Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
There's one flaw in this. Our public transport is that bad it'll take years and years to sort it out. Every day I read someone moaning about train cancellations, or that electrification is taking too long, or the new trains will be crap. There isn't a bottomless pit to get our railways up to a reasonable standard after decades of decline. When the metro is finally completed, it'll make a difference.
Bus services in Wales are shocking. Unless you live in a densely populated area, buses are too infrequent to be of use to most. Welsh Government policies have not helped the industry.
However, if you're going to encourage people to use public transport, journey times need to be reasonably similar to using the car or people won't bother. That means bus lanes that piss car drivers off. Someone mentioned that the one on Cathedral road saves 30 seconds. I bet it saves a damn sight more than that during peak time when the road is extremely busy. Buses that run late cost more money if extra time is needed, or they need more buses on the road to keep the same level of service. Who pays for that? Bus operators around Wales are barely breaking even as things stand and things are set to get worse. Where does the money come from to improve things? Nationalise them again? Put all services to tender?
One of the biggest issues we face isn't so much cars, roads or public transport, it's that desire that someone needs to get from A to B as quickly as they can at a precise moment without having to wait. I spent 11 years using public transport to go everywhere. Possible? Yes. Practical, no (most of the time). The truth is that too many of us are in too much of a hurry and need to be somewhere else now. That's the attitude that needs to change the most and I'll put my hand up and say I'm guilty of that as well.
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