To ask how long it been since you've used public transport?

[BoysofMelody]

After a thread on here over change from bus fares got very heated, a couple of people said they'd not used buses (and possibly other forms of public transport) for over 10 years.

I find it fairly incredible that you can go so long without going on a bus or use other forms - okay I get that it may be months if you commute by car/bike or walk, but surely most people will make an occasional trip by bus or train across the course of a year for a night out or on a day trip or whatever?

When I lived in a city I used it all the time, even when I had a car.

Where I live now it's a rare event. Buses are useless and seem to go to places I don't want to go to.

I do use the train occasionally, most recently last weekend when DD and I went to a Uni Open Day. The time before that was another Uni Open Day before the summer.

Today, every day, same with the kids - they get the bus to and from school.

DH uses the car most days - work is out of town, but will get the bus if training in town (our town has crap parking, really expensive to use and a crappy one way road system that makes you lose the will to live before you even see any sign of parking.)

February before I passed my test. I will use public transport if I'm going into bigger towns as I'm too scared to drive or if we're heading out for drinks.

About once every two years when I go to London. There are those of us that live in places where public transport literally doesn't exist!

Saturday, the metro and bus in Valencia.
At home rarely but got the train to my nearest city in July as I didn't have the car and then a private company coach to London two weeks ago as it's more pleasant than driving up there.

The last time I was on public transport was on holiday earlier this year, in Venice. You kind of have no choice though. It's the little "bus boats" or swim.. we also caught the train the the lakes.

Prior to that I honestly can't remember! If I need to go somewhere without a car I just get a taxi. But it's very occasionally.

We are semi rural though, a taxi into town is about £9-12 and takes about 15-20 minutes, compared to the bus which is about £5-6 for a return fair and takes over an hour.. I am happy to shell out £20 odd quid on occasional taxis than spend hours on a bus.

If I wanted to go somewhere other than town I would have to get at least 2 buses, my parents are 20 miles away and it would either be 2.5 hours on two buses, each way. Or 2 hours each way if I got 2 buses and a train. They had a party a few weeks ago, I was drinking and just got a taxi..

Today, twice. I was working and taking people out. I do a lot of bus journeys now because it is important for the people I work with to get used to going on buses again for when they move on.

Before I started that job I would probably get a bus once every few months at most.

A few days ago I made a round trip using London buses and underground and National Rail services. I try to avoid using the car because of the pollution caused by cars and I find it far more relaxing to make family day visits by train rather than drive 100+ miles there, do what we are doing with family and then drive the same distance back. On a train I have a book and a laptop and don't have to concentrate on anything else. Having said that the ridiculous pricing structure makes going by car far more sensible if there is a larger group of us.

Where I live I can get a bus on Tuesday morning to a local large village, it returns 2 hours later and if you miss that you have to wait a week to get home.

On it now! On central line stuck in delays and likely to have to pick up a bus to cope with part suspension. The joys!

Seriously I get public transport daily - only drive when I absolutely have to.

About 4 pm this afternoon, as I came home from a meeting. Use it most days. Anyone who tries to drive in central London is a chump. (Unless they are making a delivery or need an accessible vehicle.)

Manchester Metrolink about 2 weeks ago. Its often better to drive to local station park and get MET into Manchester.

About 20 minutes, I got the tube home. I use the tube or bus about 5 days a week. I'm very environmentally conscious so I've always made good access to public transport a key factor when choosing where to live. I wouldn't want to be dependent on a car at all.

About a week. I don't have a car, and mostly cycle

Last time I went on UK public transport was 6 years ago when I last visited London and used the underground. I did use the trains and buses in Barcelona recently though when on holiday.

Simple reason. The trains and buses are crap around here (North West England). Our village has a very sporadic bus service and you need to change once or twice to even get to the nearest town, so a 5 minute car journey takes over half an hour at best. As for trains, they're a joke - awful ancient pacers or single carriage trains for relatively long distances that are usually cram packed standing only for an hour or two.

I do two journeys pretty regularly. The longest one takes 2 hours by car but 3 hours by train with 2 changes, including 2 hours on a Pacer. The shorter journey is just 20 miles, takes 20 minutes by car, but takes 90 minutes by train with 2 changes.

Trains and buses just don't go to/from where you want them to. Towns have evolved with out of town retail and industrial areas, new housing has been built, but the train/bus network is still catering to the journeys that used to be made 40 years ago, not today's journeys.

I left the tube about an hour ago.

About 2 weeks ago probably. Don't use the bus so much now that I have my bike. Used to use bus more when DC were little and I didn't feel comfortable transporting them by bike.

Do a fair few long train journeys per year to visit friends/family.

I use the bus every day now but probably between 2004-2011 I used the car for everything. More convenient. Dont need to drink when out so was the designated driver. I do love driving though.

DP grew up privileged overseas. Public transport was something the poor people did apparently and parents didnt allow the use of public transport. So DP was 19 (first time in UK) when using public transport for the first time.

I haven't been on a bus for at least 10 years, apart from airport ones.

Train and tube into London, about once a month.

I'm on a bus right now. I can't drive, I use public transport 3-4 days a week.
Dh drives and is so freaked out at the thought of a bus/tube/train that he's got all the public transport know how of an alien.

A couple of days. I travel up and down the country for work by train. And local trains are rubbish so I often have to get the bus part of the way home. Would be lost without public transport. I love working on trains. Driving would waste so much time.

Since I passed my driving test 18 months ago I haven't been on a bus once!

Still get train for long trips and that's it

I don't know why the OP is so surprised.

I had 2 cars growing up. We've got 2 cars now. I get a cab when out for he night. I take the train to London quarterly. I took the ds's on the bus just to show them what it was like, last year. They like the tube.

I don't know why the OP is so surprised.

I had 2 cars growing up

I suspect you're either younger than me or you grew up in comparative affluence. Very few families could afford to run/buy two cars where and where I grew up.

Used public transport a lot in my teens and in London

I moved then learned to drive about 25 years ago and haven't used local public transport more than a handful of times since. I hate being reliant on it and prefer the independence of driving.

I seem to be really unlucky though. We took the train to London a few years ago and trains stopped going from Euston so we had to walk to Kings Cross and do a convoluted journey that way.

Getting the tram into Manchester on rare occasions there's always a concert or match so it's heaving. Or it breaks down and I have to wait for the next

I'm a jinx so I'm doing everyone a favour by giving it a miss!