I have't owned a car for almost 20years. I could afford one but choose for various reasons, cost, the environment, not liking driving, living in Londonnot to. So in effect public transport is my car. So I am keen for it to improve, not only to make my life better but also to encourage car users to use it. Here's some ideas prompted by a train journey to brum.
1. We all know the usual gripes about people on buses etc ie playing music on phones and eating horrible smelling food. (how does this happen a Chinese smells lush when you are eating it, but on the crowded 353 it turns your stomach) so these need to go.
2, On trains loose the annoying announcements.
3. On virgin trains can we loose the joint window blinds. Yesterday an annoying bloke in front took it upon himself to plunge us all into the darkness without asking, he then pushed the blind up and down as we went into cuttings etc and it got darker. I appraised him of this annoyance and he then tried to claim the blind was doing it by its self! so Mr Branston loose the blinds.
4. After i spent £100 on ticket could the train companies please check it at least once.
5. 4 or 5 times recently the train companies I have been travelling with haven't put the seat reservation so what happens, the train pulls in 2 minutes before it due to depart (another annoying trend) and 300 people have to fight for seats.
6.More trains the way the government set up of rail, encourages the train companies to lease fewer trains so we get over crowding. The 6.30am commuter train yesterday from New Cross was so crowded people had to force themselves onto it. Weekends are no better.
7. why didn't my oyster work in Brum. Oyster should be countrywide on all transport, including the merseyferry and those cliff lifts at Scarborough.
8. close Bagelmania horrible bread dreadful coffee.
9. open WH Smiths to competition it's rubbish.
1. We all know the usual gripes about people on buses etc ie playing music on phones and eating horrible smelling food. (how does this happen a Chinese smells lush when you are eating it, but on the crowded 353 it turns your stomach) so these need to go.
2, On trains loose the annoying announcements.
3. On virgin trains can we loose the joint window blinds. Yesterday an annoying bloke in front took it upon himself to plunge us all into the darkness without asking, he then pushed the blind up and down as we went into cuttings etc and it got darker. I appraised him of this annoyance and he then tried to claim the blind was doing it by its self! so Mr Branston loose the blinds.
4. After i spent £100 on ticket could the train companies please check it at least once.
5. 4 or 5 times recently the train companies I have been travelling with haven't put the seat reservation so what happens, the train pulls in 2 minutes before it due to depart (another annoying trend) and 300 people have to fight for seats.
6.More trains the way the government set up of rail, encourages the train companies to lease fewer trains so we get over crowding. The 6.30am commuter train yesterday from New Cross was so crowded people had to force themselves onto it. Weekends are no better.
7. why didn't my oyster work in Brum. Oyster should be countrywide on all transport, including the merseyferry and those cliff lifts at Scarborough.
8. close Bagelmania horrible bread dreadful coffee.
9. open WH Smiths to competition it's rubbish.
2 comments:
Agree with all of those - but had somewhat better experiences on the West coast line (also Virgin) which I've travelled a bit more recently than to/from London, including the guards (sorry, 'train managers') actively finding people seats and telling people to shift their bags off seats so people can sit down. Still, Virgin has I think lost the franchise to both routes, so can we expect better services and cheaper fares? Apparently not - the government is reducing the subsidies...
It's bizarre - only £5.50 to travel on all the buses and trains all day in the West Midlands, but to travel the same distance from one city to another and it's 10X the amount or more. There's a lot said about climate change but so far not much done...
Anyway, what did you think of Brum?
Ban Metro for all but the criminally insane. Buy a real newspaper, you ridiculous buggers
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