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Saturday 5 July 2014

Change Of Focus

Over the last couple of weeks I have become increasingly disillusioned and depressed with the whole blogging scene in this region. The petty squabbling, accusations, possessiveness and unfairness has left me wondering if I want to carry on with this. So as from now I'm going back to how I started this blog - ie reporting my traveling experiences and own opinions and views on the public transport system as a whole.

I will not be joining in the clamour for news, or using the word "exclusive" just to have a dig at another blog. As from now I couldn't care less if a vehicle has a new advert, or a panel replaced, or if it is seen a nanometre off route. I will not be tweeting management every 5 minutes wanting to know when something is coming back from repaint, or transferred, or anything else. If I hear news I will report it. I will report news I see on other blogs,but not for at least 24 hours after that blog has reported it. I will not use, or even ask to use other blog's pics. I will go out and take my own and of course will happily publish any sent to me, as I will any news anyone cares to give me - so if you don't want it published don't tell me not to then publish it yourself.

Over the next few days I'll be reporting on my trip to Scotland this week. The couple of days in Edinburgh brought some hard truths home to me - the first being just how uttely awful the public transport system is in East Anglia. Now I know Edinburgh is a big city, with a population of 495,000. However according to the Norwich City Council website there are 376,000 people in the Norwich Travel To Work area, yet the public transport couldn't be more different. I walked to Waverley Station at 6am on Thursday and I lost count at the number of buses I saw. I walked back at 0030 that evening and lost count at the number of night buses I saw. There is now a tram system, of which more in a future post. A day ticket covering both buses and trams (except airport) is £3.50 - exactly half that of an Anglian day ticket and how many Anglian routes can you get on after 7pm or at 6am. How many First services in Norwich run to midnight? In Edinburgh they clearly want people to use public transport so they make it convenient, reliable, cheap and accessivble. Here they can't even sort the lights out in Lowestoft and seem happy to see buses running half hour late.

So boys - young and old - you can have the news and argue over who is first with a pic. I simply can't be bothered anymore with that, so will concentrate on reporting my own experiences and attempt to do my bit to nudge the powers that be into improving the system here for everyone.

18 comments:

  1. Good on you Steve, keep to your routes, keep your individuality. That's how I've always worked and that's how I plan to remain for the future. I look forward to reading some of your future posts!

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  2. Cheers, Tom - that was just what I needed to hear and I'm looking forward to posting about Scotland and Edinburgh particular over the next few days.

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  3. Well said Steve - I know where you are coming from. Just do your own thing and don't worry about others. I have the same attitude

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  4. Thanks, Roy - we must have a chinwag sometime this week!

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  5. Hear hear I tend to think pictures and news will happen no need to break your back to get them as most of mine are just being there at the oppurtune moment as Wolfie would say "power to the people"!!

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  6. Very well said Steve, it ruins blogging and the whole bus enthusiast hobby as a whole all that pettyness, does it really matter what blog publishes news first.

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  7. isn't this post about you having a go at other blogs rather petty in itself?

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    1. Possibly, but no one's perfect and I'm not hiding behind the cloak of anonymity to make myself heard. Bet you thought I'd delete your comment too!

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  8. Keep up the good work Steve, much more interesting to read about experiences, observations, options and ideas

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  9. Thanks, Richard - much appreciated.

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  10. Yep, I'm always surprised at how neglected East Anglia is. Too often we get "thankful for small mercies" because that's all we have, so a bit of anger does no harm. And the rest of the country view us as miserable and petty. Sadly I don't think they're wrong. We shouldn't put up with it. The bus and rail co's are as good a place as any to start. Raise your game; and stop treating us like children.

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  11. Let me try and start a debate. Everywhere in this country isn't the same. East Anglia needs local solutions that work for us, not to try and fit into a straightjacket designed for the conurbations. And that's a comment to the multitude of regulators as much as, perhaps even more than, the operators. We need commitment, not rules. The rule book is not a master. The passengers and the drivers (I don't forget the engineers, either) are the people who matter, everyone else in or around the industry is a servant not a master. There are far too many people sucking the lifeblood out of this industry. I'm fed up with lawyers (I was one of them once) and bureaucrats telling the public what they want, and feeding their egos. They don't know. And unless they get down to our level, they'll never know. A press release and well choreographed consultation is not the answer to anything. Nor is waving a big stick. This is a difficult area to make public transport work - we need the best brains and they need the support. The passengers are up for it, is anyone else? You can do better, and you need to. In actions we can see, not by soothing words like some mummy.

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  12. Completely agree with you. At the end of the day, we're all enthusiasts, everyone should be working as one towards the same cause, not trying to get one up on each other, or acting like kids etc.

    The amount of blogs, Facebook pages, websites and such in the East Midlands now is ridiculous, and the attitude of some enthusiasts in general have made me become disillusioned me with whole hobby. Some of the things I know of in the Nottingham area involve serious threats being placed by one particular because they don't like other enthusiasts in general.
    Closer to myself, I've been on the receiving end of pretty horrible, bullying messages from people who can't seem to accept that sometimes, they are wrong, and they don't want to listen to what others have to say. (Or, perhaps just can't accept I've seen something they haven't!)

    I understand the age of those in the hobby has to get younger to keep it going - I'm only 19 myself - but the age in which those within act has to remain high. The actions of a few can affect us all, and that could have consequences greater than some realise.

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  13. If one blogger pesters management too much then it will have a knock on effect on everyone else. It's a shame but that's the way it is. One blog tonight has declared they are intent on gathering news like the newpapers and getting it out first. That is going to make it impossible for anyone else to get info from his particular area which is rather sad really.

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  14. Well said Steve. Please keep up with the good work. Yours is the second blog I visit every day - I have to admit that the first is Roy's East Norfolk Blog (and that's because it features my former home town).

    It's no coincidence that neither of you are "spring chickens" (and that I like to read decent English).

    Mick Capon,
    North Carolina
    USA

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  15. Mick that was a really nice comment and since I bow down to Roy at ENBB myself it is only right he is first! I'm not sure though that someone called Capon should be talking about spring chickens. It's great to meet one of my overseas readers and I'm really pleased you enjoy the blog :)

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  16. Just to jump on to proceedings a little here, I'd like to add the following:

    Steve, please keep up with the good work. Not only because of the content, but because I just love your writing style. Through the wonders of being able to read you on my mobile you've had me giggling uncontrollably, several times, in places far more public than I'd care to admit :D

    With regards to the public transport system, such as it is, here in East Anglia - I completely agree, although I shudder to think what First's Norwich fleet would be like running services round the clock. Overall though, in my humble opinion, you've answered your own question as to why; "In Edinburgh they clearly want people to use public transport" which pretty much says it all, although it probably does help a little having an award winning bus company in the area.

    As for SCC's blasé attitude towards Lowestoft's road network... well... to keep it clean I'm probably just as well leaving it there really.

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  17. Steve, Couldn't agree more. There has always been a "me first" attitude in the hobby but blogging is the new way of getting one over on others. I much prefer impartial blogs which read like articles rather than little news snippets boasting exclusives and stuff which is already well known. Also agree its harder to find out genuine gen when you have these persistent pesterers!!!

    Oh I saw a First bus today in Woodbridge, shall I start a blog? :)

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