Well, I've just learned that my bus route is being decimated. It is currently 7 days a week, from around 6am to 11pm. It will now become daytime only and combine two routes into one, meaning the time to get to the train station in the morning (if it even runs that early) will mean having to get the bus 30 minutes earlier. I don't yet know what the timing will be the other way, and if it's not timed for the trains (never was before, but I was lucky) then that could also mean another long wait.
The bus now ends at 7.30pm, so if I work late, it's a 35 minute walk or a £10 cab ride. Suddenly my annual bus ticket doesn't seem like such good value.
Other services that run, which I can take at times with a 10 minute walk, are also being cut in frequency. In fact, loads of buses are being withdrawn or retimed, or combined.
Herts County Council have done exactly what I thought they would, cut the services they think aren't so busy - including the late buses (which, ironically, from 10.30-11pm are probably busier than during the day) and think that it will save money. Now people like me will think, 'I can get TO the station, but not BACK' so either take the car, cycle or walk (or not go at all). In the end, the daytime services will lose passenger numbers too.
The bus now ends at 7.30pm, so if I work late, it's a 35 minute walk or a £10 cab ride. Suddenly my annual bus ticket doesn't seem like such good value.
Other services that run, which I can take at times with a 10 minute walk, are also being cut in frequency. In fact, loads of buses are being withdrawn or retimed, or combined.
Herts County Council have done exactly what I thought they would, cut the services they think aren't so busy - including the late buses (which, ironically, from 10.30-11pm are probably busier than during the day) and think that it will save money. Now people like me will think, 'I can get TO the station, but not BACK' so either take the car, cycle or walk (or not go at all). In the end, the daytime services will lose passenger numbers too.
