People will tollerate public transport (reliabilty and cost issues
aside) in the form of trains and planes. They dont use buses. Buses
are a distress purchase, the kind of clientelle they attract are
either old or scum, even compared to things like the NLL or Watford DC
line.

Without agreeing with what you've said, I actually agree with... erm... what
you say.

Buses are very often the most convenient way of getting around, and a lot of
the traditional limitations of buses are slowly being fixed. However, the
public perception of them is trash - and you are quite right that the
general public won't get out of their cars for buses, where they might for
trains, planes and monorails (I Wish!).

And to the reply posters who give reasons as to why they use buses, that's
good for you. But if we want to encourage people who CURRENTLY use their
cars out of them, then something has to change, be it in actual
infrastructure or spreading the praises of buses.

Incidentally, buses outside of the M25 have an awful long way to catching up
with the London Bus experience. Most of them stop at 5 and are nowhere near
the frequency and reliability of National Rail (And that's saying
something...) The few bus routes that do still run, seem to serve the same
places as the trains and most local routes have vanished. (I.e. only 1 bus
each direction per day so that the powers that be don't notice.)

Best Wishes,
LEWIS