Catholic Online Forum

I have just spent twenty five minutes on line trying to find a cheap way of getting into London in a months time. And I have to say that I find myself being profoundly irritated!

Hubby and I are trying to be greener - so we are only using one car to go to work (easier now that we work in the same town!) and recycling and using lower energy bulbs and saving water and all the stuff we are meant to be doing. We are also going on a bit of trip to London, and therefore we wanted to use the train rather than driving. Much greener to use public transport right?

Well, sure it is, if you can afford to buy a flipping ticket!!! £94 one way for one person?! That is almost 200 bucks!! We are trying to get cheaper tickets using the telephone booking now, but sheesh! We are trying to do our best for the environment and we get totally stung by the train companies. No wonder the British Roads are so clogged. Looks like we will have to drive to London after all and even with the congestion charge we would have to pay, it will still be cheaper than the train.

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Best Wishes,

Clare Rickett

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort"
Herm Albright 1876-1944

I have frequently wondered myself whether the purpose of public transportation were, indeed, to sell cars. Because they do an extremely good job of it.

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In the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Judith Teresa McRae; BFA

"Without the light of Christ, the light of reason is insufficient." - Pope Benedict XVI

Jmj

Seriously, the main problem with public transport,imho, is that usually most people prefer to drive so public transport is for people who have no car. At least, here in my part of the USA. I know it is somewhat different overseas.

On our local buses you find 1)elderly, who may be unable to drive or prefer not to drive in heavy traffice 2)students 3)persons who cannot afford a car yet and 4) an occassional other exception.

I cannot remember the last time I saw a well dressed businessman on my bus. So, since the numbers of persons who use public transport are much smaller than those who drive private cars, private transport cannot do as well. Less riders, less money and so on. If everyone took the public busses in town here, they would have enough money to do a proper job. They could expand their routes and increase freequency of service. But people are just wedded to their cars in this city.

The statistics here are less than 5% of the population uses public transport. That is the main reason it is not good--supply and demand.

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Peace.. Mary Jo
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isiah 40:32)

Mary Jo;

I do think that if it were cheaper and more efficient to use public transportation than to drive, people would do so.

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In the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Judith Teresa McRae; BFA

"Without the light of Christ, the light of reason is insufficient." - Pope Benedict XVI

I would.

But I think that public transportation in my area (which is pretty bad) already loses money in spite of the fact that the buses are packed solid at some times of the day. And if you have to stand you ride for free.

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

Unfortunately, public transport in the UK is very expensive for what it offers. It is one of the worst in Europe. I have found it is much more affordable and much more efficient in several other european countries (have not tried it in all countries!).

And unlike in North America, there is no stigma associated with taking public transport. Everone is on it, from the doctor to the drunk.

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Anne

Clare

I travel a lot be train. No way is Nottingham - London £99 for a single especially a month in advance.

I've just checked on National rail enquiries

http://ojp2.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/fa ... d=51201151

Cheapest fare £18!

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God bless

Jim

Jim,

Yes, we had more luck on the telephone rather than on line! It has actually cost us £100 for both of us to go down to London and back again, largely because we need an open return ticket. It is £14 each going down to London and then trip back is the most expensive part. If we got a cheap ticket back and they cancelled the train (which they do have habit of doing on Sunday afternoons!) we would be stuck in London, which I do not relish. And coming back on Monday morning is not an option because both Hubby and I have to be at work.

I am still seething about the price of it - and the fact that the service is atrocious as well! We have decided that this trip will have to be one of our holidays this year - otherwise we can't afford it!!

But I can look forward to going to the Chelsea Flower Show, and to staying in a posh hotel for two nights!

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Best Wishes,

Clare Rickett

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort"
Herm Albright 1876-1944

Hi, Clare --

My community has good public transportation. The bus lines run throughout the city, and it costs only a dollar, but I only ride when I have car problems. The closest line is a mile from my home, which is close enough when I have to. But with kids to drop off at school (too far to walk or ride bikes), and with bad weather many times, the bus is not an every-day option.

The closest big city is Chicago: a two-hour drive, and parking is very expensive downtown. We are very fortunate to have an electric interurban train that runs the 100 miles, all the way downtown. And the fare is only $10.55 each way (and half-price for children, seniors, and people with handicaps). It's the only remaining electric interurban in the U.S. from a hundred years ago. (The rolling stock is not that old.) A pseudo-governmental agency runs the line, with heavy subsidies from Indiana, Illinois, and federal governments.

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-- Fred M

Clare,

At least you have public transportation of note. Detroit has a horrible bus line that doesn't even serve some of the suburbs because they opted out of participation. So the busses drive right through the suburb without stopping.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Everyone else's public transport sound like Heaven to me!

Trains:

There is no train service from my city - which happens to be the largest in the state. I would have to drive about an hour to a small town to catch the train. There are only two stops. Going east the train leaves at 9.00 am; going west the train leaves at 9.00 pm. If I wanted to go to Chicago (6 hours east by car), the train trip takes longer than driving. Also, at times the train fare is more expensive than a plane ticket. There was talk of opening a high-speed train on the line - which would still take longer to ride than to drive.


In-city bus service:

Well, let's just call it non-service. Several years ago, called the bus service and asked them which bus to take to go someplace which was 1.5 - 2 miles away. Had to take 2 separate buses and the entire trip would take 3 hours (one way) and if I would take the bus during business hours during the week. If I wanted to go across town - it tooks two hours. No bus service on Sundays or evenings. On Saturdays, the bus stops every 1 to 1.5 hours.

And they wonder why people don't use public transport.

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Steve W

We are born to be happy and to live joyfully.

I agree. It sounds like it would probably be faster to walk.

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In the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Judith Teresa McRae; BFA

"Without the light of Christ, the light of reason is insufficient." - Pope Benedict XVI

JMJ

When I was working, I looked into taking the bus to work - about 10 miles. It required one change and took about an hour. So I stuck to driving it in 15-20 minutes.

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- Joe Kelley

Death is only a shadow across the path to Heaven.

I start a new job in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The Metro rail system is the way to go, because there is no public parking that is cheap, and the station is only a block away from my new employer. So the system can work if it is planned well.

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Andrew McAllister

Respect for the dignity of every innocent human being from conception/fertilization, without exception, without compromise, without apology.

JMJ

Steve W: Your report on bus transport agrees with what many cities have.

However, it again works down to numbers and money. IF the company had more money, they could run the bueses more often; If they ran the busses more often, more would ride and then they'd have more money. It is a vicious circle.

As long as the majority of people drive, public transport will be in the minority and so not get as much funding.

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Peace.. Mary Jo
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isiah 40:32)

i live in the suburbs of boston, and for we have a good transist system
(bus, Subway, commuter Rail ) price's just went up , but are lower them most systems,
And if you live in the northeast, Amtrack is the best way to travel between boston, NYC and Washington DC

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DD Dan

Why shouldn't it be totally private?

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

My problem with public transport isn't the frequency or the price. When my car was out of action for two months, I was able to get a train to and from work. It took no longer to get to work in the mornings (thanks to a 15 min wait when changing in the city centre) and only slightly longer to get home. I months travel pass cost me considerably less a months petrol. I read the free paper, and had a coffee while waiting for my connection. I was arriving at work stress-free.

My problem was some of the other "passengers". Whilst waiting to go home one night, a gang of five or six youths threatened everyone on the station. Fortunately, no-one was hurt or robbed, but after that, I couldn't wait till my new car came. I have had a similar experience with buses.

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Peace

Ian

Look on the bright side your service may be better than some other countries?

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Michael D.
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The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil.
Pope Benedict XVI

Michael --

The strangest part of that story is that it took half-an-hour to push the train 12 feet. Electric trains are typically very light-weight, compared to diesel or coal-fired locomotives hauling freight.

Maybe half the people refused to get off, much less push?

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-- Fred M

Clare, I feel your pain. I work in the City of London and live on the outskirts, in theory I have a very easy journey except my train is NEVER on time. I pay a fortune every month for the privilege of standing with my nose pushed against somebody's armpit twice a day. In theory my train journey should be about 12 minutes and I should be able to travel door to door in an hour, which probably happens about once a month. If you throw in "weather" my journey is likely to be two hours. Two years ago my monthly season ticket was £80, it is now £130, unfortunately my salary has stayed the same! I am trapped.

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Leslee

Given that Clare last posted on this thread on April 25, 2007 (almost six years ago), I wonder if she was ever able to take that holiday to London?

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In Christ,

Jim B

I will consider your position if stated with firm, well-thought-out, quiet reasoning. Hateful diatribe, ad hominem attacks and shouted rhetoric don't impress.

The old ladies need your seat much more than you do.

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Jeff Stevens

Those old ladies can be vicious when they take your seat, especially if they are armed with umbrellas.

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

Moderator's Comment:

Friends,

It is evident through Michour's 7 posts over several years in this forum that he/she is doing so in order to promote various websites, since all posts either have nothing to do with the thread in which they land, or they are only remotely related. Michour has been shown the door and his/her posts have been moved where they will not see the light of day in COL again.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Clare,

(Apologies for the late reply.)

Serves you right for privatising the railways.

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

In my opinion, public transportation versus public transportation serves as a good analogy and case study in regards to considering individual freedom versus collectivism.

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Daniel

"Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." -- Luke 12:51

What the heck does that mean?

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

I don't see Clare much anymore, I hope she is doing okay.

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Andrew McAllister

Respect for the dignity of every innocent human being from conception/fertilization, without exception, without compromise, without apology.

Andrew, Clare frequently posts on Facebook (including a post today).

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In Christ,

Jim B

I will consider your position if stated with firm, well-thought-out, quiet reasoning. Hateful diatribe, ad hominem attacks and shouted rhetoric don't impress.

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

Actually, yes we did go! The Chelsea Flower Show was a fabulous experience, but the train journeys were dreadful. We had to stand all the way home (nearly a two hour trip!!)

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Best Wishes,

Clare Rickett

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort"
Herm Albright 1876-1944

I am still lurking about! And yes, I am fine thank you!

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Best Wishes,

Clare Rickett

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort"
Herm Albright 1876-1944