Internet shopping for us, they've made town centres virtual no go areas for car drivers, thats fine by us we don't go there.

Last public transport trip for me on an urban tram to collect the Scooby, i learned all i didn't want to about drugs methodone and benefits, but strangely nothing about work, via a one way mobile phone call from some bod to presumably a social worker/supplier, conducted at such volume that it was impossible to tune out.

You wouldn't have been so chuffed orb if you were in Colchester tonight. Solid gridlock from 5 till gone 7pm round Balkerne Hill.

I find that using the bus is a very variable experience. Working in Central London (I live in NE Hertfordshire) means that I have to rely on public transport to get around as part of my job, but I often find for certain journeys (that there are no reasonable Tube alternatives) that going by bus is the only option to walking.

Some are fine (in terms of getting to the destination in a reasonable amount of time), others, particularly in very congested areas, are a complete waste of time and its mostly quicker to walk, even when that means a 30 min walk!

The other thing I don't like about buses and trains (excepting the 'newer' 2000-stock trains on the Great Northern route to Kings Cross with gaps in between each seat [width-ways]) is the lack of adequate space on the 'seats', both from a width and legroom POV. They appear to have been designed for slim 5ft tall people and below - anyone larger than that (even 'ordinary sized' folk like myself) cannot fit on a 2-seat unit/bench without one hanging well over the edge of the isle seat.

Not comfortable, so I only use buses for relatively short journeys (15-20 mins). Of course, I didn't mention the lack of headroom on double decker buses, and the lack of decent storage within eyesight for luggage/shopping bags!

There are some journeys that for me work much better with the bus than the car - and with a bus pass, the choice is a no-brainer.

I go to Goldsmiths College in the Lewisham area of SE London usually once a week from the edge of Hemel Hempstead. Buses run every 15 minutes or so. I go to St Albans Station, where the train service, though unpredictable (don't get me started on Thameslink Railways), is frequent.

The bus journey is better - even if I have to wait for a bus - than driving to St Albans and finding somewhere to park. At the time I go (usually mid-morning) the station car parks are full and exorbitantly expensive anyway, so I would need to park on the street about 15 minutes' walk from the station. So in terms of expense and journey time the bus wins.

The only time I use the car is if I return from London late in the evening, when buses are either infrequent or non-existent.

One thing I would never do is drive the whole journey (Hemel to Lewisham).

Edited by FP on 15/02/2015 at 11:00

I hate buses. I took one once. It cost a fortune, the ticket was much more expensive than the car fuel I would have used, and it took twice as long to get to the destination. Plus they are often dirty, full of ill behaved and/or smelly people.

Good point about councils pricing drivers out of town centres, forcing them to out of town shopping sites with free parking, and then buses are used mainly by retired people with free bus passes. Buses are smelly dirty polluting things pumping out noxious diesel fumes and causing congestion. At peak times they might be full, but normally they are nearly empty, so I wonder how energy efficient they really are compared to a small efficient petrol car?

If the bus is free, you'd be daft not to use it if suitable services are running.

Perhaps the future is driverless mini-buses, so there can be less pollution out of peak times, and on board cameras with each user having an ID so vandalism can be prosecuted.