public transport in uk

Cities are where most public transport is needed.

I am in a rural area. There is one bus per hour to the town twelve miles away, once every two hours on Sundays. The last bus from town to bring people home is at ten o'clock at night.

If you depend on it it can take some planning and isn't always very convenient but I think it's okay for the area. The buses are well used.

Why is public transport needed more in the city than in rural areas?

I am in a rural area where there is one bus an hour in each direction (I live in the middle of a very long route) and one bus every two hours on Sunday. Last bus is at 17.30. So I cannot ever go to an evening group; I'd love to join the Epilepsy meetings, the W.I., a painting class, a writing group and go shopping when there is room and peace and quiet. Or even out for a pub meal, let alone a restaurant. Fat chance. Even in the day I'm buggered when a mum and baby have taken over the wheelchair space!

Our local bus to and from town is one an hour, stops running at 3.15pm and no service on Sundays and Bank Holidays. When we moved here a few years ago, the last bus was slightly later - 5.15pm! We have a high number of elderly residents in this area, so I imagine that there are a lot of people who don't visit theatres, cinemas, adult education classes etc because of this. Even getting to/from the local hospital or doctor's surgery would be an issue.

I would say the need was the same in both rural and urban areas. The provision on the other hand comes down to demand and funding. Plus if you can get 30 people on a bus which takes up "X" metres of road space, how much more space would be occupied by private vehicles for the same number?
Ask Michael12 if he thinks our buses are adequate let alone wonderful Cath9 , recently he said the service from where he lives to Bicester where he shops has been withdrawn altogether.

you can't dictate what type of bus service you have, it depends on subsidy's revenue type of traffic regulations.

You can decide where you live, so if you choose a nice location in the country side, suffer you must certainly will.

I'm sure you will say its worth it.

We are not on a bus route but if I drive four miles I can catch a regular bus into town.I t is a friendly bus and would always accommodate a wheelchair user.Mums with pushchairs are asked if it is possible for them to get out and if not everyone squashes up a bit to squeeze the pushchairs in.I was horrified to see in Bournemouth last Sunday a young mum left at the bus stop to wait another hour for a bus.With a bit of consideration she could have been accommodated especially as half a dozen people!e got off at the first stop !

Nearest bus stop is 6 miles away. So utterly useless. But people know that when they come and live here, so dont come unless at least one person can drive, or younger family members[though there are precious few of them around here], can drive you.

When I was a new mum I lived in a small village. We had two busses per day, and none on Sundays. The first bus was at 08.35 and the evening bus back from town at 18.15. If I hadn't been able to drive I would have been stuck. I know that it costs to put busses on in rural areas, but it would improve the lives of many people.

Im68now Yes, people may choose where to live, but bus services may be cut or removed after they've lived somewhere for a time! That's what happened in my area (not countryside or out in the sticks btw)

I think there are anomalies in some areas. Where we used to live, four miles from the city centre, we started off with a service every twenty minutes and an early morning service from five a.m. Just before DH retired, they had axed the early morning service which meant I had to get up at six to drive him into work for half past. The daytime service had also gained an extra twenty minute wait. By the time we moved, the bus ran every hour - and sometimes they would miss out a few! Where we live now, on the South Eastern edge of the same city, we get a bus every ten minutes into the city centre and then on to one of the hospitals. We also have a Supertram terminus just down the road which also runs every ten minutes and connects to the north of the city or to Meadowhall. Do we need a bus or tram every ten minutes outside peak times? Not really - it is quite often almost empty - but it's nice. In this city, most people agree there is neither rhyme nor reason to some of the services. It's either feast or famine. In the late seventies we lived for three years in an Essex village. We saw our bus service whittle from a bus every half hour to a few buses a day. By the time we left, they were also talking about closing the underground station.

We're not in a rural area, but only have one bus an hour to our nearest sizeable town, three miles away, and the last bus is before 6pm. The single fare is £2.90. The other bus route option is over a mile away. Seeing as all evening classes now take place in that town, people without cars are excluded from them.

This route used to run three times an hour, until 11 at night. Now that was a wonderful service. And we had an adult ed centre within walking distance. I'm getting all nostalgic now!

Why is public transport needed more in the city than in rural areas?

Greater concentration of people needing to be shifted from A to B, ab.

It may be needed by more people but that is not the same as - is needed more in the city , I accept you meant the former

We live in a reasonably large town. My DS and DDiL have recently moved house into a large village on the outskirts and the children cannot get into any of the schools nearby (going to appeal) meaning that they have a long journey to/from school everyday. Its okay on the days we have a car but using public transport is a complete nightmare. The journey takes around 20 minutes in the car but takes an hour and a half by public transport. No direct bus routes and necessitates a long walk and 2 changes. It is also extremely expensive as they could not travel alone due to bus changes and busy roads etc.so have to be accompanied.

Our first bus is at 9am, the last bus is around 5pm, and if you miss one during the day you have an hour to wait for another.