Only poor people get the bus…

[EmpressOfTheSofa]

..I was told yesterday by a close relative. In the context of mocking me.

I get a bus to work. My bus stop is literally outside my house and ten minutes later it drops me off outside my work. I pay £70 a month for this.

If I drive to work it costs petrol plus £135 a month parking fees, and the closest two car parks are each a ten minute walk from work. It also takes longer to drive because of the one way system/bus lanes. It’s a no brainer.

But I got roundly mocked and told she wouldn’t be seen dead on public transport.

This was in the context of her admiring a new item I’d bought and I said oh funnily enough two separate ladies at the bus stop have also complimented it, she then shrieked with laughter and said there’s a weird contrast between having an expensive X and then getting public transport and that I probably look like a weirdo. That the only people who use buses outside of London are poor people who can’t afford to drive.

She’s bonkers, right? And a tad nasty? I’ve been stewing on this for a couple of days and shouldn’t let her rile me but ffs.

I prefer buses to taxis any day

Then the bus isn’t a suitable or convenient alternative for you then, is it?

We are very lucky in that we have a really good bus service (not London) and an all day, all bus ticket is £4. No shame felt here in using it!

I honestly don’t understand how so many people can claim poor people drive and it’s more expensive to get the bus.
It’s very rarely the case.

Not in the UK but have heard similar attitudes.

I live 4km from my city centre. On two bus routes with a regular service. If i walk down the hill there's more buses. One trip is €1.35. A 24hr ticket is €3.80.

Yet there's people on my road who have never gotten the bus and tell me how terrible they are. They also moan about how bad the traffic is.

Plenty of 'rich' people across St John's Wood and Marylebone coming out of their multi £million apartments and catching the bus to Selfridges.

My first thought too.

Well, I use the park and ride, so does that make me rich or poor??

This post neatly demonstrates why it’s so difficult to get people on to the less polluting forms of transport.

Here the poster is unhappy because she had to walk for ten - TEN! - minutes from her home to the bus stop. Then at the other end, the bus route planners have failed to ensure that every bus stops outside every pub. Thus occasioning another outrageous ten minute walk.

Of course, if every bus stopped outside every place that anyone might conceivably want to go, the journey would take several hours and nobody would want to take the bus anyway, but never mind that!

Back to the OP: your cousin is very invested in showing you that she’s a cut above, isn’t she? You obviously make her insecure, so keep on doing what you are doing. Leave her to wallow in envy.

Not having a car doesn’t mean they can’t afford one or can’t drive though??
Of course most people who have bought a car will drive their car rather than getting the bus since they obviously prefer to drive in the first place or they wouldn’t have bought a car.
The opposite of that isn’t that people who don’t have a car and therefore get public transport can’t afford it.

if youvsaid why don't you have a car/drive most would say money.

What are you even basing that on?
I don’t have a car because my lifestyle doesn’t require one, it’s of no benefit to me, it’s not because I can’t afford one. Not everyone needs or wants to drive.

We have two very nice brand new cars and I love the bus! So convenient and cheaper then taxis or parking hassle. I do have one friend who I don't even suggest it to though-deffo not her scene.

Incidentally, that quote about being a failure if you got the bus over the age of 25 was wrongly attributed to Margaret Thatcher. She didn’t say it. Loads of people repeat it as if it were the absolute truth, though.

It was in fact the former Duchess of Westminster and the critical age for bus failure in her version was 30. She claimed to have nicked it from a comedian, and she regularly used it when complaining about having to wait at bus stops in London rather than being chauffeur driven, as she had been previously.

Someone later claimed that Mrs T said it to Brian Souter, the entrepreneur who set up Stagecoach, but he says not. Even if someone did say it, it would clearly have been in jest because Stagecoach is a bus company!

Love how loads of posters are leaping in to tell us how rich they are though. Rolexes and substantial savings. No failures here. Merely to illustrate that they have made getting the bus ok, of course!

Of course most people who have bought a car will drive their car rather than getting the bus since they obviously prefer to drive in the first place or they wouldn’t have bought a car.

In my experience they buy a car, usually on PCP, then can’t make the logical connections.

Say you’re paying £400 a month for the car. You could get the bus to work for £3 return and it’s quicker than driving. Driving takes twice as long, petrol is £4 a day and parking is £10 a day. £14 versus £3 and the £14 journey takes twice as long. But they are paying for the car so they have to get their money’s worth, right? Right?

It’s impossible to reason with them. They usually complain bitterly about traffic, too.

Bus wankers!!!

Sorry, I have watched the In-betweeners too many times.

Even the number of people on this thread claiming the £2/3 whatever bus ticket is more expensive than petrol and parking ... was the car itself free then? No MOT? No insurance? No tax? No wear and tear repairs to keep up with? Unlimited use tires too apparently?

That I look like a twat for taking the bus as I’m not poor. Well I might not be ‘poor’ but I’m not going to spend £50 a month extra plus walking time just so I can be seen to drive!?

Think I remember your last thread complaining about your brother and sister's attitudes to your job. Can't imagine the advice on this one will be much different.

What I don't understand is why you justify your decision not to try in financial terms and break down the costs of bus vs driving, when your final posts reveals that you no longer drive for medical reasons.

Surely that means everything else is irrelevant?

Yes, irrelevant in my case. But I was explaining to her that I wouldn’t drive to work even when I get my licence back as the bus is quicker and cheaper. She wouldn’t have it.

Oh well then if her car breaks she’ll have to walk every where won’t she?
Or she can get taxis everywhere as the cost of them won’t mean anything to her seeing as she’s obviously so well off.

I don’t get this snobbery against people who use buses. They moan about there being too much traffic in their way and also harp on about the planet too, and in their next breath they’re sniggering at people who get the bus because they must be poor/lazy/a failure as an adult etc..
Make your fucking mind up.

Op I have to admire anyone who can work out a bus timetable!

I hate buses, can never figure out where to get on the right bus or which direction they go. They seem to take the most insane routes possible and treble the time.

Trains are the business, they go in straight lines, and stops are clearly labelled.

Climate emergency!!!! Ffs.

well done on using the bus.

I work in a city centre office (not London) and virtually no one drives in. I cycle 🚵‍♂️ I guess that's even worse than the bus as it's free?

I probably mentioned up thread that we don't really need to use a car as we live close to the town centre and train station.

Our American neighbours (was 3 kids at home, now 2) ended up selling their car and now rely on Uber to ferry themselves around (they have sporty kids so this is quite long journeys at weekends). Admittedly they were about to be forced to take/pass UK driving tests, but a (bought new) big car was costing them a lot of money.

Sadly, the bus services round here are collapsing because of difficulties recruiting drivers and increasing demand for student buses (which seem to be prioritised). People soon start looking for different ways to travel if they find that they are waiting 90 minutes for what was supposed to be a 3 times/hour bus.

Nonsense!
I get buses and def not poor. Reasons:

1. don’t like driving
2. no parking in destination
3. want to drink