Evil Bus Companies

"Mark Thompson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I would

save

Quoted message said:

on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a weekly pass for my
bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK! Whatever happened to
inflation?!?

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Mark.

Just treat yourself now and again, by cycling past the queues at
the bus stop. All those happy smiling faces.

Now you're on a bike, you may have found a quicker route, and so its
easy to forget.

Curious

Soup popped his head over the parapet,saw what was going on and said

Quoted message said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I
would save on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a
weekly pass for my bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK!
Whatever happened to inflation?!?

Where do you live that a pass is only two pounds a week
around here it is (pass with the most discount) 98p a day.

--
Yours S. addy not usable (not that you would try it) ( )
Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite / \

Quoted message said:

Where do you live that a pass is only two pounds a week
around here it is (pass with the most discount) 98p a day.

Wilmslow/Oxford Road route into central Manchester. Buses every 30
seconds, run 'til at least 4am in the morning (well, that's the latest I've
caught a bus anyway) but I did have to wait a good fifteen minutes when I
used it.

Soup popped his head over the parapet,saw what was going on and said

Quoted message said:

Buses every 30 seconds, run 'til at least 4am in the morning

Spoilt rotten. rofl

--
Yours S. addy not usable (not that you would try it) ( )
Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite / \

Mark Thompson said:

Wilmslow/Oxford Road route into central Manchester. Buses every 30
seconds, run 'til at least 4am in the morning (well, that's the latest I've
caught a bus anyway) but I did have to wait a good fifteen minutes when I
used it.

mutter mutter bloomin buses for bloomin students how many bloomin
number 42 buses do they need and how long do I have to stand at this
bus stop till a bus that isn't going to Owen's Park comes along grr
mutter
--

email = audmad aaatttt hhhottt mmmaailll dddoottt ccccoommm

Mark Thompson said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I would save
on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a weekly pass for my
bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK! Whatever happened to
inflation?!?

On the plus side my legs have got to the stage where female friends have
started commenting on them so maybe I've discovered a replacement
motivation.

The most important motivation (all the extra exercise enables me to eat
more pies, cakes, chocolate, ice cream etc) is of course still there so
I'll definately still be riding.

All I can say is that you have an outrageously cheap bus service.
Round here a month pass on one company alone is 46ukp (OK, it does
cover two cities and the bits in between). Day passes are 3.90 ukp or
5ukp for an all-companies day card.

I'm exceedingly jealous of your later post saying that buses run until
0400. In south hampshire we must be expected to have a lot of early
nights; the buses tend to dry up after 1830. I suppose I am in the
sticks a bit, though.

However, it's still cheap as chips compared to running a car.
Incidentally, since getting rid of the car in Feb, I'm better off to
the tune of 1,300 ukp. That's after I've shelled out for buses, taxis
and trains and includes all of 26 miles on a bike.

Doesn't include 330ukp for a new bike, though. Shopping logic means
that I have actually *saved* money by not buying a Thorn Raven (which
I'll get later, anyway) and, therefore, no real costs need be
reflected in the domestic accounts.

Not Responding' of said:

Mark Thompson said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I would save
on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a weekly pass for my
bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK! Whatever happened to
inflation?!?

Quoted message said:

All I can say is that you have an outrageously cheap bus service.

And so do I, living on the same bus route. It is (allegedly) the most
frequent and most heavily used bus route in Western Europe.

Quoted message said:

I'm exceedingly jealous of your later post saying that buses run until
0400.

Actually I don't think they stop at all - I've caught one at 5 am to get an
early train.

Stick with the not sitting in queues and getting there faster motivations.
I'm one of the slowest cyclists ever, averaging under 10mph usually, but
even I can beat the bus into or out of Manchester from Didsbury. And today
even at 3pm on Sunday afternoon there was a half mile slow moving queue
leaving the city centre.
--
Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are. Quentin Crisp
Steph Peters delete invalid from [email hidden]
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

"Mark Thompson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I would

save

Quoted message said:

on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a weekly pass for my
bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK! Whatever happened to
inflation?!?

Mark.

Nothing to do with inflation, just deregulation and "fair" competition.

Along the Oxford/Wilmslow Road corridor, there is a plentiful market and
numerous companies, all competing with each other to increase market share.

Stagecoach, Magic Bus (ex-GM Stagecoach), R. Bullock's, Fingland's, U.K.
North all compete on the 42, and competition is healthy, resulting in lower
prices for the customer.

I think this is the only place in the UK where the "ideal" deregulated
market actually works. You can wait for a bus at 01:00am and four will turn
up (at the same time of course) to choose from.

Of course, it'd be far better if GM Buses was still running the show, they'd
be able to run non-stop from East Didsbury and make them all walk/cycle.

Charley

Mark Thompson said:

My cunning justification for spending money on a bike was that I would save
on bus fares. But how depressing is it to find that a weekly pass for my
bus route now costs just TWO POUNDS A WEEK! Whatever happened to
inflation?!?

Inflation is what you do to your bike tyres

in message <[email hidden]>, [Not

Responding (') said:

I'm exceedingly jealous of your later post saying that buses run until
0400. In south hampshire we must be expected to have a lot of early
nights; the buses tend to dry up after 1830. I suppose I am in the
sticks a bit, though.

Hah! Apart from the school bus and post bus (which is, lets face it, a
brilliant service but not exactly convenient), we get three busses
through the village. That's three a week, not three a day.

Quoted message said:

Doesn't include 330ukp for a new bike, though. Shopping logic means
that I have actually *saved* money by not buying a Thorn Raven (which
I'll get later, anyway) and, therefore, no real costs need be
reflected in the domestic accounts.

H'mmm. I was trying to justify myself a BOB Yak on the grounds that it
would save on shopping trips. Tesco charge us £4 for a delivery, and
it's hugely convenient because you don't have to go into a town at all.
If we're feeling guilty about buying from Tesco and go into the Co-op,
that's sixteen miles at say 30p a mile so about a fiver and it takes me
about an hour all in. So I'd have to get the shopping with it every
week for a year, come rain, come shine before I broke even. If I only
got every second weeks shop (which seems much more likely), it would be
two years...

Tricky.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; when in the [censored], the wise man plants courgettes

Quoted message said:

H'mmm. I was trying to justify myself a BOB Yak on the grounds that it
would save on shopping trips. Tesco charge us £4 for a delivery, and
it's hugely convenient because you don't have to go into a town at all.
If we're feeling guilty about buying from Tesco and go into the Co-op,
that's sixteen miles at say 30p a mile so about a fiver and it takes me
about an hour all in. So I'd have to get the shopping with it every
week for a year, come rain, come shine before I broke even. If I only
got every second weeks shop (which seems much more likely), it would be
two years...

Tricky.

Ok. two choices.

1. Decide to buy a ferrari. Then don't. Instantly you have fifty grand
or so to spend guilt free. Even if you spend £40000 you've still saved
money :-)

2. Desperately try to think of other benefits. Whilst they may not have
a monetary value, things like the extra exercise, environmental benefits
etc can be factored in.

3. Have you factored in the savings made due to the lower amount bought?
the trailer will carry less than a car so you'll save money by never
having ridiculous shopping sprees. (just try not to realise that this
applies to the internet shopping too).

Good luck.

cookie said:

Stagecoach, Magic Bus (ex-GM Stagecoach), R. Bullock's, Fingland's, U.K.
North all compete on the 42, and competition is healthy, resulting in lower
prices for the customer.

I think this is the only place in the UK where the "ideal" deregulated
market actually works. You can wait for a bus at 01:00am and four will turn
up (at the same time of course) to choose from.

It is indeed ideal if you want a no. 42. However in the unlikely
event of wanting a different bus, the frequency of 42s (and other
numbers doing the Oxford Road/Owen's Park route) can be pretty
annoying. And gets more so as you stand at the bus stop watching
numerous near-empty 42s pass, getting colder and wetter while waiting
for your own bus. It is the about the only time that I am tempted
into a 'bloody students grrr' type rant.

Audrey
--

email = audmacd aaatttt hhhottt mmmaailll dddoottt ccccoommm

audrey said:

It is indeed ideal if you want a no. 42. However in the unlikely
event of wanting a different bus, the frequency of 42s (and other
numbers doing the Oxford Road/Owen's Park route) can be pretty
annoying. And gets more so as you stand at the bus stop watching
numerous near-empty 42s pass, getting colder and wetter while waiting
for your own bus. It is the about the only time that I am tempted
into a 'bloody students grrr' type rant.

When I lived there I never took the bus, preferring to cycle instead. My
cycle always went where I wanted whenever I wanted.

Tony

Tony Raven said:

audrey said:

It is indeed ideal if you want a no. 42. However in the unlikely
event of wanting a different bus, the frequency of 42s (and other
numbers doing the Oxford Road/Owen's Park route) can be pretty
annoying. And gets more so as you stand at the bus stop watching
numerous near-empty 42s pass, getting colder and wetter while waiting
for your own bus. It is the about the only time that I am tempted
into a 'bloody students grrr' type rant.

When I lived there I never took the bus, preferring to cycle instead. My
cycle always went where I wanted whenever I wanted.

Indeedy. But as I don't drink and cycle, there are times I have to
throw myself on the mercy of stagecoach to get me home.

A
--

email = audmacd aaatttt hhhottt mmmaailll dddoottt ccccoommm

audrey said:

Indeedy. But as I don't drink and cycle, there are times I have to
throw myself on the mercy of stagecoach to get me home.

IIRC the gutter was always a popular alternative in those circumstances.
Marginally more comfortable than the bus as well

Tony ;-)