Buses

I think I'll start this off with an anecdote. Picture the scene at 6pm at Woking. I've just had an afternoon of shorthand at university (death by squiggles), have had to walk back to the station in the rain, spent 20 minutes on a train looking out into the gloomy, depressive weather outside and have just walked to the bus station expecting a bus to take me home in about 5 minutes.

So I wait...

And wait...

And wait...

And wait...

It's now 6:20pm and I still haven't been able to get on a bus that should have been at Woking about 15 minutes ago. I asked a bus driver where the bus was and he said, in craptacular English, "I don't know."

So, I've spent 20 minutes in the rain (that, may I add, got worse and worse as time went on) waiting for something to take my home and that is your best excuse?

Buses are the sinners of public transport. In the last year, only half of my buses have actually managed to come on time. Why? Because the drivers are either overpaid, fat, lazy, foreigners with no grasp of the English language, a combination of the above or all four. Forget complaining about trains - they are actually fucking reliable! Why should I pay £4 for a return ticket for such shoddy service?

My girlfriend also had a bad experience with buses late last year. She didn't want to cycle back home in the rubbish weather, but instead wanted to take the bike with her on a bus back. The previous times she has done this, it was fine. But the driver on this one occassion decided that he wanted to go on a power trip, and deny her from going on the bus.

What's even more staggering about this is that this is not breaking the code of conduct! It quite clearly says in the Arriva Conditions of Carriage document, on page 4, that it is up to the driver's discretion to allow someone on a bus with a bike. I understand that it would not be acceptable to take a bike on a very crowded bus but that rule is set in stone and something that drivers take advantage of far too easily.