On The Buses ..... Or not at those prices!!!

[#1]

I've just been looking at the new fare scheme that Go North East has recently put in place (not sure when they did, just "recently"), and goodness me the prices are just ridiculous!!! £3 return for 2 miles from where I live to Stanley, £6.70 for 5 miles to Consett, or, £7 if I need to go to Shotley Bridge via Consett on a day ticket!!!

They have this new 4x "GoZone" thing which has merged their old "too many zones" system into fewer options. Before, Here to Consett was 2x zones, so you paid for those 2x, now it's still 2x zones, but you pay for all 4x zones, even if you're just going the 5 miles plus whatever to get around locally, and given I have to attend medical appointments in Shotley Bridge on occasion with someone else, £14 for such a short journey, blummin' heck, I may aswell take a flippin' taxi!!!

Given that we're all meant to be "Going green" and hopping on a bus (because evil diesel cars are evil, and big buses are super-eco friendly with their 10 litre diesel engines, oh, wait....), at those sorts of prices it's just as expensive as running a car, absolutely nuts...

[#2]

---

@twocvbloke wrote:

 I have to attend medical appointments in Shotley Bridge on occasion with someone else, £14 for such a short journey, blummin' heck, I may aswell take a flippin' taxi!!!

 at those sorts of prices it's just as expensive as running a car, absolutely nuts...

---

It`s cheaper by car... ! ... well, if you only use the diesel costs as a guide... 

£14.00 diesel a week... allows us to go out to lunch or shopping every day...  which equates to about 140 to 150 miles per week

AND>>... it`s   Door to door service... at times convenient to us... no waiting about in the rain with no bus shelter at the stops ! ! ...

[#3]

I'm presently in a "discussion" with GNE on Twitter over it, and I'm not entirely sure they quite get the point of charging £14 for two for such a short journey, for travelling far and wide around their 4x zones it's a bargain, for short local journeys, it's an absolute rip-off...

Doesn't help that they're the sole bus operator in this area, so have a 100% monopoly, so for those of us who rely on them, it's a case of being gotten by the short & curlies, and even more of a problem when you consider that people like me are on a low income and can hardly afford that kind of money...

Good job I'm (hopefully) buying a new bike later today, not just for flab-deleting, but also to avoid those extortionate pricing schemes...

[#4]

Prices are also hidden, and although the Mrs and myself have a bus pass we sometimes go for a run into town with the grandchildren when they stop over - and of course we have to pay for them but cripes, to find out the cost when boarding can be quite a shock. With our local bus company at least, trying to find out the cost by going online is like hunting for a needle in a haystack and one we have yet to find.  I wonder why. 

Privatisation, don't you just love it.

[#5]

@Minivanman Maybe the operator has an app you can get that will show you the current pricing.

[#6]

Funny you should say that because it was only last week that I saw a promotional notice on the bus about downloading an app and which the Mrs has now done on her new phone!

Will get her to check it out, thanks. 

[#7]

---

@shutter wrote:

---

@twocvbloke wrote:

 I have to attend medical appointments in Shotley Bridge on occasion with someone else, £14 for such a short journey, blummin' heck, I may aswell take a flippin' taxi!!!

 at those sorts of prices it's just as expensive as running a car, absolutely nuts...

---

It`s cheaper by car... ! ... well, if you only use the diesel costs as a guide... 

£14.00 diesel a week... allows us to go out to lunch or shopping every day...  which equates to about 140 to 150 miles per week

@shutter  You need to factor in capital expenditure, running costs & depreciation into your comparison.

---

[#8]

Cost of bus fares go up at the same time as the number of bus routes are reduced or even stopped.

A number of routes around here are subsidized by the council....who claim to have no money....so more bus routes in line for the  chop.

Other methods of transport are essential as some places simply cannot be reached by bus.

The way things are going we might as well give a free bus pass to everyone as there will be no buses to use them on......

[#9]

@Champnet Very true. If it was just fuel costs we'd all be happy. Might not apply to the journey but parking charges also come into the mix along with servicing , repairs.


My neighbours just got shot of his very nice SUV. Given the amount of times he used it he found out that it was more economical to just take a taxi - buses are a rsre breed round these parts.

But do have a moan about costs. I've downloaded the local bus operators app. You can even use it buy tickets online. If you've got an internet connection you can even track your bus. Handy when the bus stop doesn't have arrival info.

[#10]

GNE has an app or two, but the in-app ticket discounts only apply to week-long or longer tickets, as for finding ticket costs, when eventually found online or in the app, they're plain as day, in the "It's this or you're walking" kind of way...

But, they're just milking their monopoly, they're the sole provider here, so no competition, and no competition means they can price-gouge, as much as I can't stand Arriva buses when having to use them around Durham, at least they charge at a price per distance between stops, at a sensible rate...

[#11]

---

@Champnet wrote

@shutter  You need to factor in capital expenditure, running costs & depreciation into your comparison.

If you have a car sitting outside your house and you take a bus then Anno Domini will still be depreciating your car. You are still paying road tax and insurance on it sitting there and it still needs servicing every year.

As far as I can see the only factors are wear on brakes and tyres plus a few additional miles on the clock so for a short distance it's hardly significant.

I have a hybrid and it costs about 10p a mile in fuel for up to five of us. There is of course hospital car parking charges but even so...

---

---

[#12]

Well servicing is by the by and no big deal unless there is a problem and "Anno Domini" also depreciates the time until the cars next MOT - well it does on ours anyway.

[#13]

---

@twocvbloke wrote:

Arriva buses when having to use them around Durham, at least they charge at a price per distance between stops, at a sensible rate...

---

Not my experience in Northumberland or Tyne & Wear. 

A return ticket the 2.2 miles to work on the odd occasion I've used them is £4.20 return. Whereas a 1 Zone day ticket is only 50p more for example

[#14]

In my response... I did say that it was only regarding the diesel costs..

However... There is also the fact that two people are travelling those distances per day/week for the £14.00 diesel cost... so all the other costs .. like depreciation ... are not valid.... every car I have had, has been "run into the ground"...and dumped when the new(er) one has been bought... I did not cry about how much it was depreciating year by year.. I was, and still am.. happy driving it, and enjoying it...  As someone said...if its parked outside your house, or even in your garage, you still have to pay for tax and insurances. so they , along with annual servicing and replacement parts, are, again not valid.

Unless.. of course you are a tax consultant accountant, who believes that money is NOT the root of all evil but a god to be cherished and adored, regardless... and if you have that "mindset" then you would not buy anything, not even a computer or wide screen 4d HD TV.. as they, also , will depreciate over time.... and you would wake up every morning, crying in your cornflakes because you were losing money..

NOPE !.. not for me... car outside.... get in... drive off... enjoy the day... come home... ( door to door service regardless of time and weather ) .. and get back indoors to watch that big telly,   who cares about how much that cost in depreciation...  Life is for Living, NOW...

You can`t take it with you when you go,.... ( except when you drive your car, of course ! ! ! ) ..

[#15]

@Baldrick1 wrote: There is of course hospital car parking charges but even so...

I tend to drive to the nearest bus stop, park up and use the bus pass to get to the hospital. No parking charges then and a good saving.

Best saving though is being taken to the hospital in an ambulance but then you have to get back home. £35 for a taxi or use the bus and face a 3 mile walk. Car is easier.