Lets all do a bit of belly aching

[Marco]

Mate, could you please add your proper first name and location to your profile? Themz the rules. Ta

Marco.

[dave2010]

I wonder about travelling on any sort of public transport and the inherent problem of contracting any bugs, germs, infections etc. that may be around?

...

I’ll sit in my controlled safe space travelling where and when I want through filtered, air conditioned bliss.

This seems like an "I'm alright, Jack" approach. Having said (or at least written) that, I'm in a not dissimilar situation. I suspect where you are, which is an area I know a little, there aren't too many buses in any case, so you may "have an excuse ...". There's nowhere I can realistically get to by bus now without at least a 4 mile walk or cycle ride, though we can go via train and bus to Edinburgh or Glasgow - once we have got to the station which is about 4 miles away. Being ancient and decrepit, we can go on the bus for free - though I'not sure we actually should have it as a freebie, but there it is. In fact, one of the buses actually has a biscuit, choc bar, and tea and coffee service, and when I asked about paying, I was told it was included in the "price". However we do pay council tax.

I'm sceptical about work - always have been. There was a study/analysis done many years ago - I think by someone called Dreyfus, which suggested that only about 10% of a society actually needed to work in order to provide essential services. I suspect the proportion is lower now - with automation, and currently (until the oil runs out) use of considerable amounts of energy.

Actually work does provide a social function, which is OK, and I have nothing against that, but the idea that people "have to get to work" is rubbish. They do "have to" because our society in the UK "makes" them. If we were more chilled out then it would not be the social imperative which it seems to be.
A lot of this is perhaps because "the State" doesn't want people doing nothing, and causing trouble. Also, if a significant part of the population are bogged down in traffic jams, and filling their time away from home each day, apart from keeping them more or less sane, it does reduce the opportunities for those people to cause other problems - apart from ruining the environment and increasing the CO2 equivalent releases into the atmosphere.

Cities are OK when they work well, and transport within them can be really good. Unfortunately not too many cities are like that now. London is totally clogged up, so it would be stupid to drive anywhere within 10-15 miles of it. Some other cities, such as Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield got trashed by Mrs T's dislike of public transport, which led to changes in fare structures, so people now don't travel on buses, but it actually takes longer to get anywhere than it did 50 years ago.

[Pigmy Pony]

Lol... Is it really that bad in buses where you are? Last time I was on one (an Arriva bus from Wrexham to Chester) it was spotlessly clean, well lit, had sockets to plug in laptops, etc, and free Wi-Fi, much like trains, and pretty comfortable - and the people on them were either listening to music on their earbuds, on their phones, or just sitting in silence minding their own business.

What you're describing must be a Chorley thing - there are some foul-mouthed, mucky pups up there!

Marco.

You perhaps just timed it right - people going back home to Chester, rather than Wrexham folk on a day out. Chorley is probably a bit like Wrexham, but with more hills and accents you can follow

[Stryder5]

This seems like an "I'm alright, Jack" approach. Having said (or at least written) that, I'm in a not dissimilar situation. I suspect where you are, which is an area I know a little, there aren't too many buses in any case, so you may "have an excuse ...". There's nowhere I can realistically get to by bus now without at least a 4 mile walk or cycle ride, though we can go via train and bus to Edinburgh or Glasgow - once we have got to the station which is about 4 miles away. Being ancient and decrepit, we can go on the bus for free - though I'not sure we actually should have it as a freebie, but there it is. In fact, one of the buses actually has a biscuit, choc bar, and tea and coffee service, and when I asked about paying, I was told it was included in the "price". However we do pay council tax.

I'm sceptical about work - always have been. There was a study/analysis done many years ago - I think by someone called Dreyfus, which suggested that only about 10% of a society actually needed to work in order to provide essential services. I suspect the proportion is lower now - with automation, and currently (until the oil runs out) use of considerable amounts of energy.

Actually work does provide a social function, which is OK, and I have nothing against that, but the idea that people "have to get to work" is rubbish. They do "have to" because our society in the UK "makes" them. If we were more chilled out then it would not be the social imperative which it seems to be.
A lot of this is perhaps because "the State" doesn't want people doing nothing, and causing trouble. Also, if a significant part of the population are bogged down in traffic jams, and filling their time away from home each day, apart from keeping them more or less sane, it does reduce the opportunities for those people to cause other problems - apart from ruining the environment and increasing the CO2 equivalent releases into the atmosphere.

Cities are OK when they work well, and transport within them can be really good. Unfortunately not too many cities are like that now. London is totally clogged up, so it would be stupid to drive anywhere within 10-15 miles of it. Some other cities, such as Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield got trashed by Mrs T's dislike of public transport, which led to changes in fare structures, so people now don't travel on buses, but it actually takes longer to get anywhere than it did 50 years ago.

I don’t need or want an excuse, it’s my thought and my choice, I welcome any other views. I do think that fair is fair and various authorities are taking the piss. The older I get the more I don’t accept phrases such as “ we’ll do a lessons learnt”, although nobody is responsible. NHS “The population is getting older” shit makes my blood boil, it’s a management responsibility, if you can’t make simple decisions and see trends piss off and do a job your capable of.

I’ll mention again various organisations don’t need money thrown at them. If your processes and systems are ancient and about to suffer catastrophic failure get off the pot.

I’m ranting, the unfairness of stuff gets to me.

Gary

[Made in 1968]

The whole transport sytem is run wrong imho, I was thinking about trains the other day, people say it was worse when it was nationalised, i spent a hell of a lot of time on the railways when i was a yound lad, being into trains i dont seem to recall as many issues as i do with privatised rail service.. Watching TV the other day it looks like re nationalisation maybe one of the cards on the table, however i have noticed the old two arrows signs of the old British Rail being used again..

[Pigmy Pony]

They've diminished in numbers now, but still dotted around for men of a certain persuasion to indulge in the hobby of 'cottaging':



If you're interested, I believe that Piggurs has the map of all current locations, and a nice raincoat you can borrow

Marco.

I do indeed have a map, but it may not be any use - none of the place names make any sense I mean where the hell's "Clwyd", is that even a real name?

[Stryder5]

The whole transport sytem is run wrong imho, I was thinking about trains the other day, people say it was worse when it was nationalised, i spent a hell of a lot of time on the railways when i was a yound lad, being into trains i dont seem to recall as many issues as i do with privatised rail service.. Watching TV the other day it looks like re nationalisation maybe one of the cards on the table, however i have noticed the old two arrows signs of the old British Rail being used again..

HS2 needs to publish fares as it’s just a sop for Government to say we have high speed trains. We can then compare say France’s TGV fares, Paris to Tours some 200 kilometres can be as low as 16€. I’ll bet us minions won’t be able to afford to travel on HS2.

Gary

[Barry]

HS2 needs to publish fares as it’s just a sop for Government to say we have high speed trains. We can then compare say France’s TGV fares, Paris to Tours some 200 kilometres can be as low as 16€. I’ll bet us minions won’t be able to afford to travel on HS2.

Gary

The Paris Metro is certainly cheaper than the London Underground.

[Made in 1968]

HS2 i too risky financially, our routes & tracks need upgrading but its not about the rolling stock with this country because the HST was the best thing British rail introduced & its still running without problems for nearly 45 years, well apart from the odd issue like Axle Box fracture which was quickly sorted. The APT however was axed, it lasted about 5 years ish even though it has flashy things like tilting suspension & Hydrokenetic braking which was just trouble waiting to happen, HST was far simpler .. The reason they got shut of the APT & kept the HST due to costs.. Whats changes to say this country seems to be in dire straits.

Stop wasting money & just maintain & upgrade the whole network & its running i say. If the trains were efficiently run, with more Rolling stock per service it would be ok cos everytime you see moaning on the TV its about cramped condition, not enough seats, prices going up, delays.. ffks the prices will certainly go up to cover 32 Mill..

tbh i dont think i would want to be on a train travelling that at 250mph, not that i ever think it will reach that

[Made in 1968]

Watching the news today, Looks like this might be getting scrapped..