Edward Cowling wrote:
Someone said to me the other day that if nothing
else Ken Livingstone had made buses an acceptable
way to travel.

Everyone uses buses these days, they said.

Do they ? I still consider the bus as drop in
centres on wheels and would rather walk 5 miles
in the rain than use one.

What is the overall perception of them out there
in Internet land ??

They stink - literally! I have health and mobility problems and often have
to visit the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. If I use my car the
journey time from home (on the Isle of Dogs) is an average of 7 minutes and,
as a local resident with a parking permit, I can park in nearby residents'
bays for free or use my Blue Badge on a yellow line. If I use the bus the
journey time can increase to up to 2 hours (one way!). The average wait for
a D7 to Mile End is about half an hour (scheduled every ten minutes). I
cannot use the underground as I can't manage the stairs at Mile End or
Whitechapel stations so I have to use the 25 bus. The buses are so crowded
(NOT rush hours) that several go by before I can get on one and even then
the wait can be up to an hour between buses - only the one route between Bow
and Aldgate on the main A11 into the City! When I do get on one there are
no seats available and I get crushed with people swearing at me because my
walking stick's in their way!

The other week a seat (reserved for disabled) became available next to where
I was standing. As I went to sit I was shoved out of the way and nearly
pushed over by a healthy young woman who pretended not to speak English -
until she forgot herself and started talking to her standing friend in loud
Cockney English.

While waiting at stops (and sometimes on the bus itself) I get accosted by
(usually Scottish) gentlemen ? saying "Gi'ussa quid mister" or similar,
accompanied by the wafting stench of stale booze and dirt.

The journey itself (Mile End to Whitechapel) is only between a mile and a
mile and a half yet, because of traffic, can take half an hour. Like I said
previously, I can do it in 5-7 minutes driving using faster alternative
roads to the bus routes.

While this impossible situation exists there is NO WAY I'm going to stop
using my car.
--
Phil ,,,^.".^,,,


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