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Local Bus Company ceased operating

I think you chose well. Castle Cary is ok and the general area is quite nice but the town only has a certain amount to offer. It's main selling point has been the relatively easy access to London via the conveniently located railway line.
I grew up near Stroud and visit fairly regularly. It's definitely not the most attractive place in the Cotswolds but it's got a lot going on in the town and surrounding area. I'd consider a move back there but it's become very expensive of late and my better half wants to be closer to the sea rather that further away. I have half an eye on Bridport (if we can afford it).

Yes, thanks, that’s the impression we got (although fell in love with the house there). Minchinhampton, Tetbury, nice around there. I get the sea thing, I really do. I grew up next to it and love sailing. You may therefore think it odd that I chose to live about as far inland as possible! Life is all about compromises and on balance I wouldn’t now live anywhere else.
 
A real shame. Only the Coaching part is being retained; bought by National Express Group.

Also another challenge is actually finding- and retaining drivers.

That's because we're generally treated like shit.


Agree. Bus Driver conditions are far from ideal. Unsociable hours, low pay, long shifts, block holiday allocations, short breaks because of running late due to traffic etc, starting at one place, finishing at another and not being paid for travel time back to place of shift start, split shifts are just some of the things I to put up with. - I don't miss it for a moment but for many it is a place they're staying at for years if not decades. It is also one of the jobs many English don't want to do and foreigners are vital for staffing.

I can still see advertisements on back of buses saying 'you can earn up to £27000' or 'our drivers take an average of £470 home/pw after taxes. - What they don't tell you is how many hours of overtime you have to do to earn this.

Still, it is an essential service for many.
 
63 into town every 10 minutes here last one about 11pm home £4.70 all day ticket £3.30 a guiness so for £50 or so notes i get arseholed quite reguarly. Taxi firms have surge pricing now and am sick of gettin conspiracy theories concerning jews covid and trump and foreign people off certain drivers.
 
here we have a bus stop outside our local (5 minutes walk from home) to the railway station. £4.90 one way for two people for 4 stops to the station - a bus that perpetually runs late and frequently does not arrive. Or a pre-booked taxi £5.25 one way for two, from home......
 
The last bus from St Albans to my village leaves at 6pm. We bus in and taxi back. Really crap service.
 
Am sick of losing phones glasses and one time my shoes in taxis also ! At least in spaceships they probe you not rob you.
 
Minchinhampton, Tetbury, nice around there.
I lived in the middle of Minchinhampton until I was 17 and when I visit I still get that overwhelming feeling of my childhood rushing back at me, everything is still so familiar! It has a few more houses on the edges and has lost a lot of shops and pubs over the years but aside from that it doesn't look much different, just a little smarter. However as it's become more and more 'select' and desirable it definitely feels like it has lost something important. I think having a broad cross section of community from wealthier to poorer is a far healthier mix for all.
 
I lived in Bournemouth from 67 to 71 at a boarding school.

I remember the lovely old yellow silent Trolley Buses...


Withdrawn a few years later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Bournemouth
I was only ever lucky enough to use a trolley bus once, in 1964 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Next time I was there, 1967, no trolley buses, only horrible diesel buses belching fumes everywhere, because it was more modern! If only they'd known then what we know now!
Generally, bus/trains services are better in cities and cr*p in rural locations.
If we're ever going to have a decent, properly integrated public transport system, we'll have to go back to public ownership.

Andy
 
Westover Road with its beautiful buildings and Bournemouth Gardens next to it, once the pride of Bournemouth, is mostly boarded up, deteriorating slowly and quietly.

That's a shame, because if this is the one-sided shopping road opposite to the gardens, it was always a busy area with lots of niche shops, casino and (I think) a cinema in the 34 years I surveyed B'mouth up to 2002. Always stayed overnight in B'mouth on my travels; lovely town, although the separate shopping area with the mall was always a bit seedy.
 
What will the future hold for this and many similar towns?

Here in socialist Texas, local bus services in the major cities are all municipally owned and operated so the thought of our bus systems 'going out of business' does not really exist. Now, that said, due to the nature of our urban sprawl, bus service isn't always all that useful here, but nonetheless it is used by many residents here and it can be quite useful depending on where someone lives and where they are going. Many of the major Texas city bus systems also operate light rail in urban areas.

Also, as far as Klassik knows and in Klassik's observation with Metro buses in Houston, the drivers are Americans and there is not a need for foreign bus drivers. The thought that 'Americans don't want to drive buses' does not exist here. In fact, in addition to the city buses, almost all public school districts in Houston at least maintain significant school bus operations as free public school transportation is more or less guaranteed for most students. There are many, many school bus drivers in the area and they are, again, mostly Americans. Bus driving isn't glorified work here, but the salaries seem sufficient enough that people will do the job.

Klassik does know that here in Houston at least, Metro does rely on privately-operated paratransit buses (the ones that pick up disabled passengers and passengers needing rides from odd spots) and the drivers of these privately-operated buses have complained about poor/unsafe work conditions.

As mentioned earlier, Metro is the name of the bus service in Houston. DART is the bus service in Dallas, VIA is the bus service in San Antonio, and Capital Metro is the bus service in Austin. These aren't all the public bus services in Texas, but they are the biggest ones.

Long story short, perhaps the obvious solution for the UK is to make public transportation public again. It works for Texas cities and it would work even better with federal funding.
 
I was only ever lucky enough to use a trolley bus once, in 1964 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Lovely civilised sedate times, long gone.

If we're ever going to have a decent, properly integrated public transport system, we'll have to go back to public ownership.

Andy

Agree.

The government bribed local authorities to take up diesel buses and scrap their trolley buses, they have NO shame.
 
Here in socialist Texas, local bus services in the major cities are all municipally owned and operated so the thought of our bus systems 'going out of business' does not really exist. Now, that said, due to the nature of our urban sprawl, bus service isn't always all that useful here, but nonetheless it is used by many residents here and it can be quite useful depending on where someone lives and where they are going. Many of the major Texas city bus systems also operate light rail in urban areas.

Also, as far as Klassik knows and in Klassik's observation with Metro buses in Houston, the drivers are Americans and there is not a need for foreign bus drivers. The thought that 'Americans don't want to drive buses' does not exist here. In fact, in addition to the city buses, almost all public school districts in Houston at least maintain significant school bus operations as free public school transportation is more or less guaranteed for most students. There are many, many school bus drivers in the area and they are, again, mostly Americans. Bus driving isn't glorified work here, but the salaries seem sufficient enough that people will do the job.

Klassik does know that here in Houston at least, Metro does rely on privately-operated paratransit buses (the ones that pick up disabled passengers and passengers needing rides from odd spots) and the drivers of these privately-operated buses have complained about poor/unsafe work conditions.

As mentioned earlier, Metro is the name of the bus service in Houston. DART is the bus service in Dallas, VIA is the bus service in San Antonio, and Capital Metro is the bus service in Austin. These aren't all the public bus services in Texas, but they are the biggest ones.

Long story short, perhaps the obvious solution for the UK is to make public transportation public again. It works for Texas cities and it would work even better with federal funding.
There is absolutely no problem with bus services in U.K. cities.
It’s small towns rural services that suffer.
 
Your usual asinine comment.
Seen the prices?

I don't think the prices have any real relevance as you didn't mention the prices, you said that homes, for humans, (people will essentially be living in those houses) were a 'blight' on an area. There is a large sense of irony using the word 'asinine', but also a sense of grandeur and elitism from you.

Simple facts Bob, increased population, more homes are needed. So if you don't like the look of them, tell your kids not to have kids.

Try not to call the places people live now as 'blights'. Many don't get a choice as they did in your era.
 
some of our routes are funded or subsidised by the local authority. But every year they get fewer and fewer. They tend to be the unpopular routes so get axed.
 
There is absolutely no problem with bus services in U.K. cities.
It’s small towns rural services that suffer.

Even the smaller cities in Texas generally have some sort of municipality-owned bus system, however these are more likely to be operated by a privatized contract operator and their service is more likely to be limited. For example, Beaumont, an East Texas city roughly the same size as Bournemouth (and Beaumont is not wealthy aside from the petrochemical plants in the city), has a city-owned bus system, but it has limited weekend service.

That said, at least bus service exists in Beaumont and will continue to exist. In fact, it seems they are in the process of replacing 80% of fleet thanks to state and federal funding:

Beaumont ZIP said:
Claudia San Miguel, the General Manager of Transit Management, says, "We are grateful for the state and federal funding opportunities provided to bring these new busses to our community. Especially now with the high gas prices, we hope more people take advantage of Beaumont's public transportation options and start seeing the Zipline in a new light."

https://beaumonttexas.gov/press-rel...g-with-a-host-of-new-features-and-technology/

Now, this said, Klassik cannot say if all similarly sized Texas cities have similar bus service.
 


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