by SomeRandomBint » Sat Dec 29, 2012 9:52 pm
It's not just petrol costs though, is it? It's all the associated costs - tax, insurance, repairs, parking etc etc. When I was living out in the East End, I would drive to a bus stop and take a bus into work. £14 a week bus pass vs £5 per day parking is a no brainer. And when faced with a £60 a quarter parking permit charge when we moved into the city, getting rid of the car was the first thing we did. We just don't need it. I pay £61 for a 4 week Zone Card that takes me to work every day, and out to the East End twice a week, plus lets me nip around town if I need to bring home shopping. I could technically get away with just the bus pass, but I like commuting by underground because a) it's quicker, b) it's more reliable than the buses, and c)I just like shoogling rather than being stuck on a stinkin' bus.
The thing that gets me with First Buses is the way they've split the bus services after 7pm. I get a 42 home from Carntyne twice a week usually, which only goes as far as West Nile Street. If I were going beyond that (which I would if it ran that far, tho only a couple of stops) I'd have to get off, and wait for the second half of the service which goes from West Nile Street to Drumchapel. This means anyone going from, say, Cathedral Street along towards Kelvingrove would have to pay two lots of fare, an extra £1.85! Add to that the fact that, usually when I'm on the bus home, the second bus is leaving as the previous one arrives, which means a half hour wait or longer. It's mental.
BTW, I think the £85 ticket is for 10 weeks. The four week ticket is about £38 I think. And it's actually cheaper to buy them from a Pay Point agent - I think the idea is to encourage people to buy them elsewhere rather than hold up the bus whilst the driver rummages for one of those little sticky wallet things they have to be in.
"-What was all that then? - What? - THAT. - That was Glasgow"
no comment
