Silly.

[aghastpumpkin]

I'm going on a date, yes a date. But herein lies a rather silly problem.

The girl lives in a town about 30 miles from me. It takes half an hour-ish to get there by car. Not a problem getting there then - you'd have thought.

However, to my astonishment, by public transport the quickest route is by train via CROYDON (South London) and takes nearly 2 hours.

Two hours to go 30 miles? The frustrating thing is trying to make a journey using more than one medium of transport. The stupid problem is, the bus service from Three Bridges (Near Gatwick) to this town leaves 2 mintues before each train service arrives at the station.
With a frequency of 1 bus every 2 hours, you'd have to wait 115~ minutes for the next bus. So getting a train to Three Bridges and then a bus to her town is not at all viable, because the bus leaves 1 minute before the train gets there. How stupid is that!

Why on earth they don't change this so the bus leaves 5 minutes AFTER just....astonishes me.

I think things like this desperately need to improve in an effort to stop people using cars. And it's such obvious stuff.....and stuff that would be so easy to change.

[Áedán]

The problem with connections between transport is that it's generally impossible to make the connection everywhere, unless it's only a point to point link. I have come across times when moving something like a bus just a few minutes breaks connections elsewhere.

Mind you, Brighton to Three Bridges is only half a hour direct journey by train.

[aghastpumpkin]

The bus is only going to East Grinstead - it starts from Crawley.
But I've had a quick look and Three Bridges is the only place where it connects to another transport medium.
So I think they could by all means make it so it arrives a few mintues later, or just pauses at East Grinstead for an extra 3 minutes....

It just seems to absurd that to get to somewhere within my own county East Sussex could take 2 hours. I could be in Oxford by then by car!

[cloasters]

Reminds me that you were in for a time consuming journey if you needed to take two buses to go where you wanted to in LA. Leaving just before people could make the connection is insane. Kinda like the 21st century.

[danrok]

We have two options, affordable motoring, or cheap and reliable public transport. In which country do both exist, at the same time?

[cloasters]

We're very lucky in this area, public transport is excellent. I discovered that my auto costs $40K in the UK. Was $25K here. That's gotta hurt.

[keithwalton]

It used to take me nearly 3 hours to get home and that was as about as efficent as public transport could get as it was bus from front door to train station, almost imediatly picking up train, then 5mins walk the other end to imediatly pick up another bus that took me right to the door at home.

Total distance 73 miles, time by car, one hour 10mins! its pretty much high speed roads 70miles of that.

Round trip cost by car (single person) less than £15 (based on 10 miles per litre and £1 per litre), cost by public transport, over £30, £1.20 bus in soton, £3 bus in oxford (each way) £24 train ticket.

I do remember someone coming to see me once from brighton, it was much quicker to go via clapham on the train than direct south coast train from brighton to soton, was cheaper too i think!

p.s whats your car cloasters!!

[aghastpumpkin]

Keith you'd be right there. Going via Clapham is much easier as theres regular services both ways.

The service from Brighton to Southampton Central I think is only once or twice a day.

[Favu]

Pst, buy a bike!

Then get as close as you can via train, and cycle the rest, it's worth a thought.

[chrisbard]

Except he can't use a bike, he never learn to