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Well, that wound me up!


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1 hour ago, ckw said:

and far too expensive. There is something fundamentally wrong when it is cheaper for me to fly to major UK cities than take the train, or drive to London and park for the day than take a 70 mile train journey.

 

As for buses, my wife and I recently missed the last local bus after an event, so ended up getting a taxi home. It turned out cheaper than 2 bus tickets.

 

Everywhere I have been on the continent (Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Germany) public transport is faster, cheaper and more reliable than in the UK.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

 

 

 

 

Yeah, if there's two of you a taxi would likely cost less than a pair of bus tickets.  Where I live currently the route I'm on has been decimated by cuts, particularly the services in the evening people use to get home from work, excuse, despite the company running other routes perfectly fine, is the "driver shortage" chestnut that's being trotted out these days.  Taxi for one to get home from my local town centre is £7.  Bus fare is £4ish.  Wouldn't mind too much but you can't even get a taxi most of the time!!

 

I certainly do think we Brits need to start reevaluating public transport and move to a more European model.

Edited by RobL
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1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

whether the comparison with the air fare did include the cost of driving to the airport and parking fees

Well in my case (Southampton) the station and airport are alongside each other and parking is comparable and travelling by train you may need to add the cost of an overnight stay. Of course depending where you live, it will vary. But  my main point is that flying (or for that matter travel by private car) should never be the cheapest option if the government is serious about going green,

 

In the case of travelling to London tomorrow for, say, a 10am meeting, the train will cost me £92 rtn. I can easily drive there and back for £20 ... and it doesn't matter where I park, as bus/tube in London is capped at (I think) £7 a day. Even I I decide to be late for my mtg and travel off-peak, it would still cost me £50. This is for a 1 hr. 70 mile journey.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

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When I was doing such things as driving cars on company business, the mileage allowance for a medium car was 26p per mile: I would guess it would be double that now but lets just say 33p.    Southampton to London and back is 160 miles, so the true cost is £53 (or more likely higher) not counting everything involved.  By only counting petrol, I think that you have proved my point about not including all costs to get a fair comparison.  Rail travel will be more comfortable and faster (if not by much in tis case) but inevitably less convenient.  However not every journey is motorway all the way. nor do most of the population have airports so conveniently placed.

 

Nor, topically, fast train services point to point.

 

The government does not set rail or air fares.  Going green is not something that can be applied from on top alone.  Rather like public health in a pandemic...

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26 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

By only counting petrol, I think that you have proved my point about not including all costs to get a fair comparison

This is not quite true. Sure, the current 35p a mile is reflective on total cost of ownership and is probably applicable is some way to company fleets. But it never made much sense to me as a private car owner, where many of these additional costs are paid by me (insurance, depreciation, servicing, MOT) apply whether I use the car or not. The real out of pocket costs are what I spend on petrol - and perhaps a little wear and tear - on a given trip. As I own a car the choice I have on my trip to London is £20 or (at best) £50. In short, what is the incentive to use the train? 

 

33 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

The government does not set rail or air fares.  Going green is not something that can be applied from on top alone.  Rather like public health in a pandemic...

Indirectly it does - eg. recent reduction on airport taxes for example, or how much it chooses to tax aviation fuel. Dept. of Transport could increase subsidies to local councils for bus transport. Government (as has been made so obvious in the last few days) determines what train services are available. Yes, green is a personal choice (like masks are now) but government can steer people toward making the appropriate choice

 

Cheers

 

Colin

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I agree that it is easy to disregard the full costs and only consider the incremental ones, but then this makes a grossly unfair comparison with other types of transport where these costs are factored into the fare.   If you wish to benefit from the incremental value of car travel, you have to invest significant amounts first.  Train travel would be a lot cheaper if the railway company did not have to pay for the carriages, power cars/locomotives, or track, and had no maintenance costs.

 

I've done done a quick look and found an estimate of just under £400 a month for running a car..   I presume that this includes fuel.

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On 11/22/2021 at 1:16 PM, janneman36 said:

And we think it is expensive in the Netherlands 😂

Ons benne Zuunig ;)

-- 

Overall though, public transport in the Netherlands is split up in local/regional concessions just as the UK. And therefore we can see the same type of issues arise in the less populated areas outside the Randstad (Rotterdam/The Hague/Amsterdam) namely cost-cutting and limited availability on vital links for more rural areas. 
 

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Isn't it time that someone got this transport  business right?  Ask ( sorry, survey) who wants to go where and when and build the system around the model that's created. The passengers are the reason for the buses - not the drivers, not the council and not any other bugger. It cannot be beyond the realms of possibility to  make something work that people want. If it can't, we're in a bigger mess than I thought. Otherwise develop a matter transporter and keep everyone happy (except the transport unions).

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On 22/11/2021 at 21:34, IanHx said:

I agree with all the "UK transport is rubbish" sentiments,  ....

I think you mean "English transport is rubbish" 😄

 

Up here in God's country - no not that soft southern, Yorkshire, place - up here in the Scottish Highlands - we have miles of marvellous empty drivers' roads that snake invitingly to the horizon. I have an old Porsche convertible and a new BMW coupe and, depending on weather, either will plant a huge smile on my face (akin to finding a Tamiya Spitfire for £1 in a junk shop!)

 

Sometimes the only traffic you experience are the teams from "The Grand Tour", "Top Gear" or the motoring mags come to savour the best place in the UK to enjoy a car! 

 

Of course for any trips to the "smoke" (Edinburgh or Glasgow") now I'm 60, I'll use my free Scottish bus pass and save money to buy more kits!

 

(Perhaps I should rename my login as "smug b*st*rd")

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8 minutes ago, Macsporran said:

I think you mean "English transport is rubbish" 😄

 

Up here in God's country - no not that soft southern, Yorkshire, place - up here in the Scottish Highlands - we have miles of marvellous empty drivers' roads that snake invitingly to the horizon. 

 

I think you mean Wind Turbine infested horizon.

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22 minutes ago, Dogtail2 said:

 

I think you mean Wind Turbine infested horizon.

I think I mean Wind Turbine decorated horizon - coz those decorous devices are providing all the free energy for my free bus rides!

 

(Actually I find the turbines no more distracting than the monstrous electricity pylons which we are now starting at last to hide underground!)

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Play nicely boys, or "Those who must be obeyed" will descend on this thread at a great rate of knots.

Personally, I've never understood this rubbish about "soft south" or "bloomin' northerners". As far as I'm concerned, we're all British, even (or especially) expats like me.

 

John. 

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7 hours ago, Macsporran said:

 

 

Up here in God's country - no not that soft southern, Yorkshire, place - up here in the Scottish Highlands - we have miles of marvellous empty drivers' roads that snake invitingly to the horizon. 

 

 

Having driven many a mile twixt Inverness and the north coast, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the thing snaking to the horizon is the queue of traffic stuck behind  tractor/caravan/cyclist  (even on the mighty A9)  !!

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18 hours ago, IanHx said:

 

Having driven many a mile twixt Inverness and the north coast, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the thing snaking to the horizon is the queue of traffic stuck behind  tractor/caravan/cyclist  (even on the mighty A9)  !!

Yes, I have to agree with you, since the Tourist Board started promoting the North Coast 500, what used to be the most beautiful road on the planet has deteriorated into a logjam of grockles in caravans and campervans. 

But as a local I would never contemplate using the A9 to Inverness then along the coast - you'd leave the A9 at Aviemore then cut across country past the ospreys at Boat of Garten, through Grantown-on-Spey then up over the battlefield at Cromdale and on to Elgin or other destinations on the coast.

On a sunny day, with the Boxster's engine thrumming under your left armpit  and 50 miles of empty, open road and a view for miles ahead, you swish past the occasional tractor and power on past lochs and mountains..... 

Ach!, I'm off to get my car keys right now!

Edited by Macsporran
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3 hours ago, Macsporran said:

On a sunny day, with the Boxster's engine thrumming under your left armpit  and 50 miles of empty, open road and a view for miles ahead, you swish past the occasional tractor and power on past lochs and mountains..... with either the Porsche convertible and a new BMW coupe.........Ach!, I'm off to get my car keys right now!

DON'T do it @Macsporran there may be a wee bit too much snow! Ask one of the shop keepers in Aviemore......He was told NOT to travel South on the A9........brake down waggon that unditched him was driven by......Yup, the chap that told him in the first place!

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3 hours ago, Macsporran said:

 

But as a local I would never contemplate using the A9 to Inverness then along the coast - you'd leave the A9 at Aviemore then cut across country past the ospreys at Boat of Garten, through Grantown-on-Spey then up over the battlefield at Cromdale and on to Elgin or other destinations on the coast.

 

 

Sorry I thought we were talking about the real North Coast,  that bit between Cape Wrath and Dunnet Head.  Not Lossiemouth  :)

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20 hours ago, IanHx said:

 

Sorry I thought we were talking about the real North Coast,  that bit between Cape Wrath and Dunnet Head.  Not Lossiemouth  :)

Beg your pardon, Ian, yes you're quite right. As I said above the NC500 tourist marketing has ruined what used to be one of the finest scenic drives in the world. But we locals can still enjoy it out of season!

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WTH is wrong with some people? This morning I went to watch my 9 year old Grandson play football for his team against another local team. We were standing on one side of the pitch and midway through the second half we noticed what appeared to be some kind of a disagreement going on between my Grandson's coaches and a "father" from the opposition. Apparently this father had some beef with the coaches and was threatening to deck them both. Is it any wonder that kids today are growing up with a violent streak in them, when they can see their father behaving in this manner. Fortunately, no blows were exchanged, so on this occasion, the kids didn't witness any violent behaviour, but come on! This is children's football that we are talking about, not the outbreak of WW3.

The coach said hat he would be reporting the incident and it would probably result in the muppet father being banned from future matches. We all struggled to see what his problem was, especially as his team won 2-1 and my Grandson's team had a perfectly good goal disallowed because the ref was unsighted. Beggars belief!

 

John.

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Having spent a good deal of time in my youth refereeing junior rugby union, I am firmly of the view that junior football, regardless of code, would be much better (and happier) if parents were banned from attending!

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On 11/29/2021 at 6:01 PM, Beermonster1958 said:

😂😂

...

What's even better is that Edinburgh has excellent public transport and, the number 16 bus has two local model shops on its route.

Almost door to door service where I can spend the money Ive saved on bus fares in new kits! 😉😂

 

John

I don't know any Edinburgh bus routes apart from the 23 which terminates near my cousin's house in Greenbank. Presumably one shop is Wonderland. What's the other one?

 

Dave G

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The "I'll just be a minute" parkers. Nobody cares how long you will be, park properly.

 

Yes, this has more than likely been done before but I just had to do a bit of shopping at the local parade.🤬😀

Edited by Stef N.
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