Ahmen to that. Found out that bus from Bury St Edmunds to Thetford really is a PIA. Left the car in Bury for a service, i enjoy the walk to the bus station, waiting ages for the bus... It got to outskirts of Thetford, not a big town, then took ages to weave round the housing estate before getting to the station. Once I realised how much it might continue I offered to get off at a critical point and the driver stopped me as not a designated stop. From both that point, and the original outskirts of Thetford, it would have been quicker for me to walk past the bus station to my house than sit on that bus. What's worse is not one of the passengers would have been infirm for their respective walks. Not an efficient service nor appealing.
We are lucky enough to have a really excellent and affordable bus service in Edinburgh - free for me now with my OAP pass - which is always winning commendations and awards. Excellent as it may be though there is no way it can be compared to using a car.
Journeys definitely take longer and waiting for a bus is rarely longer than 10 to 15 mins on a main route. But you don't have to factor in looking for, and paying for, parking. For that reason I will usually take a bus if going into town. This is a radial route by which I mean it's from the outskirts (north of city) to the centre of town and reverse to come home. Try moving sideways, around the city, and it's a different ball game altogether. Often easier (sometimes the only option) to go in to the centre, change bus and come back out to your destination. Now that can really use up your day!
Then there's the "humanity factor". The car is my own space and I can choose to go where and when I want, largely without restriction, in pleasant conditions and with privacy. Public transport means hanging around, often in the rain just to watch the bus you want disappearing up the road. As I don't often travel at rush hour I nearly always get a seat but quite often find my fellow traveler may not be someone I really want to sit next to - bags/parcels partly in my lap, "excessively large" people forcing me to sit with one butt cheek hanging out into the aisle, smelly people - and there are more of them than you might think. I include people, both male and female, who have drenched themselves in scented preparations. People who cough and sneeze next to you or behind you, I've definitely had more colds since traveling regularly on public transport. Then there's the "old man's problem" of needing to wee more often than when young. In the car you can always make a diversion to a retail park etc if things get desperate but on the bus?
With our regular trips to north Devon to visit Mrs J's sister we've tried the train a few times but I won't even consider it now. The cost for the two of us is just ridiculous when compared to the car. On two of the trips the heating didn't really work and we both lost all feeling in our feet. On one trip there was a frightful fuss with people sitting in our booked seats which the guard could not resolve so we were seated in other seats but it meant moving twice on the journey as the seats were part journey booked. When we reached our stop (Tiverton parkway) we almost lost our bags because by then we'd been relocated half way down the train to where we originally got on! Then there's the toilet problem. I have a comfortable duration in the region of two hours if I "manage" my intake carefully, two and a half at a stretch. Seldom do they all work for the whole journey and it's often a bit of an anxious search to find the one that's working. Now I can live with that but when you get down into the midlands there are so many people standing in the aisles and corridors that you can't really move around the train at all. When it's like that people sit in the loos too. I also absolutely hate having someone's butt in my face because they are standing next to my seat in the aisle! It's just not good enough considering the amount of money being charged for the service.
Now, to reduce emissions, we're talking about forcing many many more people onto public transport? There's an awful lot to do before I'll be doing that.
