Has the pandemic changed your relationship with public transport?

[Hairbrush123]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but just interested to see what other people think.

Pre pandemic, I was an avid user of public transport and didn’t really drive my car anywhere except for places where it was not convenient for me to drive to/inaccessible to get to using public transport.

However during the pandemic, I haven’t been on any public transport since March. Can’t say I miss using it either. I used to get the train into the city centre (I live in Birmingham) as I always found driving into the city centre daunting but now I’ve been forced to (I could have used the train/bus but felt safer in my car) it’s not nearly as bad as I once thought. Weekends away would always have been done in the past using the train/coach but it’s definitely changed and DP and I take it in turns to drive to our destination and have noticed it’s cheaper to drive there too.

I would like to use public transport again once I get a vaccine but I definitely won’t be so dependent on it anymore like I once was! Anyone else feel the same?

I rely on public transport as I don't drive. Since the beginning in March my local bus company have run a very reduced timetable so I have been walking to and from work. It takes me about an hour each way. It used to take me about an hour and half by bus (2 buses) because of timetables/ traffic. I am annoyed that I don't have the option to use the bus (especially in bad weather) as it only runs once every 2 hours instead of every 1/2 hour and isn't anywhere near the times I work, but it has made me fitter and I do enjoy the walk when it's not raining.

Used to bus to work five days a week and spend about £60 a month on it. Cancelled my direct debit in March and started cycling and really enjoying it, on the days I don’t work from home.

I’m not so worried about catching it on surfaces. Mainly factors that are out of my control eg someone coughing badly on a busy bus/train and can’t get off until the next stop. This is probably a very unlikely scenario but I’ll give it a miss until I feel comfortable doing so.

I used to travel by bus into work and back almost every working day - I live just outside a city. I’ve been on the bus once (well, twice - return journey) since March. I’m wfh and don’t need to, and there’s no evening socialising so no need to go into the city then either.

We live just over a mile from school and it's a bloody big hill on the way back so we often got the bus especially if it was raining. We walk every time now. It doesn't even occur to me to get the bus and I don't drive. It saves me a fair amount of money and I can eat more and not worry as much. We detour through the park and woods and along the canal. It adds 15 minutes on but it's so pretty. I'm clinically extremely vulnerable so there's no way I'm getting in a bus unless I really have to. I clock up around 40 miles a week on average. Ds is 5 and never complains about the walk.

We used to go on regular train journeys all over the place but we've not been anywhere since February when we went to Liverpool for the day. We miss our day trips and weekends away. I hope next summer we will be able to go places again.

Once someone sat next to me on the bus.
During covid times.
There was one other seat she could have sat on. (Perhaps more but I saw one)
I know people will say I should have asked her to move but I felt uncomfortable either way asking her and her sitting there

I've used the bus and train 5 days a week since March. My bus route changed from a double decker to a single and it used to get quite busy since September time. I now walk a bit further for another route so i can sit up stairs. Nothing to do with covid I just prefer it! Trains have been quite busy at times.

No, live in London, haven’t driven my car since March and love how much quieter tubes, overground and buses are without tourists and a lot of commuters

I'm WfH, though my office opened back up again in August, so I've been in about 4 times on the tube to Z1 London since March. It was very very empty, and I personally do miss it, but have no need to get on it now that there's nothing social going on, and I have a choice as to whether I go to the office.

I miss public transport mostly for my DS4, as he's obsessed with all modes of public transport. DS used to go out on buses, tubes, trains and even to the airport with his DGD. COVID has put a stop to all that as DGD is over 70, and none of us want to take the risk. 8 months later DS still asks about when he and DGD can go out on their adventures again.

I hated public transport before but now I feel it’s downright dangerous. I go everywhere in the car and if the only option was public transport I’d just stay at home. My mother doesn’t have a car so she’s relying on lifts from me at present, if I can’t pick her up she walks. It would take a pretty major shift (like a vaccine) for either of us to ever get on a bus again.

Learnt to ride a motorcycle so wouldn’t have to use public transport. Crashed and broke my ankle

I'm disabled so I can't drive or cycle. I have a disability Freedom Pass so tube and bus travel is free for me in London. I stopped using public transport during March - May but since June I've been using it whenever I need to. My disability doesn't make me especially vulnerable to Covid so I'm not fearful about getting infected, although I've worn a mask on public transport since it was made a legal requirement.

I'm using the tube and Overground mostly now, about 6 times a week, always off-peak, for leisure/early education purposes. I'm using it to take my toddler to parks and nature reserves during this lockdown for exercise and recreation. I don't use buses much since capacity is monitored and I usually have a pushchair, so no guarantee that I'll be able to get on, whereas tubes are mostly empty and even if they aren't, I know I won't be forced to wait ages for the next one. But I always preferred using tubes to buses pre-covid anyway. Buses are much slower nowadays due to all the Low Traffic schemes.

I've taken a handful of long train journeys on holidays and day trips since July and that's been fine. I've enjoyed the extra space and not having to worry about a stranger sitting next to me (not concerned about catching anything, I just like having two seats to myself ).

Pre pandemic I was spending £5,000 a year commuting into London. My last journey was on 16 March when I travelled home in a full train for an hour in front of a persistent cougher. Lost taste and smell a few days later.

I do wonder how our public transport will be paid for though, given the expected drop off in users. General taxation? (wales has just done this for in-wales trains) - would cost a lot for the inter city trains.

I was annoyed by the Deutsche bank report published last week suggesting that people who work from home should be taxed (I think it was something like 7% of income) to fund essential services. After 10 years of spending 20+% of my taxed income just getting to work, I was looking forward to a future of not having to do this quite so often (assuming my job survives - careful what you wish for etc).

But I do wonder what will happen to fares next year. Either they will skyrocket (but already far higher than rest of Europe), or services will be drastically cut, or else the taxpayer will have to massively increase their contribution, on top of everything else. Tricky times.

Everyone else being fearful of public transport does make it nicer for users at the moment though. My DD used an intercity coach to travel to visit me just before this lockdown and she was the only person on the top deck, with lots of circulating air conditioning. With a mask she felt safe. Totally unsustainable though.

Of course even though I don’t want to commute anymore, I still want the theatres, museums etc to be there ready for when I want to visit, which is also a bit unsustainable!

In London commuting on tube and train is now a joy. It has been shown to be pretty covid-free too now. If it goes back to how it was before (jam-packed) I don't think I'll be able to commute anymore.

Yes. I’d use public transport weekly, either the bus or train for a shopping trip, but haven’t done so since early March.

I don’t drive as I’ve always lived somewhere with good transport links so feel a bit trapped so I’ve decided that once we have more normality I’m going to have driving lessons.
I would’ve started a few months ago but didn’t want to be in the situation we’re now in again where lessons have had to be stopped, I want a clear run at it.

I normally get the train to work and can't wait to get back to it. It's so much nicer to sit with a coffee and an audio book than fight the traffic and the journey is much quicker too.

It's just not practical at the moment though due to the train company running a reduced timetable at peak times ( )

No. My railcard hasn't been used since March. Our buses and trains rarely seem to have more than one or two people on them these days (rural area).

I am now working from home so the car only gets used for shopping or if we want to walk elsewhere.

I still have to use the train and tube to get to work, and it's much more pleasant now as hardly anyone's on it. I get a seat!

i have used the train once,
i have to put my car in for mot today and could use the bus to get to work, but dont want to due to the fear of covid.
i worry that my car wil not work and i dont know how to get to work,
i have asked DH to drive me!

We bought a car after the first lockdown, the fist time in 10 years we’ve wanted one.

I’ve had lots of medical appointments in central London and mostly caught Uber. Mask compliance on buses is very low around where I live, if it’s worn then usually won’t be covering the nose.

Previously caught the tube/bus/train everywhere and rarely got taxis. I’ve been wfh since March as has my husband.

I am a shift-working keyworker who can't drive, so have continued to get the bus a few times each week since March. It is very variable how 'covid-safe' it feels. Some days it is very quiet and everyone spaces out and most people wear masks, some days it is very busy and few people wear masks, some days I am the only person on the bus and someone else gets on and sits right by me despite the entire empty bus. I also once in the summer got a train for a journey of about 45mins to see my grandma who had had a fall and needed someone there in the day. That was very busy.

I live a walk away from main workplace. No car. Central London.
I was a daily user of buses hopping on and off for social/shopping reasons. A weekly user of longer commuter trains. A monthly user of long distance trains. A weekly user of the tube. A weekly user of booked taxis.
A monthly user of river boats. Since March I have not been on any form of public transport and have used a taxi only once.

I miss it all - not only for the social stuff I’m no longer doing but also just the ability to travel and feel flexible.

When I see buses with many wearing masks around their chin or not at all I know I won’t be using them for a long time to come.

I’m only using the bus for commuting to work, I don’t take dd on the bus anymore or on our adventures further afield on the train. I miss it greatly if I think about it too much.

I have noticed I get far more contact warnings than DP on the covid app. I’m presuming that’s down to the bus (which I catch from a bus station so lots of people) although I do go past a couple of priority post boxes on my walk to and from the bus so could be having some brushes there too.