I love a bus hopper fare as much as the next person but enough is enough. Isn’t it?

[WallowingInMud]

I’m a top tier fan of Labour and Andy seems like a nice bloke but:
a) He’s on social media so much I’m beginning to wonder if, once parliament is back from its little holiday, he’s going to have enough time to run our somewhat complex country between making reels.
b) every single bloody post appears to be about buses. Buses are great but I feel like there are other issues. World peace anyone?

AIBU?

Nothing is free though, it's just a case of someone else paying

Encouraging fewer cars is good for everyone

Congestion charges do that.

I said cheaper not free. I don’t mind paying tax to subsidise bus fares (not companies, fares), far worse things for a government to be spending my hard earned on than getting people to work/ school/ hospital etc

It just means they have more money available for vapes/fags

£1.75…? Hells teeth. It's £3 here. Per journey.

If we weren't prepared to drive one leg and she wasn't prepared to walk the last, dd's journey to college would have cost £9 each way. That's £72 a week. For compulsory education.

It involves 3 different companies so it's 3 capped fares. I was so grateful when fares were limited to £3 a journey.

And that is why we have cars.

Congestion charge areas are very limited. Boris scrapped Kensington and Chelsea and - I don’t know why - Sadiq Khan has not reinstated it, despite the fact that it is clearly needed.

Anything that discourages inessential personal car use must be encouraged.

As for AB, he clearly is efficient and good at multiple-tasking. He can hold more than one thought in his head at the same time. And he has a big team to implement his ideas.

I am cautiously optimistic…

As well as improving other options such as public transport and cycling

It’s about time a politician cares about the little people rather than what the donors want. It’s refreshing to see him on social media actively engaging with the population too.
Encouraging bus use gets cars off the road.. making it as cheap as possible means there are less barriers to getting to work. It reduces parking issues and helps the economy as more people are able to travel.

These are all fair enough policies, but really should be for local politicians to make. Otherwise what’s the point of local politics all.

Apparently he is hiring 12 more social media staff.

Agreed!

People seem to forget they're paying a lot for their car...
Lets say have a car for 5 years... But a 3 year old car..
Cost to buy £10,000
Cost to insure £400p/a - total £2000
Cost to tax/service/MOT - £200p/a - £1000
File £100 p/m so around £6000
Car parking... Let's say £20p/m average? £1200

You're looking at a cost of at least £20,000 other 5 years. £4k a year, £330 p/m, £12 a day.

And that's not including any tolls, potential repair costs, breakdown cover,

And then they complain about a bus fare to town being £3.70 return 🤷

Quite a bit cheaper than west mids then, although I think our one way fares are all to come down soon. I think public transport is important. It would be good for it to be a bit more joined up across the country though.

I am totally au fait with the idea that buses are important. I luvs them and the bus hopper fare even if you only get two secret minutes these days. Also that they’re a good place to start. I just question the largely domestic, bus focused messaging via socials when there’s really big stuff going down in the world.

The bigger stuff takes time. He can’t broker world peace overnight!

in the meantime he can make smaller announcements that will make lives for ordinary people that bit easier.

It’s not an either or!

But isn’t that part of his point? He’s making bus fares cheaper for everyone so that access to buses is at least economically better (even if the services are still poor)?

Well you’re a delight. Assuming your nastiness is because you assume only ‘poor’ people use buses? Rather than the young (can’t drive), some older people (who no longer feel safe to drive), people with some disabilities, people who care about the environment, people who live in flats where parking is prohibited/prohibitively expensive, people where their household only runs one car and another household member is using it… But yeah…vapes

I haven't seen much on Burnham's bus obsession, is it your algorithm?

I've seen his involvement with Ukraine, the pledge to end homelessness, removing VAT on electricity bills, changes to planning rules for vape shops and gambling, and cost of living crisis.

Are you sure it's not your obsession being played back to you?

I mean I did wonder re the algorithm. But then I looked at his profile (image linked above and here too) ..

I definitely need a new MN name of BusBusBusBusBusPotato.

More to the point, this was today's news:
Scientists 'stunned' by children's lung recovery in ultra low emission zone
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1l1r1zne1ro

The merit of helping people reduce their car journeys needs no selling to me.

Have you missed his announcement about a strategy to get rough sleepers off the streets?

Don't be so feckin' stupid.

Transport infrastructure of a country is pretty much up there with big things happening, do you mean world peace?

Maybe world peace will come through gradual expansion of the hopper fare (£1.75 for an hour and two secret minutes) across the world.

Maybe homelessness will be ended by converting the roof of single decker buses using those tent rack things.

Maybe I am just impatient and looking for more from my social media than a grown man playing with a toy bus. We had that (albeit cardboard trains) with BoJo and look where that got us…

I saw that. What an amazing outcome from a brave mayor who introduced it knowing it would be unpopular in many quarters.