Lockdown Week 7
Saturday 9th May 2020 Week 7’s almost over as speculation grows about how the hell we’re going to get out of the lockdown travel conundrum of providing enough capacity as … Continue Reading Lockdown Week 7
Lockdown Week 6
Saturday 2nd May 2020 Welcome to another weekly round up of corona-bus-and-train ramblings. (Reader alert: I’ve rambled on a bit more than usual this week.) First up, it’s been heartening to … Continue Reading Lockdown Week 6
Focus on bus satisfaction
Tuesday 28th April 2020 Back in Lockdown Week 1 at the end of March (remember that?) Transport Focus published the results of its annual Bus Passenger Survey. The trade press … Continue Reading Focus on bus satisfaction
Lockdown Week 5
Saturday 25th April 2020 Lockdown Week 5 will soon be over and done with and there’s a definite air of the new ‘normal’ becoming normalised. I’ve become unnervingly accustomed to … Continue Reading Lockdown Week 5
Lockdown Week 4
Saturday 18th April 2020 And so Lockdown Week 4 is nearly at an end and we’re still very much in the ‘who’d have thought it’ phase of Covid-19’s transport fallout. … Continue Reading Lockdown Week 4
20 post lockdown bus and train travel questions
Sunday 12th April 2020 Demand side Bus and train 1 Will companies encourage many of their employees to continue working from home thereby reducing the need for costly offices/work spaces … Continue Reading 20 post lockdown bus and train travel questions
Lockdown Week 3
Friday 10th April 2020 As the end of week 3 of Lockdown Britain approaches, aside from the severely reduced service levels now applying across the country’s bus and train networks … Continue Reading Lockdown Week 3
Expansion plans for Reigate station
Monday 6th April 2020 With the continued absence of travel, I thought I’d have a browse online at public consultations for various transport plans and projects. There’s one closing today … Continue Reading Expansion plans for Reigate station
TfGM “making situation ten times worse”
Sunday 29th March 2020 It’s been hugely impressive to see central and devolved governments, local authorities and bus operators (with trade association CPT) working together to come up with a … Continue Reading TfGM “making situation ten times worse”
Time to bring back NBC and BR
Sunday 22nd March 2020 The trouble with sitting at home instead of travelling around the country is it gives too much time to ponder; so here are a few more … Continue Reading Time to bring back NBC and BR
What a week
Saturday 21st March 2020 Prime Minister Harold Wilson coined the famous phrase “a week is a long time in politics” after tumultuous events before the 1964 General Election enabling Labour … Continue Reading What a week
Unprecedented
Thursday 19th March 2020 I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard ‘unprecedented’ used so often than in the last week. Even that’s unprecedented. Unprecedented has become the new normal. … Continue Reading Unprecedented
Here’s where I would have travelled…
Monday 16th March 2020 For those who enjoy trying out new bus routes and train services, as I do, there are some exciting developments planned for the next few weeks. … Continue Reading Here’s where I would have travelled…
Hammersmith in control (and more on that Stagecoach rebrand)
Thursday 6th February 2020 One of the benefits of being a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport is being able to attend its extensive programme of fascinating meetings and … Continue Reading Hammersmith in control (and more on that Stagecoach rebrand)
That Stagecoach rebrand
Wednesday 5th February 2020 I’ve yet to see a bus in what is officially dubbed the “people-powered new look” actually out on the road so these initial comments come with … Continue Reading That Stagecoach rebrand
Brighton-Victoria passengers face frequency cut by half and a price hike or change trains
Monday 3rd February 2020 – updated Wednesday 5th February 2020 First the good news. Rail passengers using Gatwick Airport will be pleased to see work finally get underway from May … Continue Reading Brighton-Victoria passengers face frequency cut by half and a price hike or change trains
2019 Quiz answers
Did you miss the BusAndTrainUser Quiz of the Year? Take a look via the link above before sneaking a peak at the answers below….. 1 What comes fourth in the … Continue Reading 2019 Quiz answers
2019 Review, Awards and Quiz of the Year
Saturday 21st December 2019 A very warm welcome once again to my annual round up and review of what was in, who was out and the events that may have … Continue Reading 2019 Review, Awards and Quiz of the Year
Tapping into confustion
Tuesday 26th November 2019 It’s good to see more and more bus companies playing payment systems catch-up by accepting contactless cards as an alternative to cash. I’m not convinced the … Continue Reading Tapping into confustion
Not Notts Again!
Tuesday 19th November 2019 Indeed it is; and many congratulations to Mark Fowles, managing director of Nottingham City Transport (NCT) and his entire team for picking up the coveted Bus … Continue Reading Not Notts Again!
My new found freedom from fares
Wednesday 6th November 2019 Today’s been an auspicious day for me. It’s not my birthday but by dint of political chicanery back in 2010, my postcode and date-of-birth numbers have … Continue Reading My new found freedom from fares
Go-Coach trailblazing in Sevenoaks
Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Small independently owned bus companies are a vital part of the industry. They serve small size towns and rural areas which other plc group companies cannot … Continue Reading Go-Coach trailblazing in Sevenoaks
Train or plane to Edinburgh?
Friday 18th October 2019 There’s rightly a lot of discussion about the impact of travelling by plane in the context of our global climate emergency; it pangs my conscious whenever … Continue Reading Train or plane to Edinburgh?
Pros and cons of franchising
Thursday 11th October 2019 I spent an enjoyable couple of days this week helping to run the twice-a-year Young Bus Managers Network conference. It’s always an inspiring event to attend … Continue Reading Pros and cons of franchising
Decent London route branding (at last)
Friday 20th September 2019 Well done UNO Bus, operator of TfL bus route 383 between Woodside Park and Barnet, for today’s community led launch of the first decent route branding … Continue Reading Decent London route branding (at last)
New sleeper turns into a bad dream
Tuesday 25th June 2019 There’s something seriously amiss with Caledonian Sleeper’s train service. I’ve blogged about the new Mark 5 coaches a couple of times recently (here and here) highlighting … Continue Reading New sleeper turns into a bad dream
Two cheers for TfL
Saturday 15th June 2019 Today saw the much heralded cuts to a large number of central London bus routes including many changes to termini and amended routes. I previewed the … Continue Reading Two cheers for TfL
Southend Airport evicts new bus route
Friday 14th June 2019 Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? At a time when airports should be doing all they can to enhance their environmental credentials by encouraging passengers … Continue Reading Southend Airport evicts new bus route
“Easier to travel” … with fewer buses.
Wednesday 5th June 2019 The countdown has begun. It’s ten days until TfL introduce a swathe of bus cuts across central London beginning on Saturday 15th June 2019. Twenty-five bus … Continue Reading “Easier to travel” … with fewer buses.
All Line Rove Around
Monday 20th May 2019 Mid May’s always a good month to buy an All Line Rover and have a wander around Britain’s rail network taking a look at new initiatives … Continue Reading All Line Rove Around
Two cheers for GTR
Thursday 16th May 2019 We’re fast approaching the anniversary this weekend of that fateful day in May last year when the Thameslink (and Northern Rail) train networks went into meltdown. … Continue Reading Two cheers for GTR
End the 35 year GatEx rip off
Tuesday 14th May 2019 Exactly thirty-five years ago today British Rail began the first non-stop train service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport marketed as Gatwick Express. Class 73 locomotives … Continue Reading End the 35 year GatEx rip off
London versus…
Sunday 12th May 2019 The Guardian newspaper ran a high profile series of articles last week comparing London with the rest of England across various quality of life parameters under … Continue Reading London versus…
Breich, Borders, Bike Buses and Berwick
Friday 3rd May 2019 Finding myself in Glasgow at 7.30am yesterday morning (after my inaugural Caledonian Sleeper Mark 5 journey) I thought it would be an opportunity to continue the … Continue Reading Breich, Borders, Bike Buses and Berwick
I won’t let a software glitch beat me
Monday 1st April 2019 I’d seen the build up in the trade press last summer. Another ‘on-demand’ ‘ride-sharing’ ‘app-based’ ‘innovative’ minibus service due to start running between central/north London and … Continue Reading I won’t let a software glitch beat me
4,200 bus seats for Edinburgh
Tuesday 19th March 2019 Lothian Buses have just started operating their brand new 100 seat tri-axle buses in service on city routes 11 and 16. I thought I’d take a … Continue Reading 4,200 bus seats for Edinburgh
Long live the HST
Monday 18th March 2019 During my initial trip on a brand new Class 800 train when they began running between Paddington and Bristol/Cardiff at the end of 2017 my first … Continue Reading Long live the HST
An Anglian Adventure
Thursday 14th March 2019 It began a month ago. A day out to Norwich to travel route 88 via Bungay and Halesworth to Southwold, where I’d catch the four-journey-a-day tendered … Continue Reading An Anglian Adventure
Britain’s biggest rail replacement ever. Part 2.
Thursday 21st February 2019 It’s reminded me of London 2012. Aside from the brilliant athletes and the behind-the-scenes organisational excellence it was the deployment of Games Makers which made for … Continue Reading Britain’s biggest rail replacement ever. Part 2.
Britain’s biggest rail replacement ever. Part 1.
Sunday 17th February 2019 It’s been publicised for over a year; preparations have been going on behind the scenes for much longer than that. It was originally planned to happen … Continue Reading Britain’s biggest rail replacement ever. Part 1.
