"tim" wrote in message
...

"Ian F." wrote in message
...
Has anyone had the misfortune to use this appalling service lately?

Never had the need, but personally can't understand why people do.
The normal bus from the central bus terminal passes many of the hotels
and is free.

Yesterday morning, it took 25 minutes to get off the airport and to
anywhere
vaguely resembling a hotel, having picked up at Terminal Two, then going
to
3, then pulling into a bay somewhere odd, changing drivers, going through
vast swathes of airport roadworks, into uncharted bowels and tunnels,
stopping at dozens of traffic-lights...and eventually to the exit,
through
the main tunnel and onto the A4 Bath Road!

This is not the fault of the bus. You'd have to do this whatever form
of transport you used.

And they (National Express) charge three quid for it, on a 20 year-old,
freezing cold bus with rock-hard seats! I remember the days when airport
hotels used to provide a free courtesy bus service.

so do I.

Not sure if there's any alternative, though - would a black cab take you
to
a local hotel?

They woud. They wouldn't be happy.

tim

PMFJI ~

FWIW, after the policy switched mandating the Hoppa service, I learned early
on to take a black cab to the Crowne Plaza at LHR. Only once did a driver
give me a hard time (at Terminal 3) so I told the starter I refused to ride
in that man's cab and requested another. The first cabbie was told to get
out of line and lost his spot. That said, the other drivers I have had over
the years have done a good job for me, which in turn I do a "good job" for
them. The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the increased
time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Rich

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:48:12 GMT, mookie89 wrote:

The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the increased
time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Out of interest, roughly how much extra are we talking about?
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9767288.html
(Gatwick Express, Mark 1: 4VEG unit 7910 at London Victoria in 1980)

"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:48:12 GMT, mookie89 wrote:

The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the increased
time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Out of interest, roughly how much extra are we talking about?
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9767288.html
(Gatwick Express, Mark 1: 4VEG unit 7910 at London Victoria in 1980)

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the driver has a
good attitude and drives appropriately (not like a race car driver), I will
tip the driver £3. Once I did £5 for a particularly excellent driver. This
for a 8 minute ride. So, while it may cost me an extra £4, I go directly to
the hotel in a third less time. Same goes for reverse as there always seems
to be a black cab dropping off when we leave to go home.

mookie89 wrote:
"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:48:12 GMT, mookie89 wrote:

The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the
increased time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Out of interest, roughly how much extra are we talking about?

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Richard J. ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?

You ever tried giving a cabbie a 60p tip?

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 1.4...
Richard J. ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?

You ever tried giving a cabbie a 60p tip?

Yes, I do it regularly for a £4 fare and the driver always seems pleased
with it. OK, it isn't in London, but why should that make any difference?

JohnT

Adrian typed


Richard J. ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?

You ever tried giving a cabbie a 60p tip?

I did today - for a £3.20 fare...

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

In message , Adrian
writes

You ever tried giving a cabbie a 60p tip?

Yes. If the service is OK I always try to tip close to 10%.

--
Paul Terry

"Richard J." wrote in message
.uk...
mookie89 wrote:
"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:48:12 GMT, mookie89 wrote:

The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the
increased time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Out of interest, roughly how much extra are we talking about?

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

I try to treat the individual as they deserve. If the driver, or the
server, or the porter or the whatever really stinks, then there is no tip.
One of the main reasons wife and I travel to the UK as often as we can is
because the people we encounter treat us so well. I have had cabbies,
London or otherwise, go way out of their way for me whether the meter is
running or not. Have I encountered some stinkers? Yes. However most have
been excellent. I do have a bias as I have been in public school
transportation (USA) for over 30 years and get to see both sides of "public
transport". If a public transport bus driver deserves comment either one
way or the other, I send an e-mail to their management. As a manager
(retired), I sincerely appreciated public input. It was usually 5% for and
95% against, but the "for's" really made everyone's day!

mookie

"mookie89" wrote in message
. ..

If the driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately
(not like a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3.
Once I did £5 for a particularly excellent driver.

What constitutes "a particularly excellent driver"?

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes