Public Transport

[LitNetIsGreat]

Anybody else absolutely hate public transport? Is it just me or is the joy of the buses not turning up AT ALL just beyond fun? This is the third time that the buses have not turned up from town to my home, meaning that I have had to pay for a private hire vehicle, otherwise know as a taxi. Needless to say I am not happy. Public transport, certainly under the privatized farce we have in the UK, is awful. Anybody else hate it?

I am going to get my money back for the cost of the taxis, if not I'm going to smash a few bus stops up to make me feel better.



The Neely is very mad. Going to use my bike in future and sod the damn crappy buses. Is it just me or is it a general hate thing?

Public transport. Discuss...

[Maryd.]

Neely, you and me both... I hate public transport with a vengeance. Half the times I start walking until I reach the next bus stop and the next and the next. It takes me 25 minutes to walk home and almost 30 minutes between bus times, when something goes wrong. And something always goes wrong when I need to use public transport. Which isn't often considering I have a car.
It has me fuming....

[OrphanPip]

I'm quite happy with the metro and bus service in Montreal. During peek commuting time the buses pass every 6 minutes, and the trains go in a loop so they pass at 10 minute intervals usually, if there isn't some sort of delay.

I hear it's bad for the commuter trains to the suburbs though, the trains only go once an hour. Likewise, I can only imagine how awful a bus ride across the bridges is. Only the insane would live outside the city without a car anyway.

Edit: Our transit company is publicly owned, not private.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Thank you Maryd, I now feel that it is not just me going mad, you even have it at the other side of the globe. Why the hell do we put up with it?

Edit: oh, thanks Ophan too. London however in comparison is fantastic for public transport from what I can gather. Tubes are like every 4 mintues or something silly, maybe like in the heart of Montreal? Outside of that though and it is every poor man for himself.

I'm still going to raise hell tomorrow...or actually Monday because the complaint lines are not open until then, I know I have just rung them...

[Delta40]

I love public transport. It promotes better health and if Maryd has to walk from bus stop to bus stop when she normally would not then at the very least she is doing her body a favour. The statistics on car usage in Australia is disgusting. We have more four-wheel drive vehicles per capita than even the US, yet the average car journey here is between 1-5km long!

Travelsmart studies show people who use public transport are usually more healthier than car only users. It also shows that public transport is determined by the number of users. If very few people use public transport, the service is less likely to be tailored to the users needs. In other words, if we don't use it, we lose it - primarily to hard infrastructure policies, increased costs and more damage to the environment.

[Maryd.]

I love public transport. It promotes better health and if Maryd has to walk from bus stop to bus stop when she normally would not then at the very least she is doing her body a favour.

This is partially true. I am into heath and would workout just the same. But the public transport is a service and a service such as it... Needs top be prompt. Especially since some people cannot drive and need to make appointments on time. When I was younger and travelled by train. I was late for work many times. As two trains in a row were cancelled. That is a 25 minute wait at the trains station. It happened often and there were times I would leave even earlier, to catch an early train, leaving me 45 minutes earlier for work... The timing is ridiculous

if we don't use it, we lose it...

Then they should improve the service...

[Delta40]

Actually, I've experienced Melbourne PT and Perth is better! The government won't put money into improving a service if the usage is not there.

[Maryd.]

So Typical. But the usage is there... People stand cramped and leaning on each other... Especially during the peek hour... Argh! There's no use complaining. Nobody is listening.

[Delta40]

lol. It can be frustrating.

[Maryd.]

[Virgil]

That's why I drive. If it weren't for parking issues in New York City, I would never take public transportation. It's rare that a bus leaves you off exactly where you want to be anyway. I have to walk five to ten minutes to a bus stop, wait fifteen minutes or more, and then walk ten minutes on the destination end. That's over a half hour each way not even counting the bus trip. I prefer to have the freedom to go where I want when I want.

[Delta40]

I find this a really useful tool where I am. I don't have a license and this planner helps me get around and cuts down on my waiting time. when you sign up with them, you will receive email/sms alerts to any changes or interruptions in schedules

http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Home...6/Default.aspx

[Basil]

I couldn't help but be reminded of this classic from the Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC–A study released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association reveals that 98 percent of Americans support the use of mass transit by others....

Collier said he hopes the study serves as a wake-up call to Americans. In conjunction with its release, the APTA is kicking off a campaign to promote mass transit with the slogan, "Take The Bus...I'll Be Glad You Did."

[plainjane]

If I lived in the City, it'd be fairly decent, but out in the country/boondocks there isn't any public transport. I took public transport, buses and streetcars for many years, and it wasn't so bad. I had an extra hour and a half a day reading time. Their frequency wasn't too bad at peek times and the walk to the nearest bus was good for me, unless of course it was storming.

[Delta40]

I couldn't help but be reminded of this classic from the Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC–A study released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association reveals that 98 percent of Americans support the use of mass transit by others....

Collier said he hopes the study serves as a wake-up call to Americans. In conjunction with its release, the APTA is kicking off a campaign to promote mass transit with the slogan, "Take The Bus...I'll Be Glad You Did."

LMAO! That's so typical of our human nature! How do we find a solution with this attitude?