd take rollerblades (as a faster way of transport) if where I'm going wasn't so so far away from me. Other side of the City completely
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Anon
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Post by Anon »

p3980 wrote:
Anon wrote:Our one is OK, but then again I can't compare it to anything else. Bt, the bus nstop we use is on a major road in Christchurch, and busses are quite infrequent. Which is a pain because I'm not old enough to drive, and most distances are too far to bike :(

Not old enough to drive? Say, how old are you then?


I'm 14, and the age which we can evin begin to drive is 15.5 (We can start learning at 15, but it's all theory)
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Post by _ollie_ »

Reading buses are pretty good service wise, except for the odd occasions, prices are high.

Service wise: their number 7 route runs every 7mins during the day and is £1.20 single no matter where you go. Usually you get about two turn up at the same time :S plus buses dont give change which sucks a bit. Going out a bit where I live 2 buses run their both come once an hour, both come at approximately the same time, so in my area useless really.

Overall I wont complain.
rick`
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Post by rick` »

I dislike the bus routes on the south-side of Brisbane with passion.

There are 3 routes I can catch which go directly to my Uni's campus:
145 (only runs during the uni semester and from 6.30am till 9.30am)
135
123

Now, the main problem isn't with the buses themself (they run on time most of the time). But with catching them from a connecting train.

Now, there is only one train station where all 3 of those routes cross and that is at Altandi. The train times call north bound trains as arriving at ~10 to the hour, and roughly 20 past the hour. South bound trains are roughly 20 to the hour and 10 past the hour.

And this is the fun bit:

135 arrives at the bus station (about 100m from the train station) at 17 past the hour.
145 arrives at the bus station anywhere between 20 past and 10 to.
123 arrives at the bus station roughly 20 past.

All these services run ONCE AN HOUR. I'd expect a few of you to be like "nothing wrong with that?" untill you realise that the 130 route tends to have 3 buses TURN UP AT THE SAME TIME. The only time that route is remotely packed is in the peak hour since it goes right into the CBD.

The only reason I don't totally despise that route is because if I miss one of the 3 above I can take that up to the sports Stadium that is next to the uni and walk for perhaps 10-15minutes.

And it is almost exactly the same the further south you go. But it never is. You can either wait around for up to 40 minutes, or risk having to run for the bus and most likely miss it anyways.

Just downright sucks.
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Post by Rapid Dr3am »

I live by a bus/train station.

The busses in my experience are slow and unreliable, I was once at the hospital and waited an hour and fouty minutes for a bus.

The trains however are impecable, every 15 minutes but only take you into Liverpool City Center or a small near by town called Ormskirk.

I travel to a place called St. Helens everyday, this takes me roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes by train and 20 minutes if I drive it.

Thank God for the internal combustion engine!
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