However, as many of us know, this is not always the reality with services often unreliable and fares costly. Of course, there are some more reasonable transport operators out there, but many of us have public transport related tales of woe to tell.
My local bus operator, Arriva, have been increasing fares at an alarming rate, whilst cutting out buses on a whim. Their latest trend is to take out of service buses that are running late – carry on with that approach and we’ll have no buses left on our roads!
My most recent unfavourable experience of my local buses occurred when I was attempting to get home from a nearby shopping centre, trying to use a supposed ‘every 20 minutes’ service. The bus arrived 15 minutes late and the driver was instructed to return directly to the depot without passengers (although he drove off without explanation at the time). However, the next bus due was also running very late, meaning that no bus ran on that route for about an hour. If only Arriva had allowed to the first bus that arrived (the 3.15pm service) to leave the shopping centre at the time of the next bus due (3.35 service) then passengers would not have been left stranded for so long.
An email of complaint to Arriva resulted in a call from a very unsympathetic, somewhat disinterested individual, who stated that my comments had been noted, but basically ‘tough’. Ok, that’s not exactly what she said, but it certainly was the sentiment.
STOP PRESS!
Since the original incident with Arriva, I have since experienced the same scenario on a larger scale (and spoken to others encountering similar problems) this time involving two differently numbered bus routes and longer waiting times. In Medway, Arriva appear to be struggling to fulfil timetables, some of the drivers are lovely (with a few exceptions) but organisationally the service is a shambles. Come on Arriva, you can do better!
I would welcome any comments from Arriva or fellow disgruntled passengers. We’re paying for a service which just isn’t being delivered.
And the good?
I often find that local journeys can be quite an ordeal, although when I have stayed in different parts of the country, served by different bus companies, I have experienced more reliable, cheaper services.
On a long haul journey, I have had a much better experience with National Express. Travelling from my home to London and then on to Bournemouth (visiting family) I found that services ran to time, were reasonably comfortable and were, with offers often available, more competitively priced.
What are your experiences of public transport? comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment