Public bus problems have been a constant source of irritation for me since having children. Once the babies are weaned and my husband and I felt we could trust a baby sitter we thought we might be able to grab a couple of hours together, outside the house, in a busy area and enjoy 2, perhaps 3 drinks. The buses wouldn't allow for this as there was no return bus on a Friday or Saturday back to our rural community just 20 minutes drive South of Ipswich. The children grew and so did parking prices in Ipswich so we were excited at the adventures we would have on the local bus (kids love a bus), but alas, the price of a return ticket for our family of 4 would have been more than the diesel and parking fee put together, and with the inconvenience of keeping to the bus timetable we thought it didn't make sense. The children did more growing and went to the local secondary school. I asked for a bus pass for my eldest, but, at 2.8 miles away from the school we were too close to qualify. I wanted to appeal on the basis of it being unsafe on their bikes but the appeals form had no place for cycles (they weren't around much in the 1940's when the policy was made). I appealed on the basis of it being unsafe for pedestrians, hoping the Councillors who walked the route would imagine the snow, wind and rain in their faces, the dark mornings and nights, the cars not sticking to speed limits alongside the path and the trees and leaves covering the path when they walked on the sunny day in July. Alas, they saw my point, as it took them a whole hour to walk from the school to my home, but the 'boss' at the Council didn't agree, it was safe enough. My children have not stopped growing and now my eldest is attending work experience in Ipswich. He cannot get a bus for a 9am start unless he wants to get there an hour early or late. He has to be taken to the next village along to catch that bus, but can not buy a return ticket as the bus home does come to our village and it's a different bus. My children are now able to look after themselves while my husband and I have a couple of hours out, but alas, the last bus out is 1744 with no return on a Friday and Saturday night.  There shall be no buses on a Sunday from the end of March 2019. 

I attended a workshop the County Council held called "A conversation about Rural Transport" last week, with hope that things may be changing. Only for the worst I'm afraid. They have had their funding cut from central government so were looking for local voluntary groups to fill the gap, even suggesting the Segways and electric bikes they use in Denmark as a possible exciting prospect....on the rural roads?!  I took some comments from my local community like "the bus is empty going through the villages in the morning because it's too late for commuters to get a decent train to London, and it doesn't stop at the train station", and "who can rely on buses when they're 2 hours apart and don't get you to work or the shops on time?", and "they're too expensive, I can park for less".

One good thing that came out of the workshop; it seems less youngsters are taking up driving and less cars are being made and sold. Surely this is a turning point and should be taken as an opportunity for change.  Put the services out there to entice people to use them. Climate change is not getting any better with cars still being on the roads. It makes more sense to travel in groups.  Get the services right and they will be used. We'll just wait in a queue for them to get it right shall we?!