It took me a little while to decide what to post about and decided this would be interesting to share.
A few years ago, the village I live in and the surrounding communities were faced with losing their bus services.
Since I rely on public transport to get about (when it's working it's much more convenient than driving and parking), I led a campaign to save those vital bus routes by rallying seven communities and their leaders.
It was a lot of work and we had to make do with a very limited bus service for six months but we got it back.
Now every time I see one of those buses, I can't help feel a little bit of accomplishment. It's there because the people spoken up and I made sure they were heard.
So, yeah I know far more about bus routes and planning than I ever wanted to know, but it was worth it.
Hilariously, I get asked about buses pretty much every time I go out, even by people who have no idea about any of what happened.
A few years ago, the village I live in and the surrounding communities were faced with losing their bus services.
Since I rely on public transport to get about (when it's working it's much more convenient than driving and parking), I led a campaign to save those vital bus routes by rallying seven communities and their leaders.
It was a lot of work and we had to make do with a very limited bus service for six months but we got it back.
Now every time I see one of those buses, I can't help feel a little bit of accomplishment. It's there because the people spoken up and I made sure they were heard.
So, yeah I know far more about bus routes and planning than I ever wanted to know, but it was worth it.
Hilariously, I get asked about buses pretty much every time I go out, even by people who have no idea about any of what happened.
What do you think of bus services for free? Is it possible?
Fantax wrote:
What do you think of bus services for free? Is it possible?
It is possible, it takes a rethink in how buses are funded. There are some cities/countries that offer free bus travel.
Here the local governments subsidise the bus fares, so passengers pay a minimal amount and the rest is covered by the council. So it costs me £2 to travel to my closest city. It's not free but it does help and it's been getting more people to use the buses because it's cheaper than paying for parking etc.
Also my new regional mayor (and this is as political as this thread is going to get) did offer free bus fares to all under 16 year olds during the summer holidays this year. So it can be done and it was well recieved by parents.
I mostly just want to thank you for doing that! As someone who's unable to drive, I rely heavily on public transit, and while I'm unlikely to ever use the buses you helped save, I think that that's one of those things where having it and keeping it running well helps to encourage other places to set up and maintain public transit too, as well as functioning as another example of how it can be achieved. 
I did manage to think of a question, though: of all those details you learned, was there anything that stood out as particularly surprising or fascinating?
I did manage to think of a question, though: of all those details you learned, was there anything that stood out as particularly surprising or fascinating?