On my hillwalking blog, I did share, on an occasional basis, some experiences and observations of British and Irish public transport. That changed after a posting regarding being crammed into a Transpennine Express train while travelling to and from Edinburgh. Since then, this has been the place for sharing my thoughts on and experiences of public transport. So far, this has been limited to travel by train and bus but related air and sea travel musings cannot be ruled out either; naturally, an associated train and/or bus journey would make such things fit rather better under the site's title.

The subject of public transport is one that attracts its share of negative commentary and you do have to wonder if that is justified. Of course, things don't run smoothly all of the time but there's a not so limited network out there that needs both publicity and celebration. That is why I have pages celebrating helpful local authorities and useful train and bus company websites as well as a listing of selected bus service timetables. People often don't realise the extent of what is available and get to hear the complaints instead, not a good state of affairs.

Some may counter that public transport cannot serve every need but the spectre of global warming and the finite nature of the world's fossil fuel reserves mean that the concept of taking a car everywhere has to be challenged. What really has been felt keenly over the last decade is that there isn't enough space in our towns and cities for personal motorised transport anyway. That may have been the cause of the upsurge in train travel seen in recent years. If so, it's no bad thing and, if there's a corresponding rise in bus patronage, that's even better.

However, in these economically troubled times, any money from the public purse is going to be examined and challenged by governments in the name of savings. The British and Irish railways have gained from government patronage in the good times but things now look bleaker. Let's hope that babies aren't about to get thrown out with the bathwater. The same comments apply to subsidised bus services so I'll be keeping a close eye on what happens.