On Trains & Buses

Welcome

Since its foundation, this has been a place for public transport information and musings, mainly with a British focus. That has been changing for a number of reasons.

The first is that I divide my time between England and Ireland more than I ever did. Another is that there have been other encounters with other overseas public transport systems.

The fact that there now appears to be more positive things to say about public transport outside the U.K. underlines the importance of sharing the latter. Good stories are badly needed to make for more of a positive view of public transport at this time.

A British Malaise

Since 2010, British public transport funding and usage have taken a hell of a battering. The arrival of a global pandemic saw to that after years of public spending constraints.

All of that is a world away from the times in which this website began. Though that was in the midst of the Great Recession, bus networks were stronger and trust in service provision was higher. To be sure, there were imperfections like overcrowding, delays and disruption, but it is telling that those times now feel more benign. In some ways, it feels looking back towards the end of the nineteen seventies from the midst of the nineteen eighties. Many will not be able to relate to that, though, even if it captures how history keeps repeating itself at times.

Much of what was there in the first decade of the century has been pulverised by years of government policy, fears of disease spread in confined spaces and labour problems. If ever there was a need to promote the use of public transport, it should be now. After all, everyone is aware of the climate emergency and the need to cut carbon emissions in one way or another.

The state of the public finances remains parlous, though. Previous commitments like Restoring Your Railway have been binned, though HS2 construction between London and Birmingham is continuing. Structural reform of the rail and bus industries is on the way too. However, there appears to be no new money, which will hamper things. If the economy grows, there may be room for some hope, even if that is a while away for now.

Looking Elsewhere

Given the state of things in the U.K. at the moment, there has been a continuing internationalisation of what you find here. That noticeably progressed at the end of 2022 when things were appalling in the U.K.; industrial action was happening in all sorts of places at the time, so there was a need to seek more uplifting shores. Travelling back down memory lane to review previous experiences was enough then.

Nowadays, more of my time is being spent in Ireland than before, which is bringing news from there. Other international travels have brought experiences that can be shared. It all helps to lift a veil of gloom that otherwise would pervade in an online portal such as this when British horizons have narrowed so much. Let’s hope that we get beyond budgetary constraints to reach better times as soon as possible.