That they are cancelling my bus and I am really pissed off

[RedBlu]

We moved to this area last year, it's sort of semi rural but I ensured before moving here it had a good bus route as I work in the city and I don't drive.

Been using the bus service for months with no issues and then today, look in the local paper and the bus company are going to stop serving our area as its not "viable".

I am FUMING! They will be going as far as the next village, which is a 15 minute walk. Not an issue in the summer months, but now it's getting cold, dark and wet, it's not something I want to do.

There is a train station a bit closer but I can't afford it, even buying yearly pass through work would mean paying back £90 a month.

I am currently paying the bus company £45!

I am actually really upset about it as its has totally fucked me up as I don't know what to do. Obviously walking is the only option it maybe getting a bike and cycling to the next village.

Either way, I am really fed up. I know I should learn to drive, but it's expensive and I don't have the spare money to spend on it at the moment.

www.bettertransport.org is worth a look for those interested in campaigns for better services

It depends on what the walk is like. TBH I am secretly jealous of a long bus journey as I would spend it reading, snacking and daydreaming. But wouldn't fancy tramping down dark muddy lanes to get to the bus stop.

You could think about getting a folding bike.

You have 3 choices OP:-

1. learn to drive
2. walk the extra 15 minutes
3. petition the bus company
4. some semi rural/rural areas have started their own bus/minibus service for services cancelled or not supplied by a bus

Most people I know who lived in a rural/semi rural area learned to drive pretty damned quickly as only 1 bus an hour etc. You also tend to be stuffed in the winter if heavy snow etc as that bus is often delayed and/or cancelled.

Oh and I'm on outskirts of London (border of zone 3-4) and I have a 10-12 minute walk to the nearest station.

When buses are cut,
those who are too old or too young to drive are stuck
those who are disabled are stuck
those who do not have the resources to have options are stuck

There are villages near here where Stagecoach cancelled the bus route, giving students no way to get to 6th form college : they are too young to drive and their parents are at work

public transport should be a priority, not an afterthought.

Bus deregulation is an utter disaster
but government do not care because London's buses have not been deregulated.

Absolutely this

Ta1kinPeace You have summed up the problem in a nutshell.

Mitzi
I should hope so - making such arguments is part of my day job

Are there any Dial a Ride/community transport type schemes in your area? I live rurally and there is a community bus service here, you pay to become a member (few pounds a year) and then pay for each trip. You ring in advance, book the bus and it picks you up. Obviously not everywhere is going to have a scheme like this but they're fairly common, it's worth looking in to.

ProfYaffle
Such things are great, but they only run at odd hours.
No use for students or commuters or jobseekers or those trying to get to hospital appointments

If bus routes were re-regulated outside the capital we would not have the insanity of 6 companies running buses up high streets (with different fare structures and tickets)
and nobody running buses through the estates and villages.

The local authority should define the route map and providers bid for the routes
all tickets be interchangeable,
all fares transparent

it works in London
it should be allowed to work everywhere

15 minutes? that's nothing. I timed my walk to the station and that's 17 minutes. Do you want door to door service?

It's a 10 minute walk from my house to the only bus stop in town! 15 minutes isn't that bad, I don't drive so I'm used to hanging around bus stops in all weathers, it's annoying but you get used to it.

Yabvu and lazy. A 15 minute walk is nothing. And tbh it's a bit pathetic to say you're fuming about doing a very tiny amount of exercise. Also people don't melt in the rain or snow.

If however your primary concern was other locals who don't have the physical option of walking, then you'd have a very valid point.

Village bus services should be practically door to door, seeing as it rarely takes 15 mind to walk the length of a village -and if it does there's usually more than one stop!

It really seems like those of you with urban commutes are totally unable to imagine an environment unlike the one in which you live!

I live in a very urban area and the nearest bus stop is a 10 minute walk away, so excuse me if I don't think 15min is that bad. And as I pointed out above - it could be cycled in 5min unless very hilly.

I grew up on a farm btw, so living in a village would have been pretty cosmopolitan for me

I just have sympathy for the Op remembering the days of leaving my wellies upside-down at the end of the lane, hoping that the bus would actually show up today, also hoping it wouldn't be too late as I already started 15 mins later than the job required thanks to the timetable.

It's honestly not the same experience as urban commuting.

I grew up in a village with one bus stop which was on the main road going through. Still about 12 mins walk and we were about mid way through the village. Only 1 bus out the village a day except on market days in the next town.

Ballcocks. I live in an urban area and its 17 minutes to the station. And 2 years ago had a 9 mile hike to Oswestry [nice in summer] so I know both sides. Can you imagine the whinging if a bus stopped at every house? " ooooo, took me 300 years to get to work".

Well there you go, perhaps there is more than a single experience of public transport to be had after all

Used to live somewhere where the route had two bus stops that were 285 ft apart! I whinged

So let's reduce public transport as only being available to the fit and healthy shall we? Those who are unwell or elderly are stuffed.

Or, we could see buses as a vital part of our infrastructure and support making it better for all, getting people out of cars, reducing congestion and parking issues.

Lets not have competitive 'I have a rubbish bus service, so you should put up with one too'.

Ta1kin ours doesn't have set hours, its responds to need. It was set up specifically to fill the gap left by poor public transport provision, it doesn't cater to just the elderly or the infirm, it's there for anyone struggling with transport in our area.

I'm not advocating these volunteer/charity run schemes as an alternative to proper Public Transport. Rural transport is a disgrace and I see people in a professional capacity who are hamstrung by the lack of it. Our local foodbank has set up a delivery service because there are people in need of food who can't even get themselves to a food bank to collect it.

I was just making practical suggestion to the op on a possible solution to her current situation.

15 minutes isn't nothing when its on top of what is already a journey of over an hour and a half!!

Agreed.

Also, considering about every 2nd person on MN has a disability or a hidden disability or a disabled child, maybe a bit of understanding that not everyone can walk for 15 mins 2x a day.

Yaffle
Without wishing to out myself, I am very au fait with the logistics of community buses
BUT
the point still stands that if Bus services outside London were regulated in the same way as London, integrated public transport would ease pressure on the roads.

When a Taxi company can take a bus company to court for adjusting its timetable so that it matches the ferry timetable under competition law

When there is one bus a day each way to the market town - that allows 2 hours in the town to do everything

When the bus company are allowed to terminate a route 3 miles short of the Hospital it used to serve, and then cancel the route due to reduced numbers

When the bus company can put a 32 seater onto a commuter time bus and then make sure it arrives at the station after the London train has left

When there are 5 bus companies between the shopping centre and the city centre all with different fares who will not accept each other's return tickets

But in London, you can use an Oyster card on any one of the 13 bus companies and any of the tube lines and the DLR

You know that Deregulation of public transport should be rolled back ASAP
for the good of the whole country

whois I do have a disability, and I'm not saying it's pleasant but it's what happens when you live ruraly and don't drive, par for the course.

I'm not disagreeing with you! As I say, just making a practical suggestion to the op ....