Why does it have to be so complicated?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Why does it have to be so complicated?   I finished work in the London suburbs at about 16:30 yesterday, and was on my way home to Melksham in Wiltshire.   I'd been away for a week, wasn't sure what time I would finish, so couldn't prebook a "this train ONLY" advanced ticket with any certainly.  So what were my options?

1. I could make for Paddington, catch the 17:30 train, change on the way and get to Melksham for 19:11.  There was some doubt as to whether I would make Paddington for that train, and the 40.40 cost tickets aren't available at the ticket machine, so I would need to queue and lessen my chance further.  Not allowed to get on the train, seek out the train manager and buy the tickets from him. 

2. I could make for Paddington, catch the 17:45 train, change on the way and get to Melksham for 19:11.   Well - I would probably get to Melksham for 19:11, but the other week that train was cancelled and so no connection - leaving me with a 20 pound taxi bill (I could have waited 3 hours for a bus) on top of the train fare.  And then last week that train was terminated at Ealing Broadway; this time it was so late by the time the replacement got to Chippenham that the 3 hour wait was down to a 15 minute wait.  I really don't want the risk / hassle of the 17:45 - especially as the fare on that train is 76.00 pounds, and if it fails to connect my spend has gone up to 80.00 if the 18:00 is on time or 96.00.

3. In theory, I could make for Paddington and catch the 18:00 train.  40.40 will get me to Chippenham (again, have to queue to buy the tickets; not available from the machines) and in theory I then have 2 minutes to catch the bus (4 pounds) to Melksham; total 44.40.  In practise, on each of the three occasions I've tried this, the train has been a couple of minutes late and the bus has pulled out as the train pulls in.   Ask people standing around "oh yeah - it just left".  Bus and train are run by the same company, you'll notice!. Total, usually, is then 60.40.

4. The 19:00 Paddington to Chippenham is cheaper at 36.00 pounds, and the 19:30 cheaper still at 28.10 ... but off both you're faced with a 20 pound taxi ride (making 56.00 or 48.10), or a wait for the 22:20 bus.  Best late evening value is the 20.45 train, which has a amount of slack for that 22:20 bus - cost 32:10.

5. You could make for Waterloo.  A ticket to Trowbridge costs 37.60 on the 17:50, change at Salisbury, and timetabled to reach Trowbridge at 20:16.   There's a Trowbridge to Melksham bus at 20:25.  Of course, it doesn't actually call at the station, but if you know where it runs, there's a bus stop about 3 minutes jog away that it goes past.   And that was the option I chose.

South West Trains from London to Salisbury were on time.   First Great Western were said to be on time until a minute or two before the train was due at Salisbury, when it slipped.   The board then said "2 late" but checking my watch, it was four late on departure,  Westbury the platform board said "on time" when we arrived, but slipped to 3 late before we left.   We actually left about 4 late and only made up a few seconds before Trowbridge.   This is going to be tight!

Not a jog but a run to the two bus stops in the town centre at the top of Fore street - but which one?  One lists a number of routes, and tells you fo go round the corner for buses to Devizes and Swindon.  Melksham, Chippenham and the 234 aren't mentioned anywhere.   The other stop - another substantial one with a shelter - is unlabelled.  "Must be this one" thinks I and - in less time that it's taken to write up, the 234 comes along ... and sails past completely ignoring my hand signal.

Now the patient reader wil be asking "but - did he see you?".   Well - I took it upon myself to rush around the corner to that Devizes and Swindon stop, and it turns out the 234 passes there too.   After a trip around a one way system.  And he stopped for me.   "I don't stop back there" says the driver (statement of the obvious, that!) and I ask if he stop in Melksham.  "Yes - it says this is going to Melksham on the front" it says.  "Ah, but I was standing at something labelled 'Bus Stop' and you passed by, so I really cant't trust the information, can I"

Happy ending - back into Melksham at 20:39, total cost from London 41.60 . But should it be so hard, and shouldn't there be a simple way of finding out not only the routes (travelinfo is quite good for that) but also the fares?  And shouldn't the full range of tickets be available from machines if there's going to be long queues at manned desks - or at least you should be able to buy on the train if the rail industry can't manage to provide full sales opportunities?  And shouldn't bus stops be properly labelled, or perhaps local buses such as the 234 actually stop an each bus stop?  A display of departures on the stop would be nice too.

In another thread, I read ...

It seemed like the only people using the line were cranks like me ...

and that's about the Severn Beach line in the past.

With complexities and issues such as those I describe above - and they're not just unique to last night's journey, it's hardly a surprise.   

The good news is that they're so much potential - some of it really cheap and easy to do - and as Red Squirrel went on to say "Things can and do change, and the tide is in our favour."

Edit - minor maths correction

[grahame]

P.S. Bus was on time from Trowbridge - five minutes early into Melksham at 20:39 rather than the 20:44 scheduled. - that was the time that he was supposed to leave Semington.   Pity anyone who turned up there in the nick of time to catch the bus ...

[eightf48544]

Christian Wolamr was on the today programme Friday talking with an aircar enthuthiast. Chritian's ideal  would more rail and buses to the station rather cars, road bound or otherwise. The car guy even suggested we'ed have guided motorways where you'd hook up into a convoy and be guided (like a train) up the motorway and then peel off at your junction.

[bobm]

Not a jog but a run to the two bus stops in the town centre at the top of Fore street - but which one?  One lists a number of routes, and tells you fo go round the corner for buses to Devizes and Swindon.  Melksham, Chippenham and the 234 aren't mentioned anywhere.   The other stop - another substantial one with a shelter - is unlabelled.  "Must be this one" thinks I and - in less time that it's taken to write up, the 234 comes along ... and sails past completely ignoring my hand signal.

That was my experience in Swindon when on my Wiltshire Day Rover the other week.  The bus I wanted to catch was not among any of those listed on the nearest stop to me but I knew it went past it.  To be safe I ended catching another bus which ran parallel to it as far as the next timetable point where I assumed my intended bus would stop.  It did - but even at the timetable point there was no mention of that particular service.  The only information exists on the internet.

The on going saga of the Mechanics Institute in Swindon means the road heading out of town past it has been closed for two years now and buses diverted around it, but the published maps STILL don't reflect it.  How long is a temporary diversion?

I had the time, inclination and ability to research my journey in advance of setting out - but not all would and journey opportunities must be lost as a result.  Use it or lose it is one thing - knowing about it is sometimes another.....

[ellendune]

Christian Wolamr was on the today programme Friday talking with an aircar enthuthiast. Chritian's ideal  would more rail and buses to the station rather cars, road bound or otherwise. The car guy even suggested we'ed have guided motorways where you'd hook up into a convoy and be guided (like a train) up the motorway and then peel off at your junction.

The air cars are frankly fantasy - not least because of the amount of carbon flying (or at least take off and landing) takes  - even the enthusiast recognised there were issues.

The convoys along motorways is at least technically feasible, though you would have to ban all cars without the technology.

[TonyK]

The convoys along motorways is at least technically feasible, though you would have to ban all cars without the technology.

There was some research done in Tokyo some years back. The idea was to be able to squeeze four lanes (Now!) into the space taken for three. As I have heard no more about it in the past few years, I guess it came to naught.

[ellendune]

The convoys along motorways is at least technically feasible, though you would have to ban all cars without the technology.

There was some research done in Tokyo some years back. The idea was to be able to squeeze four lanes (Now!) into the space taken for three. As I have heard no more about it in the past few years, I guess it came to naught.

I think the issue is really that it is either all or nothing - you cannot phase it in. So you either have to build new roads to use for this (expensive), or ban other traffic on existing roads. To do the second you would have to get many vehicles fitted or make it mandatory on new vehicles - for years before you had enough to make banning unfitted vehicles anything like acceptable.  So not sure it will ever happen. 

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

Christian Wolmar lives in the big city and, like most big city dwellers, especially those involved with public transport, do not appreciate that in rural areas where a rail station serves a wide area often villages with a few thousand residents (or fewer) it is impossible to provide feeder bus services economically. Enormous fleets of minibuses would be required at enormous public subsidy, therefore adequate parking facilities at stations are necessary for rail users to park their cars in the absence of a bus service.
If the bus stop that GrahamE first went to did not have signs showing what bus services stopped at that stop, then Wiltshire Council needs to get stuck in to sort that out. It is reasonable if there are no such signs for a bus user to assume that all passing buses will stop. As this seems not to be the case, signs should be present at that stop. In Oxfordshire all bus stops, i.e. all that I have seen either have a bus stop sign provided by the bus operator, or if several operators call at a particular stop, the council provides a sign listing all services at that stop.

[TonyK]

In these breathtakingly modern days, Travel+ in Bristol offers a tracking service via the interweb thingy, to reflect the information, some of it accurate, shown on the PIDs at bus stops. In Bishops Nympton, Devon, there are three buses daily to nearby South Molton (Sundays excepted). There is a code number on the bus stop that will give you a text update as to the next bus.