Do you use buses?

I'm in outer London and I rarely wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus into town. Also there's lots of routes to places, also with regular times of less than 15 minutes. I don't drive and have a free bus pass so fares are thankfully not an issue. Nowadays it is even easier with Google maps as I put in a journey destination and it tells me the time of the next bus, including any delays.

We have a very good bus service where I live and I have a bus pass. So much easier, and obviously cheaper than trying to park almost anywhere now.
I think that we are very lucky

ExD1938 I'm in the same position as you - to catch a bus I need to take the car and find somewhere to leave it! Sometime within the next 10 years I shall have to stop driving so the plan is to put aside the money I would have spent on petrol and servicing
for my car and use it for/towards taxis. There is a mainline station just two miles away and I have my Senior Railcard but even now I take a taxi to the station as the parking there is extremely limited.

Yes, I travel on buses frequently. I'm fortunate enough to have a half hourly service to a large city. I park my car up to the most convenient bus stop and go. For important appointments I do a bus plus just in case of holdups or late arrival. Mostly enjoy the experience but there can be downsides.

How lucky those people are to have free bus passes! I’m over 60 but don’t qualify for one yet ? I do think a fairer way would be to have half price fares for all over 60’s which may deter those who just ride around for the sake of it!

I sold my car when I moved back to the UK after 21 years......did plan to buy another ...but having to change my licence back to a UK one, eye test for over 70's et al, I decided (or rather ha ha ...my friends decided !) I don't need one ...metro two hundred yards...buses (2) right outside door, airport 15 mins, ferry if you need it, 15 minutes …...taxis cheap and plentiful ! could not have moved anywhere without transport !

I'm glad you get a bus pass. I dont live in London and have to wait until I am 66 for mine

I use a bus infrequently as I have long legs and there just isn't enough room to be comfortable

Oh forgot to add I've had to wait 2 hours , I kid you not, in the centre of Bristol to get back to the park and ride. On the day my Mum died, (a different occasion), I had had to go into the centre of Bristol for a meeting, (not know I would get THAT call about Mum) and had used the park-and-ride so you can imagine the state I was in waiting for the bus to get back to my car to get to her care home. Luckily, no thanks to our useless bus service, I managed to get to her before she passed away. That awful day, with that dreadful anxiety about the buses will be in my memory for ever. All made worse by the woman who sat beside me, albeit not knowing my situation, who started stuffing her face with her lunch and trying to engage me in conversation at the same time. I had to politely tell her why I didn't want to talk to her, which just added to the misery of that journey. Oh dear, sorry another Grumpy Old Woman rant!

I am soooo lucky. I live in London and have a bus stop right outside my door, with buses serving an amazing variety of locations in London. Plus now I'm 60 I get the free travel pass! I've always used them though, I've not owned a car in years as don't see the point in London.

Not if I can help it. For a city of its size, Bristol's bus service is awful.
There were recent reports of buses continually breaking down because of old vehicles past their use-by date not being replaced, and services completely missing. Until recently another news story was the unused Metro bus route with no service, and it's resemblance to an old Wild West ghost town, with litter instead of tumble weed blowing along it! The bus service to south Bristol hospital ceases at about 3.30 apparently, leaving people with no transport back to our part of the city after that time. On the rare occasions I go into the centre (I avoid that like the plague unless unavoidable) , Ì use the park and ride - costs £5 to go 5 miles and takes at least 30 minutes to get there. Buses over crowded and uncomfortable. Our maniac of a mayor has all sorts of plans to get people out of using cars in a short time scale, but without getting the infrastructure for alternatives such as accessible, sufficient and affordable public transport, or electric car charging provision in place in the same time span. Public transport is a breeding ground for spreading colds and flu- on the rare occasions I use it, I always end up catching something! I much prefer my own transport- private, comfortable and germ-free, and without everyone's private business being broadcast around me on their mobile phone calls! And before anyone shouts, I try whenever possible to use my motorcycle rather than the car, as it's not contributing to congestion. Grumpy Old Woman rant over!

I was looking forward to getting my bus pass when I retire later this year but the local bus service has been reduced so much, by the time I retire it will be little use. I shall still try to use it if I can as it's more environmentally friendly than using a car all the time.

Never seen a bus in this part of France profonde!

My Norfolk village has only one bus to Kings Lynn every day which leaves there 1.30.pm which I used to use but now I am disabled I use the Dial a ride which goes there once a week and I can then hire a scooter.

Used buses all the time when we lived in London, but not now that we're semi-rural. Although the buses here run on time, fares are expensive and I just prefer the convenience of the car.

I have just given up my car and I use the bus............all the time. But I live in London and there are frequent buses.

I’ve recently had to stop driving and use buses. This means a four hour journey home by bus on three different buses if I can’t get a lift and it’s hideous.one of the buses picks up a million kids from school and the noise is deafening
I so hope to get my licence back soon,

Use the bus all the time! Live on the outskirts of a reasonably sized town, and have 4 buses an hour going into town, and 2 going to the hospital. Cycle / walk to gym and local shops. We moved from small town with hardly any buses, where a car was essential, to live in a newly built suburban development, which is full of cycle lanes and footpaths. A brilliant place to live. We do have a car for longer journeys, but can walk/cycle to most places. It's just perfect.

I am lucky to live in London with a Freedom Pass for free travel on buses, tube and local trains. I make very good use of it! I know that some people, especially in rural areas, have no choice but to drive but it does annoy me the number of people who drive in London who often really don't need to. With the urgency of the climate crisis, I hope that there will be much more funding for public transport nationally and incentives to use it.

I am ashamed to say I do not use the bus. I am lazy to walk to the bus stop, even though it's just round the corner.
I must use it more.

Haven't been on a bus for as long as I remember. If I can't drive I don't go unless going up to London on train.
I don't even lke bring driven by someone else either.

As previous posters have said living in west Midlands can't complain about buses great service and the pass can be used on train and metro meaning people in Wolverhampton could get to Coventry completely free of charge with their pass. Myself and DH use the bus at least twice a week more in the nice weather when we hop on and of buses take ourselves out for day.

I enjoy a bus ride, and a friend and I went to London on the bus, then took various other buses. It was a lovely feeling of freedom - no hunting for parking places and a good view from the top deck.

We have a reasonable service every half hour but I tend to use the train at the moment which is only 10 minutes walk away. We also have our own cars now but we're looking to move and apart from health services a good transport service will be a deciding factor when we can no longer drive safely. We're up in Scotland a fair bit and love Lothian buses operating in Edinburgh . Recently I was also in Manchester and travelled on their free electric buses around the city!

...oh , and we have one bus an hour on Sundays ...so you only have to plan ahead to make it work.