stagecoach here - most of the drivers are downright bloody rude and the three buses we`re supposed to get in an hour are two if lucky. i`m just on my way back from reading via oxford where the drivers so far have been lovely, helpful, friendly and smiley, what a difference.
Arriva suffered a bit from rude drivers. The local companies that have taken over their routes here (Aberystwyth) are much better.
I never bother with buses in Cambridge city centre. It's always quicker to walk.
dire aren`t they? sadly i`m not really walking distance to town but it`s quicker for me to walk up the hospital path and get a bus from there than piss about waiting for a number 7.
@ jjwales: i found the aber bus drivers very nice also, last time i was there, though it was a while back, i think cambs drivers are in a different league of rude. [bar the odd couple who are beyond helpful and REALLY go the extra mile].
It always amazes me when Londoners complain about public transport. They should try living anywhere else in the country. If I lived there I wouldn't own a car because you don't need one. Out in the sticks it is essential.
They've also got the cheapest bus fares in the country and the largest all day ticket area.
Nottingham City Transport are excellent. A bus from home to the City is every 10 mins during the day to every 30 mins in the evening Mon-Sat. On Sunday they're every 30 mins. The bus I get from the city to work is every 8 mins, then every 15 to every 30 mins Mon-Sat.
They all have GPS and are tracked on a live timing system shown on almost every bus stop on the route, which means the delays are pretty accurate.
It's £3.50 for an all-day ticket within the City boundaries, which is also valid on the night buses that run until 3am on Fri/Sat (or Sat/Sun AM!). My bus pass is £45 a month by direct debit.
The buses are, on the whole, no more than 6 years old. The newer ones have WiFi, and they're retrofitting the older ones now too.
I haven't caught a bus in years, but I know the buses are good around here. I live in a commuter town, so they tend to have reliable, regular service to all the necessary places.
Out buses are every fifteen minutes during the day and hourly in the evening. Cost I think has gone up a lot, to Folkestone which is about 3 to 4 miles away single is £2.90 return £4.90.
dire aren`t they? sadly i`m not really walking distance to town but it`s quicker for me to walk up the hospital path and get a bus from there than piss about waiting for a number 7.
There are many things I love about Cambridge but the traffic and crap public transport have to be the worst things about the city. Oh and house prices too. The trouble is that it is a small market town at heart which just happens to have a world class University, hundreds of science and technology companies and one of the most successful city economies in the country. It's a city which has just outgrown its infrastructure.
I've heard some talk about an underground metro system for Cambridge since everything above ground is always gridlocked. I'll believe that when I see it following the fiasco with the (mis-)guided bus.
Nottingham City Transport are excellent. A bus from home to the City is every 10 mins during the day to every 30 mins in the evening Mon-Sat. On Sunday they're every 30 mins. The bus I get from the city to work is every 8 mins, then every 15 to every 30 mins Mon-Sat.
They all have GPS and are tracked on a live timing system shown on almost every bus stop on the route, which means the delays are pretty accurate.
Sounds great. Going off the subject a bit, my sister isn't too happy about her quiet cul-de-sac in Beeston becoming a through route for Nottingham's new trams!
There are many things I love about Cambridge but the traffic and crap public transport have to be the worst things about the city. Oh and house prices too. The trouble is that it is a small market town at heart which just happens to have a world class University, hundreds of science and technology companies and one of the most successful city economies in the country. It's a city which has just outgrown its infrastructure.
I've heard some talk about an underground metro system for Cambridge since everything above ground is always gridlocked. I'll believe that when I see it following the fiasco with the (mis-)guided bus.
bloody guided bus, they wouldn`t listen would they? would have been so much better to open up the railway instead.
someone in the evening news commented that cambridge is becoming so touristy that it`s more like a disneyland city, he`s not wrong, i`m away to haverhill/bury area at the first opportunity.
I have Stagecoach and they're awful. Buses run between the two main towns with my village in the middle from 6am to 7pm., which is ridiculously early to stop buses. At university, buses run till 1am. Stagecoach's buses are also very old, dirty and unpleasant. But worst of all, they're very overpriced. A return to town costs £6.40!
Around here (in the potteries) they've just redone the bus service so they can remove a load of buses so now every route takes about an hour per mile as you have to go the scenic route
if first group don't want to run a decent bus service why don't they just f-off with their 20 year old clapped out end of the line buses as it'll probably be cheaper for them to ship the drivers to birmingham or manchester where all the good stuff goes
I have Stagecoach and they're awful. Buses run between the two main towns with my village in the middle from 6am to 7pm., which is ridiculously early to stop buses. At university, buses run till 1am. Stagecoach's buses are also very old, dirty and unpleasant. But worst of all, they're very overpriced. A return to town costs £6.40!
Stagecoach and a local bus company run my local route, and the only unpleasant buses are the double decker ones.
TrentBarton or Arriva in Derby. The bus that stops at the end of my street is fine - regular, reasonably new buses and friendly drivers. It is expensive, though at £1.90 for a single. WE do have Mango which is like Oyster, but only works on TrentBarton.
The biggest thing with all of them, everywhere, is that they are fundamentally over-priced.
In some situations a taxi would be cheaper, which is odd.
This is so true, quite often my daughter and 3 friends would catch a bus to the local town centre paying £1.10 each. Yet a taxi for 4 passengers to the same destination costs £3.70.
bloody guided bus, they wouldn`t listen would they? would have been so much better to open up the railway instead.
The same thing was said about the Luton & Dunstable guided busway and I was against it initially, being a rail enthusiast. However, it's turned out to work very well.
In the L&D busway's case, they could not get government funding for a two track electrified railway.
Advantages.
Buses can go on normal roads, which rail services cannot, so you can have a direct service to London Luton airport/Houghton Regis for example.
Buses are a lot cheaper than trains to purchase and run.
Connecting a rail line to the MML in Luton was going to be very difficult and would affect the train service to Bedford, as the line is running at near capacity already.
Probably cheaper to build, as it was a single track railway converted into a double track busway, no OLE required and catenary.
It would be relatively easy to convert the busway into a tramway at a future date.
Disadvantages.
Rail travel is more comfortable than bus travel.
You have to change at Luton Busway Interchange in all instances.
Rail travel would be faster somewhat, but the distances involved are very small, so no great time savings are to be had.
It always amazes me when Londoners complain about public transport. They should try living anywhere else in the country. If I lived there I wouldn't own a car because you don't need one. Out in the sticks it is essential.
Well, this, basically.
London easily has the best public transport network in the UK by far, in terms of routes and frequencies. The choice is mind blowing frankly. Apparently there are over 700 different bus routes/services in London and on top of that you have the tube/DLR/London Overground/national rail and Tramlink. London is also the hub of the national rail network with Kings Cross, St. Pancras International, Euston, Paddington, London Bridge, Liverpool St., Victoria, Marylebone, Waterloo, Fenchurch Street etc.
I think most Londoners complaints about transport is do with the Underground network.
It's all relative isn't it.
There are usually alternative routes for most parts of London, either by bus/tube or train and it's all covered by Oyster or travelcards.
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As for bus services in my area. Fairly good during the day Mondays - Saturdays. Not so good in the evenings and on Sundays.
There is a 24/7 Greenline 757 service to London, which supplements the nearly 24/7 frequent rail services, which will get even better come 2016-2018. See Thameslink Programme.
Town services are usually every 10-30 minutes weekday daytime and most adjoining towns have a 20/30-60 minutes weekday daytime service. That would be places like Stevenage, Hitchin, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead and Aylesbury.
So, I guess it's a curate's egg really. Good in parts.
I live within 10 minutes walk to one of the main roads in and out of Manchester and within 5 minutes of two busy roads that branch off that. All these roads have lots of bus routes.
Stagecoach and First Manchester are the biggest companies with their own areas loosely speaking and there are smaller operators too. I suppose that can cause infrequent users confusion over tickets etc.
I think Manchester is quite good in general for buses as far as the number of them and coverage of service goes.
Comments
I never bother with buses in Cambridge city centre. It's always quicker to walk.
Arriva suffered a bit from rude drivers. The local companies that have taken over their routes here (Aberystwyth) are much better.
dire aren`t they? sadly i`m not really walking distance to town but it`s quicker for me to walk up the hospital path and get a bus from there than piss about waiting for a number 7.
@ jjwales: i found the aber bus drivers very nice also, last time i was there, though it was a while back, i think cambs drivers are in a different league of rude. [bar the odd couple who are beyond helpful and REALLY go the extra mile].
In Birmingham I've never figured out how to get around by bus, so end up getting taxis everywhere. Will help when their new tram lines are finished.
They've also got the cheapest bus fares in the country and the largest all day ticket area.
They all have GPS and are tracked on a live timing system shown on almost every bus stop on the route, which means the delays are pretty accurate.
It's £3.50 for an all-day ticket within the City boundaries, which is also valid on the night buses that run until 3am on Fri/Sat (or Sat/Sun AM!). My bus pass is £45 a month by direct debit.
The buses are, on the whole, no more than 6 years old. The newer ones have WiFi, and they're retrofitting the older ones now too.
i`m a grown up who isn`t allowed a licence.
There are many things I love about Cambridge but the traffic and crap public transport have to be the worst things about the city. Oh and house prices too. The trouble is that it is a small market town at heart which just happens to have a world class University, hundreds of science and technology companies and one of the most successful city economies in the country. It's a city which has just outgrown its infrastructure.
I've heard some talk about an underground metro system for Cambridge since everything above ground is always gridlocked. I'll believe that when I see it following the fiasco with the (mis-)guided bus.
Sounds great. Going off the subject a bit, my sister isn't too happy about her quiet cul-de-sac in Beeston becoming a through route for Nottingham's new trams!
It's not compulsory you know!
I thought you were out on licence!
bloody guided bus, they wouldn`t listen would they? would have been so much better to open up the railway instead.
someone in the evening news commented that cambridge is becoming so touristy that it`s more like a disneyland city, he`s not wrong, i`m away to haverhill/bury area at the first opportunity.
if first group don't want to run a decent bus service why don't they just f-off with their 20 year old clapped out end of the line buses as it'll probably be cheaper for them to ship the drivers to birmingham or manchester where all the good stuff goes
Stagecoach and a local bus company run my local route, and the only unpleasant buses are the double decker ones.
you shouldn`t listen to village gossip
This is so true, quite often my daughter and 3 friends would catch a bus to the local town centre paying £1.10 each. Yet a taxi for 4 passengers to the same destination costs £3.70.
They now catch a taxi.
The same thing was said about the Luton & Dunstable guided busway and I was against it initially, being a rail enthusiast. However, it's turned out to work very well.
In the L&D busway's case, they could not get government funding for a two track electrified railway.
Advantages.
Buses can go on normal roads, which rail services cannot, so you can have a direct service to London Luton airport/Houghton Regis for example.
Buses are a lot cheaper than trains to purchase and run.
Connecting a rail line to the MML in Luton was going to be very difficult and would affect the train service to Bedford, as the line is running at near capacity already.
Probably cheaper to build, as it was a single track railway converted into a double track busway, no OLE required and catenary.
It would be relatively easy to convert the busway into a tramway at a future date.
Disadvantages.
Rail travel is more comfortable than bus travel.
You have to change at Luton Busway Interchange in all instances.
Rail travel would be faster somewhat, but the distances involved are very small, so no great time savings are to be had.
Like adults don't use buses, you joker.
Well, this, basically.
London easily has the best public transport network in the UK by far, in terms of routes and frequencies. The choice is mind blowing frankly. Apparently there are over 700 different bus routes/services in London and on top of that you have the tube/DLR/London Overground/national rail and Tramlink. London is also the hub of the national rail network with Kings Cross, St. Pancras International, Euston, Paddington, London Bridge, Liverpool St., Victoria, Marylebone, Waterloo, Fenchurch Street etc.
It's all relative isn't it.
There are usually alternative routes for most parts of London, either by bus/tube or train and it's all covered by Oyster or travelcards.
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As for bus services in my area. Fairly good during the day Mondays - Saturdays. Not so good in the evenings and on Sundays.
There is a 24/7 Greenline 757 service to London, which supplements the nearly 24/7 frequent rail services, which will get even better come 2016-2018. See Thameslink Programme.
Town services are usually every 10-30 minutes weekday daytime and most adjoining towns have a 20/30-60 minutes weekday daytime service. That would be places like Stevenage, Hitchin, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead and Aylesbury.
So, I guess it's a curate's egg really. Good in parts.
Stagecoach and First Manchester are the biggest companies with their own areas loosely speaking and there are smaller operators too. I suppose that can cause infrequent users confusion over tickets etc.
I think Manchester is quite good in general for buses as far as the number of them and coverage of service goes.