I live in Cumbria, but have been informed that in April, I'll get a
country wide (OAP) bus pass, would this also include the tube in the
London area or no? Thanks.
--
Clive.

On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 13:41:08 +0000, "Clive."
wrote:

I live in Cumbria, but have been informed that in April, I'll get a
country wide (OAP) bus pass, would this also include the tube in the
London area or no? Thanks.

Just the bus network - not the tubes or trains unlike London residents.
The government are only funding (and then not in a very sensible way)
free access to bus services within England. Note that there are
different schemes for Scotland and Wales and I'm not sure how cross
border concessions are covered.

However the London bus network is very comprehensive so it's still very
easy to get around and can often be quicker than the tube as there are
no long treks down stairs and escalators to platforms and bus stops are
often closer to where people want to go to.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In article ,
(Clive.) wrote:

I live in Cumbria, but have been informed that in April, I'll get a
country wide (OAP) bus pass, would this also include the tube in
the London area or no? Thanks.

Not the tube, just the buses.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 2 Jan, 13:51, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 13:41:08 +0000, "Clive."
wrote:

I live in Cumbria, but have been informed that in April, I'll get a
country wide (OAP) bus pass, would this also include the tube in the
London area or no? Thanks.

Just the bus network - not the tubes or trains unlike London residents.
The government are only funding (and then not in a very sensible way)
free access to bus services within England. Note that there are
different schemes for Scotland and Wales and I'm not sure how cross
border concessions are covered.

Just for the record, of course London Freedom Pass holders (which is
the London OAP & disabled free travel pass) will likewise get free bus
travel elsewhere in England. Interestingly existing London Freedom
Passes will not be replaced by the new style national free bus pass
card until 2010, but will instead just have a sticker applied to them
to show this new validity. I'm sure this will lead to some confusion
when a London Freedom Pass is presented to a bus driver in Cornwall or
Northumberland etc.

See the Freedom Pass website Q&As on this issue:
http://www.freedompass.org/questions...d.htm#national


However the London bus network is very comprehensive so it's still very
easy to get around and can often be quicker than the tube as there are
no long treks down stairs and escalators to platforms and bus stops are
often closer to where people want to go to.


Though it's sometime hard to convince even born and bred Londoners
that this can sometimes be the case!

In addition to what Paul said, it's also well worth noting that many
bus routes are very frequent - and London's bus services have improved
vastly over the past 10 years.

On 2 Jan, 16:16, Mizter T wrote:
On 2 Jan, 13:51, Paul Corfield wrote:

However the London bus network is very comprehensive so it's still very
easy to get around and can often be quicker than the tube as there are
no long treks down stairs and escalators to platforms and bus stops are
often closer to where people want to go to.

Though it's sometime hard to convince even born and bred Londoners
that this can sometimes be the case!

In addition to what Paul said, it's also well worth noting that many
bus routes are very frequent - and London's bus services have improved
vastly over the past 10 years.

As a semi-regular visitor to London for business and leisure, I have
no doubt that the above is true. However the main reason I almost
never use London buses is the difficulty in recognising my
destination, especially in busy periods, bad weather or darkness.
Unless one is very familiar with the geography of London or uses a
given bus route regularly, it's much easier to recognise the necessary
stop on the tube, find the right exit from the station and then
identify one's eventual destination from a map or directions provided
by the destiation from the nearest tube.

Steve Adams

On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 05:25:43 -0800 (PST), Steve
wrote:

As a semi-regular visitor to London for business and leisure, I have
no doubt that the above is true. However the main reason I almost
never use London buses is the difficulty in recognising my
destination, especially in busy periods, bad weather or darkness.
Unless one is very familiar with the geography of London or uses a
given bus route regularly, it's much easier to recognise the necessary
stop on the tube, find the right exit from the station and then
identify one's eventual destination from a map or directions provided
by the destiation from the nearest tube.

In the old days, of course, you asked the conductor to tell you when
you were at where you wanted to go. Indeed on some routes like the
no. 11 they used to announce the principal central London stops.
You can always ask your fellow passengers to let you know when you are
approaching your desired destination; the 'no-talking' rule doesn't
seem to apply as much on the buses as it does on the Underground.
--
Ken

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 3 Jan, 14:45, Ken wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 05:25:43 -0800 (PST), Steve

wrote:
As a semi-regular visitor to London for business and leisure, I have
no doubt that the above is true. However the main reason I almost
never use London buses is the difficulty in recognising my
destination, especially in busy periods, bad weather or darkness.
Unless one is very familiar with the geography of London or uses a
given bus route regularly, it's much easier to recognise the necessary
stop on the tube, find the right exit from the station and then
identify one's eventual destination from a map or directions provided
by the destiation from the nearest tube.

In the old days, of course, you asked the conductor to tell you when
you were at where you wanted to go. Indeed on some routes like the
no. 11 they used to announce the principal central London stops.
You can always ask your fellow passengers to let you know when you are
approaching your desired destination; the 'no-talking' rule doesn't
seem to apply as much on the buses as it does on the Underground.
--
Ken



The iBus project means that some London buses now talk, with
announcements for each bus stop. Though I must say I'm not entirely
sure I approve!

In message
,
Steve writes
On 2 Jan, 16:16, Mizter T wrote:
On 2 Jan, 13:51, Paul Corfield wrote:

However the London bus network is very comprehensive so it's still very
easy to get around and can often be quicker than the tube as there are
no long treks down stairs and escalators to platforms and bus stops are
often closer to where people want to go to.

Though it's sometime hard to convince even born and bred Londoners
that this can sometimes be the case!

In addition to what Paul said, it's also well worth noting that many
bus routes are very frequent - and London's bus services have improved
vastly over the past 10 years.

As a semi-regular visitor to London for business and leisure, I have
no doubt that the above is true. However the main reason I almost
never use London buses is the difficulty in recognising my
destination, especially in busy periods, bad weather or darkness.
At stop information in London is the best I have ever seen on *any*
transport system anywhere. Local area maps, medium and longer distance
spider maps and diagrams on the stops themselves.

The only thing lacking is detailed times, which are more important in
the less-frequently served suburbs than they are in the Central Area.

Unless one is very familiar with the geography of London or uses a
given bus route regularly, it's much easier to recognise the necessary
stop on the tube, find the right exit from the station and then
identify one's eventual destination from a map or directions provided
by the destiation from the nearest tube.
Yes, it is easier on the Tube (at least until you exit from the station)
but buses are well worth trying for many more journeys than you might
assume.

I would find it *much* harder to use the bus system in other big cities
where information is extremely patchy and even where provided not always
of use. Walk out of Birmingham New Street Station and - as a casual
visitor - try to find a bus to Pheasey, or Londonderry or Maypole or
Castle Vale. All of these are well served destinations but unless you
*know* as few things (or stumble on the Centro Travel Office, getting
the information would be much harder than doing the same in London.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk