Public Transport

[iChris]

ye i get to work early aswell so theres not many people on the bus then . Today when i was coming home we picked up all the uni students and stuff from UWA. they are quite rude . I saw this old lady get on and the uni students were in the priority seat and they were to busy on their iphone to notice her. lucky the bus driver told him to GTFO of her way.

I sometimes get that when I go to tafe. I go to the Bentley campus so I get the asians that are going to/from Curtain uni and they are rude as. that's about the only time I take the bus.

 

[DAKSTER]

When I lived in Alberton (Port Adelaide) I was working in the IT dept for Westpac, at Lockleys. Its 7km, light traffic, 10 minutes drive, max. I had no car for 3 months (oh god that sucks lol) and I was bussing to work.

3 changes of bus, and a 90 minute journey each way to go 7 lousy km. A weekly bus pass for $35 that got me to work and back (10 2 hr trips combining bus and rail if needed). Definitely cheaper to drive, and 20 minutes vs 3hrs travel time each day.

Thats not an experience that convinces me of the value of public transport. If I was physically capable of riding a pushbike, it would have been so much faster than a bus.

If I worked in a city centre though I think I would change my tune. A lot more traffic and distance, and the cost and inconvenience of parking.. trains and buses become faster and cheaper.

 

[Wogboy1994]

ye i work in the city. I actually enjoy taking the bus . a lot of interesting people on there and when u see a fight or two its nice entertainment on the way home. before today i had this whole idea thinking ... "oh public transport is probaly crap cos its cheap fares." i was wrong lol

 

[c2105026]

I used to live in sydney (parramatta) and worked at an office on elizabeth street in sydney. The ticket was $31/week and the train was 30-35 min each way. To drive the distance would have been an hour each way, and about $200/week (parking, fuel etc.) In the eastern half of sydney public transport is/was quite acceptable. However in Orange we have a bus service that is just rubbish. Downtown is getting more and more congested.

 

[Full Spectrum]

My experience with public transport has been surprisingly good. Once we had a train fault and had to vacate it. And once the miki didn't let me out, and another we just got waved through.. but im happy, as to paying $55 a day to park.

 

[Big_Simmo]

yeah public transport is not meant to be a cheap way to get around, its an alternative. The fares alone wouldn't even cover the wages of the drivers/operators then you have all the maintenance, fuel etc etc
I was working in the city for a few years and always found bus/train was the best option to get in and out. Sure it can be a tad crowded but when peak hour traffic is pretty much starting at around 330pm nowadays its still a hell of a lot better option than sitting in the car for ages on end with the fear of some jerk hitting, side swiping or bumping your car because lets face it people in Perth cant drive for ****.

Ive used rail & bus services in Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane and as much as I dislike whats on Offer in Perth it is still miles above what the east coast offers.

 

[sik_dose]

I lost my licence for a year (now have it back) I caught Sydney and south coast train for that whole time. Not fun places to be. Only those who can handle themselves live to get their licence back, City rail is not safe.

 

[TechRecruit]

Fk me, I live in Sunshine coast and work is based in Woolongabba or the city depending on the day.

If I were to catch Brisibane public transport Id be up 4:00 and be at work at 9 so yeah, fk that

That's right people of QLD, I drive into the city! (equivalane of sky doing with no chute)

 

[Wogboy1994]

so whats the deal with bus drivers wages? do they get to keep any coins or what? once i tried to pay with a 10 dollar not (cos i thought he didnt have any change so i would get on free) so he whips out a fiver and a few coins then he puts the note in his jacket pocket.

 

[rb26dett]

To the OP. How far is it each way for you by bus?

I was a rail commuter for years before retiring and a weekly ticket cost well over $50. The last time I had to buy one was in 2008 so I imagine they have gone up a fair bit by now.

Five days at $13.60 per day is probably compatible with what many thousands of commuters pay every week for the privelage of bus or train travel. Have you considered a periodical ticket? Weeklies are usually equal to around 3.5 to 4 days worth of fares which means a bit of a saving over time.

Prices have come down for CityRail since 2008. It is about $8.70 to get to Sydney now from Newcastle when it used to be about $20 one way.