I would really like to use public transport… really I would. My daily commute is frustrating, boring, expensive and pollutes the environment. The possibility of sitting on a warm, dry (albeit overcrowded) train while someone else does the hard work is very appealing. However, last night showed that dream simply isn’t feasable.
My car is in for some service work, so I was forced to look to public transport to get home. After agreeing with my boss that I could leave early to try and catch the 4:55 train, I set off for the station. Full of enthusiasm for the adventure that lay ahead. I arrived at the station at 4:53 and purchased my ticket. Arriving at the platform, there was a reasonably-sized crowd, that gave me hope that I had not missed the 4:55. However, 5pm came and went, and I was relaxed, safe in the knowledge that I may have missed the 4:55 train, but there was another at 5:15. Time passes, more people arrive.
There is no announcement on the tannoy, and the computer screens showing train status are not working. by 5:30, there must be at least 100 people on the platform. Still no announcements. I hold my ground, knowing that the moment I leave the platform, a train will arrive.
5:45, and many passengers are starting to get agitated (myself included). So I bite the bullet and head back down to the booking office. “Temporarily Closed”. Again, the screens are blank. I return to the platform, still no news. I then decide to see if I can find any information on my WAP phone. Nothing. The Rail information website is entirely graphical driven, and unsuitable for a mobile device (probably unsuitable for blind/disabled viewers, but that’s another story).
6:15 and there is finally a tannoy announcement that there are no trains. Heading back down to the ticket office, hoping for more information, there is a member of staff there, but he is chatting on his mobile phone. He then leaves the building to talk to some taxi drivers. The crowd follow like sheep, hoping for some information, but still nothing.
Resolving to take the bus, I phone the information line and ask about the ticket that I bought, under the pretence of there being a train available (after all, there was no notification otherwise…) I was told that it is not policy to issue refunds for single tickets.
I then had to take a 45 minute bus journey to Birmingham, followed by a train to Wolverhampton. 3 hours after leaving work, I finally arrived home.
With public transport this reliable, how can we even consider ditching the cars?