To think that I shouldn't have to be "poor" to get a bus to work?

[miniwedge]

I commute to work either by bus or cycle. I work in the same town under ten miles away from me.
It costs less to commute this way than to drive, we do own a car but we only use it for longer journeys/large shopping trips.

I enjoy it, I get to work and home again stress free, if theres a wait I read my book/listen to music.

All previous jobs have involved extensive travel/commutes by car and I have been massively pissed off by traffice jams/petrol costs etc etc.

Since starting to commute this way I've had quite a fe comments along the lines of "oh you poor thing, when will you be able to afford to drive again?", one friend has taken to posting regular messages on facebook/group emails such as "hahahahah you get the bus. Poor people get the bus" etc etc.

Have deleted said friend, but I find it odd that the general attitude is that I commute by bus because I am down on my luck, not because I choose to.

Shit. Can I just point out that I would not be ashamed to be down on my luck, in fact have been very recently.
This thread is more about the weird attitude towards getting public transport. If you see what I mean.

I dont have a car we can afford one i just keep failing my driving test so when i have had a comment like " when will you be abe to afford to drive again" i normally say something like " when im less stupid" which normally ends the conversation very quickly.

Well, yes they are clearly bonkers!

I like the bus too.

I wouldnt worry about what others think. If you want to get the bus, do it, ignore everyone elses opinion.

There is no public transport between where I live and where the children go to school so I have to drive, it has given me grey hairs some mornings. The traffic jams are a pain in the proverbial.

Hope your luck improves soon.

I feel sorry for the empty lives they must lead. What an obsession with status they have have!

(Bus user here)

YANBU what is so wrong with using public transport when it's a suitable alternative? I could drive to work for the same price as my train/tube pass but I don't feel that is the right thing to do. Plus like you I get to read on the way, much more enjoyable.

Your ex-fb friend sounds bizarre frankly.

I walk to work (25 minutes). It seems bonkers to drive such a short distance. And I get a similar response.

If people get particularly annoying I normally ask them why they feel they have to use the car (and for the ones that live 30 miles away why they don't move closer :) )

I do think it's as much a "something to talk about" topic rather than a "having much opinion about it" topic though.

Nothing wrong with the bus.

We have a car, but DH uses it to get to work (he couldn't get to work on public transport). We don't want to run 2 cars as it isn't really necessary. The DC's school and my work is within walking/cycling distance, and if I need to go into town I catch the bus.

I can get off the bus right in the town centre, whereas if I drove in I would have to park at the edge of town and either walk or catch the park and ride bus in. I don't have to worry about car parks being full, or about being back at the car by the time the ticket runs out.

I live in a rural area so the buses are always really chatty places, the drivers are friendly and everyone talks to everyone else.

I like the bus

YANBU. I'd love to be able to get the bus. Public transport round here blows goats. Or something like that...

When I was at uni, I got the bus everywhere - it was brilliant. I had a car, but I only used it to go home as the trains were too expensive and took too long.

And yes, your friends are quite clearly lunatics.

Mmm, ex-fb friend was odd, deleting is the way forward!

My luck is good now thanks. Was a recent bad patch I was referring to.

Agree it is probably more something to talk about rather than have an opinion about.

I shall be a bit smug this week though when the snow hits and I manage to get myself in to work with minimum fuss. (Is just about walkable if no buses run)

" one friend has taken to posting regular messages on facebook/group emails such as "hahahahah you get the bus. Poor people get the bus" etc etc.
"

is she 8???
FWIW I drive everywhere . DH cycles when he can. If the buses were better I would consider it. I can see that getting the bus to work is soemthing that non drivers tend to do, but surely you do what works for you?

My DH had a similar attitude - until he found out how much the bus cost! For short trips into town or if there is more than one adult, it is cheaper to drive. I love the bus. Less stress than having to worry about driving and then where to park.

I think it is just something he picked up when he was growing up. His parents are a bit obsessed with not doing anything to look poor. But when you grow up in London, using public transport is just second nature.

Yes that attitude would seem very odd in London, the huge majority of commuters coming into the central zones will be using public transport (tube or bus) and that includes a lot of very, very highly paid people in City jobs!

tbh it would never occur to me to comment on someone's choice of transport for commuting or judge them for it, I guess most people do whatever happens to be most convenient and/or affordable, which might be either driving or train/bus or something else depending on their particular situation!

They are wrong!

Car-free living is a luxury lifestyle that only those in densely populated urban areas can afford to indulge in.

I am a bus user, and proud of it. Keep it up OP!

Um, in London very few people drive to work. We all commute on the tube or bus. It's normal.

In Paris it is très chic not to drive but to walk/cycle instead.

DD's über-glamorous Monday-Tuesday teacher cycles to school in a fur coat, mini skirt and high heels.

round here if you don't work in town it should be the opposite - oh your poor thing you can't afford to take the bus and instead have to drive (we have stupid buses fares round here)

a 20 minute car drive (about 11 miles distance) takes 1hr on the bus and costs £6.30 return (or did earlier this year - haven't done the trip for a while)

we currently dont have a car. i say its cos we cant afford one, but tbh we probably could. but we dont need one. we live close to town, shops, docs, school, dh place of work etc.

the kids like the train and bus. i like the train. less stress.

i know if we get a car, i would get lazy again and uswe it too often.

The other day DD's teacher was dressed in all-black, including a huge shaggy Mongolian jacket, except for a fluorescent pink flippy micro mini. No wonder the fathers girls love her .

YANBU. I live in Oxford and it is a nightmare to drive in so I generally take the bus or cycle. If I bus, I can drop DD at school and get into work within 20 minutes, if I cycle, its 30 minutes but exercise too. If I drive (as I did when pregnant) it takes an hour plus £20 per day for parking. Ummm no.

You sound very sensible to me, Op.

We have same set up as domesticsluttery - DH drives to work and I walk/bus etc as I need to. A friend of mine when I was pg with my first said 'well you'll have to get a car now...'. At least my children are free on the bus atm, and as DS is at school now it's not such an issue.

I've just started working one day a week and am loving my solo bus trip sans children into the city centre. I may start reading books again!