buses are wicked

[gracious]

That's 7 miles in just under an hour. That's not really 'motoring' in my book

7 miles from south east london to north west london in rush hour, actually you cant do that journey in less than about 30 mins even when in a car and not in rush hour, too many traffic lights and junctions and stopping and starting

 

[Donna Ferentes]

The buses in Durham and Newcastle are excellent.

Do they still have the annoying habit of leaving stops one or two minutes before the time scheduled in the timetable?

 

[chio]

Where I live the service is pretty good - a bus into the city centre every five minutes or so in the day. It's just a shame that most of the city routes are operated by Shitecoach. Their buses are almost without exception older, tattier, less reliable, less clean and less well driven than those operated by East Yorkshire Motor Services.

But Stagecoach buses in Manchester, management aside, always look squeaky-clean and brand new compared with Cheshire's dismal ancient Arriva buses. Our 38 route only has two vehicles, one of which makes the most infernal squealing noise when it goes over about 30mph. £3 for a single ticket to Crewe now, too - it's a good job I don't need to go there any more! Having said that, there's no bus to Stoke at all owing to it being over... shock horror... a county boundary. Words fail me. Do they really think we only want to go to such well-known places within Cheshire like Goostrey, Haslington and Gawsworth rather than the large city that is a focal point for work and entertainment but happens to be in Staffordshire?

(I really need to get a car.)

 

[Roadkill]

Arriva, First, Shitecoach ... all much of a muchness IME and all shite. We're lucky to have EYMS. At least they do actually provide a half-decent service - and nice, new buses.

 

[timebomb]

Arriva, First, Shitecoach ... all much of a muchness IME and all shite. We're lucky to have EYMS. At least they do actually provide a half-decent service.

For how much longer......have Stagecoach not tried their usual tactic of running at a loss to drive them out of business yet.

 

[Roadkill]

For how much longer......have Stagecoach not tried their usual tactic of running at a loss to drive them out of business yet.

Tried and failed, as far as I know.

They're not really in direct competition any more, since Stagecoach cherrypicked all the profitable inner city routes: EYMS mainly does the subsidised rural services, although it does have one or two busy suburban runs.

 

[timebomb]

Tried and failed, as far as I know.

They're not really in direct competition any more, since Stagecoach cherrypicked all the profitable inner city routes: EYMS mainly does the subsidised rural services, although it does have one or two busy suburban runs.

Cool...... amazing website too with pictures and details of their fleet, they seem to be "bus people" not just "profit people".

 

[Roadkill]

Cool...... amazing website too with pictures and details of their fleet, they seem to be "bus people" not just "profit people".

Their website's a proper bus-spotter's paradise, isn't it?

They're an old firm - been around since the 1920s, became part oft he National Bus Company after the war, and then turned back into an independent operator after deregulation in the '80s. Unlike some, they've made a good job of it.

 

[jonH]

remember the old conductors and conductoresses?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Do they do that double decker bus that goes from Leeds to Scarborough? I've been on that a couple of times.

 

[Roadkill]

Do they do that double decker bus that goes from Leeds to Scarborough? I've been on that a couple of times.

I doubt it. I don't think they go as far as Leeds. Certainly the Leeds-Hull service is Stagecoach.

I did consider applying to EYMS last year, actually, when my scholarship expired and they were advertising for trainee drivers. They're said to be a much better firm to work for than Stagecoach, and certainly, whenever there's a strike on the buses here it's always Stagecoach staff protesting - rightly - about shite pay and conditions. Two things put me off it. Firstly, the drugs test ( ), and secondly the fact that if you leave within two years (which I probably would) they expect you to pay back part of your training costs.

 

[Poi E]

Odd incident on the bus into town this morning.

We'd just come over a junction, when an alarm started going off. I thought it was a car alarm in the street, but then the driver pulled in and switched the engine off. I heard him say, 'It'll start again in a minute.' We sat there for a few minutes, listening to him fiddling with the controls and the odd bleeping noise coming from somewhere. he tried to start it once or twice, and it wouldn't. Then after a few minutes it started again and off we went. Then the driver realised he didn't know where he was going and had to get directions off a passenger.



Needless to say, that was another Stagecoach bus...

engine management system error.

 

[Roadkill]

engine management system error.

Coupled with a driver who didn't know his way around Hull city centre...

 

[Poi E]

Coupled with a driver who didn't know his way around Hull city centre...

Driver management system error too.

 

[DG55]

"If your walking down the street and see a crazy person, and wonder how they got there; its probably by bus"

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Nutters and buses

 

[Spion]

7 miles from south east london to north west london in rush hour, actually you cant do that journey in less than about 30 mins even when in a car and not in rush hour, too many traffic lights and junctions and stopping and starting

I woulda thought car was even slower than the bus, which has access to bus lanes. I guess motorbike must be the quickest way to do that journey, tho life expectancy would take a knock

 

[Rocket Romano]

Do they still have the annoying habit of leaving stops one or two minutes before the time scheduled in the timetable?

Not so much Stagecoach and Arriva but the Go Ahead buses still do. If its particularly bad traffic they often go out of service and don't pick anyone up or just terminate at Gateshead.

 

[WasGeri]

Buses in Bristol are the pits. I had to get the bus home the other day and everyone on it was either weird, or smelly, or both.

 

[on_the_fly]

Buses in Bristol are the pits. I had to get the bus home the other day and everyone on it was either weird, or smelly, or both.

2nd that.

all insane drivers driving at you @ 2x speed limit or at 1mph !

 

[gracious]

I guess motorbike must be the quickest way to do that journey

well yeah. i used to commute from croydon to chiswick by motorcycle. whole thing in an hour.... and boy did you arrive at work WIDE AWAKE...

still, like you say, brings your life expectancy down to around the level of a pizza delivery boy. i.e. not very long at all

i actually quite often have a kip on the bus, no chance of that on a bike!

 

[oneflewover]

Do they do that double decker bus that goes from Leeds to Scarborough? I've been on that a couple of times.

No but they have nice buses aswell Yorkshire Coastliner

During the summer we had a relaxing day out, train to Malton, bus to Pickering, Steam train to Whitby, bus to Scarborough via Robin Hoods bay and train back to Leeds.

In East Leeds we do Ok for buses with Arriva and First. First timekeeping though is diabolical.

 

[crass_kitten]

I can't agree with you there. I have to take a pram onto public transport and as most buses don't have sufficiant pram space, trains win, hands down. Well i'm only speaking about the Leeds/bradford area, other bus services might be more upto date.