Well, from looking at this forum, it seems alot of people hate buses. However, I only hate buses in the UK for various reasons:
They're so bloody expensive. I'm currently living in Exeter and an all-day pass around Exeter is £3.85. And no, that is a return ticket. Even a single from the city centre to just outside Exeter where my hall of residence (a 25-30 min walk) is £1.90!!!
They stop running at stupidly early hours. I used to live in Romsey and until 2007 the last bus (X66) from Winchester to Romsey was at around 23:00 on weekdays. Now, on a weekday the last bus is at about 19:20 so if you want to go to the theater, go for a meal in Winchester, or if you're a student at Peter Symonds who wants to do some work in the libary then forget it, unless you're willing to take the train. However, that's no use if you live in Hursley or Ampfield (two villages along the way). Ok the inhabitants of these two villages tend to be stupidly rich but just because you have an above-average income doesn't necessarily mean you prefer to drive everywhere, given the price of petrol and the condition of our roads (apparently we have the 2nd worse roads in Europe apart from Albania!)
Buses tend to be very uncomfortable and poor value given the amount you're charged (sorry, mugged at gunpoint for) when you get on. An adult return on the x66 is £5.40 for a 30 min trip and for that you can enjoy the comforts of a Dennis Dart, and be comforted by the relaxing sounds of crying babies and any squeaks and rattles emanating from the bus. Sorry to be sarcastic but for ****'s sake for a similar journey in Europe you'd travel on a coach. Why??
Almost no buses in the UK (apart from TfL ones and I think those in Oxford) have announcements telling you where the next bus stop is. Therefore, if you're not familiar with the area, you either have to a) keep an eye out for any bus stops and hope the one where you get off is yours b) miss your stop or c) ask the bus driver who probably won't speak English and won't give a toss. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson "Speak English mother****er! Do you speak it?"
Right, TfL buses are at least reasonably cheap and have onboard announcements but from what I've read TfLs fare collection policy borders on the obsessive. I read somewhere on the internet (don't ask me for the URL since I've probably forgotten it) about a mother who got on the bus with her baby but forgot to swipe her Oyster card. When an RPI got on board and discovered she hadn't paid she offered to but no, the RPI took down her details, she had to attend court, and was given a fine and a criminal record. All for what!! For a perfectly innocent mistake she was treated like a criminal. If she'd shoplifted a few bottles of wine she'd been given a £60 fixed penalty. This story really ****ed me off since it shows how ****ed up our judiciary system has become. Finally, I can imagine that if she was actually a 18 year old hoody from any rough part of London she wouldn't have been treated the same way, and wouldn't have had to pay the £80 penalty fare on the grounds she was from a deprived background. The judge probably discriminated against her on the grounds she was middle class
However, in Majorca, buses are run properly. I went there in July and a single anywhere in Palma (which has a population of around 600,000) is about 1.25 Euros. Certainly cheaper than Exeter. Also, the buses in Palma are air-conditioned and have visual and audio announcements. There are various discount cards and rover tickets available too though I didn't purchase any of those. One day, I went to Valdemossa to see the monastery where Chopin spent his final months. The return fare there was about 2.90 Euros, and on the outbound leg I went by double-decker coach, and the return was a single-decker. Perfect!
Sorry for the ranting, intemperate tone of this post but it is something I definitely have to get off my chest.
