Kings Cross St Pancras Underground station is renowned for its deliberate policy of directing unfamiliar passengers via strategically placed signs to take the longer circuitous route from Kings Cross National Rail station exit via the northern ticket hall and barriers to reach the deep level lines. Those in the know ignore the signs and within... Continue Reading →
That's a headline to grab your attention for sure. And it's true; for those of us on the Brighton line and travel off peak into Victoria. GTR have announced from Saturday 1st September it's back to the bad old days with ticket restrictions reinstated around what trains we can use particular tickets on. Looking at... Continue Reading →
I've fond memories of living in Swansea, working for South Wales Transport, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It's a great part of the country and the Gower Peninsular is a spectacular area to visit with its secluded bays and picturesque scenery. In those days SWT had an outstation in the peninsular's south west... Continue Reading →
An accolade for Arriva. They're had a rethink and in a turnaround of customer service contact policy reinstated the 0345 phone line on their website. Never let it be said blogging isn't worth it. Well done and thanks Arriva. Now it's just all the other stuff to sort! After this success, I thought it might... Continue Reading →
I've just spent a brilliant few days enjoying the scenery in an area stretching from Gloucestershire through mid Wales to Swansea. The Black Mountains, the Forest of Dean, the Brecon Beacons, the Heart of Wales and the Gower are all delightful and so much more so from the vantage of a bus and train window.... Continue Reading →
Followers of this blog, my twitter timeline and various magazine articles I’ve written will know I’m a bit of a sceptic about the current fashion for App-A-Ride, the modern day Dial-A-Ride and so called demand responsive services. I just can’t see how the business model will ever deliver a profit. I must be missing something... Continue Reading →
Yesterday saw the demise of another bus company name from the Harlow area. EOS Buses packed up and withdrew four routes, one of which had only been introduced eight weeks ago. To mark the occasion the Company borrowed an open-top Routemaster from Ensignbus running it over the four routes for one final fling: the 66 Waltham... Continue Reading →
After I returned home from North Wales last week I thought I’d check out how much a few standard fares on Arriva’s bus routes around Rhyl are so I could compared them to the ‘One Arriva’ £4 ticket. Are there "massive savings on standard bus tickets" as the promotional poster claims, or is it all... Continue Reading →
I’ve long thought bus and train owning Groups are missing a trick by not upselling travel in the way savvy retailers would (‘people who bought this also bought this’) so I was encouraged in May last year when Arriva announced they were putting matters right with an exciting modal integration project in North Wales. Arriva... Continue Reading →
Community Rail Partnerships have been the saviour of many rural branch lines. The closest the bus sector gets to something similar is in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks where small groups of committed hard working individuals devise and oversee the operation of significant networks of weekend bus routes branded as Dalesbus... Continue Reading →
'We want a mobility ecosystem that delivers seamless intermodal transportation faster, cheaper, cleaner, more responsive and safer than today. This will be enabled by open data on fares and journeys across all modes - data that is available to everyone to access, use and share'. No, they're not my words; it's the "putting passengers first"... Continue Reading →
Jeremy Corbyn: “With fares rising above inflation, passenger numbers falling and services being cut, does the Prime Minister accept her failure on yet another public service: the buses?” Theresa May: “I’m delighted my right honourable friend has taken the opportunity to raise the topic of buses; a vital and hugely important public transport mode which... Continue Reading →
It’s as far north as you can go and still be in Britain. Any further and, aside from dodging the Faroe Islands to the west, you’ll be in the Arctic wastelands of Svalbard. Main administration centre of the 16 inhabited islands, Lerwick, is a tad closer to Oslo to its east than London to the... Continue Reading →
Thursday. And it's Day 4 of Catch The Bus Week 2018. How’s the fun all going for you? Got on a bus yet? If the traditional embarrassed-men-in-suits-plus-a-few-women launch photo in Westminster (Westminster? - it's the only way to nab a Minister on a late Monday morning) (and yes I know #CTBW, as it's affectionately known... Continue Reading →
It’s always a pleasure to spend a few days in Devon. Superb coastlines, rolling rural scenery, two great cities, many attractive towns and lots of delightful villages. Best of all it has an excellent network of well run bus and train services making it very easy to get around. Here are ten reasons why it’s a... Continue Reading →
The plan was to catch Stagecoach operated route 4 from Axminster station at 1215. It runs via Honiton to Ottery St Mary where I’d pick up the four-journey-a-day Hatch Green operated rural route 382 via Whimple and Feniton. A scheduled arrival at Axminster on the South Western Railway train at 1202 provided a nice 13... Continue Reading →
There’s been a bit of a spat on Twitter over the last 48 hours about whether motorists can be persuaded to use buses in the same way they’re enticed to use trains and trams. Train and tram fanatics claim metal wheels on tracks are masters of the mass transit mode with buses just bit players. Examples... Continue Reading →
Well done Oxford Bus. I'm all for innovation and trying new things. And it's time someone had a real go at beating UBER at their own loss making game of undermining the taxi trade. So I'm pleased to see Phil Southall and his Oxford Bus team joining in the fun and games with a brand... Continue Reading →
OK, let’s get this writing journey underway. First up, a few miscellaneous reflections on last week’s travels...... Monday 18th June to Oxenholme and the new West Coast Railways operated fill-in part-time train service to Windermere while Northern continues its May Timetable Meltdown. It certainly got the media coverage. It was overrun with train buffs and the... Continue Reading →
Here's something new. A place for mini travelogues and bus and train comment. Where there's space for more than just 280 characters; follow me as I tweet on the road and from the tracks (@BusAndTrainUSer) keeping an eye on what's good, what's bad and what's positively ugly. It's also for wry and pithy commentary on... Continue Reading →
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