I went to Ipswich today in a quest to finally get on 32656. I succeeded and now I don't have to go to Ipswich again until something else happens which suits me just fine. Anyway my day started with me having to get our ridiculous excuse for a service bus into Saxmundham. I live on an A road and honestly it's a joke when other companies are forced to provide wheelchair/buggy space on buses by the same council who think this is an acceptable bus service. Better than nothing but since there is no afternoon return service not much.
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| Open your own door if you have the strength. |
You would have thought after that things could only get better. No such luck. Turning up for my 80 min journey into Ipswich was none other than the luxuriously upholstered Scania 65675. Honestly the E.U. come up with crazy laws just to justify their existence but as yet no one has decreed a minimum amount of seat padding on buses! Criminal. I took a pic of it but those seats are so awful it doesn't warrant a place on a prestigious blog such as this!
So to Ipswich and at last luck changed. 32655 was on the 1215 to Felixstowe and I worked out I had time to jump on her for 20 mins and get back in time for 32656's regular 1300 departure on the 68. And so I did and got on both of them in the space of 45 mins. Verdict? Both of them rattled more than the 53 plate versions Ipswich have got, which can only lead me to conclude that the X2 is tougher on buses than the 66 in Ipswich!
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| 32655 AU05 MUY about to load up at Old Cattle Market |
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| 32656 AU05 MVA in a cloudburst in Ipswich. Apologies for quality |
The unusual 68 route, which exists solely to replace a very short section of route vacated by the former Anglian route 165, got me back in time to jump on another imported ALX400 in ex Norwich 32479 back to Wickham Market. Was hoping it would be 32653 to complete the set but not to be. Tomorrow I'm back out 33423 hunting so hopefully a positive post and pics tomorrow.
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| 32479 AU53 KJV about to board for Saxmundham |
Just wondering how many customers were on your local "service bus"? But never mind, in the modern blame culture you can blame all those useless old people who can't look after themselves for taking all the money that belongs to those pensioners than can look after themselves. And how much did you pay for your fare on the day? Just how much subsidy do you think you're entitled to from the rest of us? But I'm sure you can find some Lord or another, and there's always the Labour government of course, to blame! And it's not criminal.
ReplyDeleteI just wonder how many people still know it exists. There were two others, both old ladies with shopping trollies, and one of those got on at a point served by the 521 as well. Basically on that bus I can go to Saxmundham for two and a half hours and come home. It doesn't connect well with any other service and the absence of a later return journey makes me wonder what the point of it actually is.
ReplyDeleteAs for subsidy I quite agree. If I was ploughing money into a bus service I would want people to use it. Therefore not only would I publicise it so people knew about it, but I would design the service so that it served a purpose and enticed people onto it. This bus is not doing that - there isn't a single timetable in my village for a start, and you're not exactly going to get the mums clamouring to get on it if they have to open their own door and fold the buggies up.
I don't blame the Labour government in the slightest either. Yes they caused the mess that had to be sorted out by hitting the poorest in society, and creating more poor in the process, but it was the Conservative government in the 80's who decided that Public Transport needed to become a profit making Private Transport. That means if I want to get from here to Lowestoft for example by service bus, which takes about 35 mins in the car, it would take 4hrs 52 mins, involve 3 buses with 3 different companies paying 3 separate fares. I am going to try and find out how long the same journey would have taken in 1985 and we'll see just how much progress has been made over the last 30 years.