Public transport is a joke!
By John197511 | Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 22:06
For years I have heard people going on about how we should use public transport its green, its simple and its cheaper.
Today I was in Bodmin and needed to get home to Newquay as my car was being fixed, I asked about a taxi (foolish I know £25) so that was a no go, I decided to use a train, could I find the train station-no, thats because bodmin station is actually about two miles from the town and is across the A30 so you cant walk to it, hardly a great location for a lot of the public especially the people who need a train-namely those without a car to get over the main road to the station!
Once I managed to get there with a lift, the price was fairly good I thought at £4.40 about the same as car fuel for the same trip, the train only took ten minutes to arrive and was comfortable, but the train took me to par, you have to change there to get another train to Newquay no worries but its 1hr 45 mintues later and there is no shop and nothing to do at all for that time, there is a toilet and thats it. As travelling with a child I walked for fifteen mintues to find a shop and a field so my duaghter could get some exercise and then still had an hour to go, now £30 for a taxi as further away than I started. Eventually train came and 45 mintues later arrived.
Upshot is a 25 minute car drive took from 9.45 to 13.00 or 3 1/4 hours incuding time getting cold bored and soaking wet at a place with no facilities, if you have to change there for Newquay surely its busy enough to put a shop on or something, anything to give you something to do for almost 2 hours, or better still get another train to half the wait!
Sorry for my rant but no wonder we all drive cars, a bus would have been 2 hours stopping every 5 minutes and they are not exactly comfy are they? And the speedy train was a joke, even on my own it wouldve been a pain but with kids a nightmare.
What does everyone else think? Do you use public transport? anything good to say about it?
Comments
What was with the £3.00 return fare for the shuttle buses to Watergate bay, you can normally get around short distances for 80p! Plus every year the buses have been free, so why start charging now! Another problem was that the website said they charged but when asking at the event information stand at fistral beach people were being told they were free! I think it's a stupid price especially for the locals who are used to them being free! This has just added to my hatred towards public transport in Cornwall and just discourages people from using it! Yes, there are trains that run in Cornwall but there are hardly any in the winter, something needs to be done to help people out, especially because jobs are short here and are often nowhere near your town, village etc.
By Daisygee at 16:37 on 09/08/10
ReportI would like to use it for work but it's 3 buses from Newquay to Treliske hospital and takes hours. We walk into town as it's a beautiful 2 mile walk but when you need to go a bit further afield it is a joke. We would like to use the trains for Plymouth but again it's so long it always works out better to take the car.
By LoulabellaF at 11:44 on 08/08/10
ReportI agree, it does nothing to encourage you to use to it. Times and routes are pretty useless. Perhaps they don't change it as not enough people use it, but then if they improved things maybe more people would!
By Em_Williams at 10:14 on 22/07/10
ReportIt's a sad fact that public transport in Cornwall is awful. Having lived in the county for most of my life, bad public transport was something I was used to. When I went to uni I was surprised that buses can be good. The problem down here is everything is so spread out. We need a really good train system really. Just like the Japanese.
By irgmcdonald at 11:00 on 18/07/10
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