Do many people use the bus just to travel to the next stop?

[PTR 444]

I’m a regular bus user, but one thing I very seldom do is use it to travel less than three stops. Usually this is because the walk is quicker than waiting at the bus stop, but also because I feel bad about wasting the driver’s time just to travel to the next stop, especially if I’m the only person boarding there. The only time I’d ever consider doing so is if it was raining or I had large suitcases to carry, but even then I would still make the effort to walk the journey as a 30 second bus ride just feels so pointless.

Thinking about it, I wonder if many people use the bus just to make short one-stop journeys? I should mention that there are numerous examples of routes with long non-stop sections, so these should be excluded as it usually wouldn’t be quicker to walk.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I've done it between two bits of Manchester Uni when in a hurry and there was a bus at the stop.

 

[AlterEgo]

Very occasionally in London if I’ve done it when I’ve had a travelcard and just so happened to see a bus arrive.

 

[Simon75]

Have done if I don't know where I'm going

 

[Gloster]

Quite frequently in Ryde. Plenty of people either do from the bus station to the library or from Cross Street to John Street. Also from the bus station to Cross Street and from St John’s Road to the library, both of which are two stops. For myself, I do from Kite Hill to Wootton High Street, which is two stops, when necessary.

 

[Dai Corner]

It depends on how far apart the stops are and the mobility of the passenger.

I've seen elderly people with heavy shopping travel one stop from the shops to as near home as they can get in urban areas. In rural areas with one stop per village/hamlet there are probably some who just travel one stop too.

 

[DaventryRabbit]

Quite a few Years ago on the late night bus from Northampton to Daventry I witnessed someone join st the stop in St James's Area of Northampton and ask for the Stop at 'Beacon Bingo' Anyone who knows Northampton may be aware that this is literally about 300 Yards away! The Driver didn't even have a Fare for it on his machine so let her travel for free!
I could understand if they where elderly or had luggage but this person seemed perfectly able bodied!

 

[Tom Gallacher]

Quite a few Years ago on the late night bus from Northampton to Daventry I witnessed someone join st the stop in St James's Area of Northampton and ask for the Stop at 'Beacon Bingo' Anyone who knows Northampton may be aware that this is literally about 300 Yards away! The Driver didn't even have a Fare for it on his machine so let her travel for free!
I could understand if they where elderly or had luggage but this person seemed perfectly able bodied!

I think you might have answered your own question - they might not have been aware of the location they wanted to go to.

 

[GusB]

I’m a regular bus user, but one thing I very seldom do is use it to travel less than three stops. Usually this is because the walk is quicker than waiting at the bus stop, but also because I feel bad about wasting the driver’s time just to travel to the next stop, especially if I’m the only person boarding there.

I wouldn't consider it wasting the driver's time - they're getting paid for it whether you board or not!

The only time I’d ever consider doing so is if it was raining or I had large suitcases to carry, but even then I would still make the effort to walk the journey as a 30 second bus ride just feels so pointless.

As others have pointed out, it depends on a few factors; if I had to pay a single fare for it, I probably wouldn't bother, but if I already had a day or season ticket I'd feel that I was getting more value from it (embracing my inner Aberdonian )

If I'm laden with luggage or shopping bags, it's a no-brainer.

 

[Geordie driver]

Some elderly or disabled people do occasionally, what might be an easy couple of hundred yards might be a huge distance to them. I would never think anyone was wasting my time by traveling only one stop.

 

[Andy Pacer]

They seem to have increased since the birth of ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) passes.

 

[2192]

I wouldn't consider it wasting the driver's time - they're getting paid for it whether you board or not! ...

It's also wasting diesel, and contributing more CO2 to cause global warming, unless it's an electric bus.

 

[Dai Corner]

They seem to have increased since the birth of ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) passes.

Not surprisingly. But it brings in a bit more revenue which probably exceeds the the marginal cost, which is a positive for the operator.

 

[ChrisC]

They seem to have increased since the birth of ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) passes.

That’s definitely the case. I’m going back to the 1960s now when I was a child. My grandparents lived at the top of a hill and there was a bus stop outside their house. They never used it but always got on and off the bus at the bottom of the hill because it was 2d cheaper. Even when they had heavy bags of shopping to carry they walked up the hill. Almost everyone did, not just my grandparents. You were thought to be quite wealthy if you could afford to stay on the bus to the top of the hill. Tuppence was a lot of money to them in those days. People used to regularly walk a stop or two along the road to the next fare stage to save money. These days you can see people just getting on the bus one stop to ride up the hill. I’m not saying anyone is right or wrong as times have changed.

 

[Busaholic]

They seem to have increased since the birth of ENCTS (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) passes.

Journeys of all distances will be the more with ENCTS, that being the point of it. Some people seem to think that the scheme should, maybe even will, disappear in due course, but I fervently hope they're incorrect.

 

[GusB]

It's also wasting diesel, and contributing more CO2 to cause global warming, unless it's an electric bus.

Not necessarily - the bus could be stopping for other passengers anyway.

 

[Gloster]

Journeys of all distances will be the more with ENCTS, that being the point of it. Some people seem to think that the scheme should, maybe even will, disappear in due course, but I fervently hope they're incorrect.

I would definitely agree that there are more short journeys since ENCTS was introduced, while the sight of an old man or (more usually) old woman staggering back from the shops along a main road with some heavy shopping is a lot less common. I don’t yet have an ENCTS as I have a rover, but if it wasn’t for that I would probably have to pay for some quite short journeys if they were uphill. (All a result of living life too fast: I am 62 going on 87, but I did enjoy it.)

 

[NorthOxonian]

Thinking about it, I wonder if many people use the bus just to make short one-stop journeys? I should mention that there are numerous examples of routes with long non-stop sections, so these should be excluded as it usually wouldn’t be quicker to walk.

I have done this a few times. Invariably this was because I was connecting between services - either in London (where I made use of the hopper fare) or elsewhere (where I had a day or period ticket).

The one exception, where I really was just being lazy, was in the town of Saltburn in North Yorkshire. Anyone who knows the place will know there's a huge bank between the beach and the main town centre - and on one occasion I got the bus one stop to save myself having to climb up!

 

[markymark2000]

I've done plenty but it depends on how you look at it as Chester Bus Station to Chester Train Station is only advertised as 1 stop (the intermediate stop isn't advertised and never ever stops anyway as it's a dead stop) but the walk is 10 minutes down and sometimes the few minute bus journey really helps take the weight off your feet.

If you're asking in terms of like housing estates or normal journeys (not linking between interchanges or key points within the same local town), no, I don't do 1 stop hops.

 

[DelayRepay]

My village is quite small and only has three bus stops. It's not uncommon to see elderly people travel one stop, usually to the middle of the village where the shop and doctors' surgery are. I wouldn't do it because I can walk it in two minutes but I understand why they do. Must make arranging doctors' appointments difficult though as the bus only comes once an hour with a gap in the timetable at lunchtime (presumably when the driver is having his break).

I use the bus to go one stop, but that's from the edge of my village to the next village where a friend lives. It's about 1.5 miles on roads which don't have footpaths or streetlights. I've walked it before but the bus is a lot easier, especially if it's dark or raining.

I once went to a town I'd never visited before for a job interview. The company had helpfully sent me directions from the station, which were to catch a certain bus and get off at Tesco. So I boarded the bus and asked for a ticket to Tesco. The driver pointed to Tesco, which was literally on the opposite side of the road and asked if I really wanted to pay for a ticket to cross the road!

 

[Andy Pacer]

Journeys of all distances will be the more with ENCTS, that being the point of it. Some people seem to think that the scheme should, maybe even will, disappear in due course, but I fervently hope they're incorrect.

That's quite correct, but the point of my post still stands.

 

[Ken H]

Missus is waiting for a new hip. One stop on a bus is invaluable for her. That is what ENCTS is for.

 

[Bill Badger]

Quite frequently, though this is because it's 1.7 miles between adjacent stops in Cornwall near where between Rose-an-Grouse & Hayle. Indeed St Erth & Hayle railway stations are closer together than the adjacent bus stops.... but that's probably a different thread!

 

[175mph]

I've done so before when I've been carrying heavy shopping and faced walking up a hill with it, especially if I've just happened to see a bus approaching the stop I'm near.

 

[Hophead]

Caught a bus up from the Clock Tower to Brighton Station (2 stops) just last week. As with others, a pass (Metrovoyager) & a bus at the stop as I passed by just made my life a bit easier. Another passenger did the same, as it happens.

Anyway, this thread does bring back memories of my time working in West London. Occasionally, it would be necessary to use Kew Bridge Station on the way in. The bus stop's right outside, and I'd guess around 30-40 schoolkids, plus as many commuters as could fit on, would board the 237 or 267 having just got off the train. Next stop was Brentford Leisure Centre where all the children would get off and walk back down the road, halfway to the station, and head in to Kew House School! With all that faffing, it would genuinely have been quicker for them to just walk the 200m, so I don't know why they bothered.

 

[WelshBluebird]

The times I have are either when I have luggage with me (either going or coming back from a trip somewhere), to lazily avoid walking up a steep hill (Park Street in Bristol as an example) or where a bus just happened to be due / passing. I used to have a monthly bus ticket so I would be much more willing to quickly jump on a bus for a couple of stops - now I have to pay each time I'm much less likely to do so!

 

[Lucan]

In rural areas there can be long stretches between stops, typically village to village, and some stages can even include bits of motorway. Within the city of Bristol there is a long stretch along the Clifton Gorge without stops which is used by stage buses, so your next stop could be three miles. But I don't think that is what the OP has in mind.

 

[PeterC]

Have done if I don't know where I'm going

Me too, been lost in London seen a bus signed for the place that I am looking for only to find that it was literally around the corner

 

[S&CLER]

I do this from the north end of Lord Street to my doorstep stop at the south end (Morrisons/Wellington Street), when the walking club coach drops me at the north end; after a 10 mile walk I'm sometimes too tired to walk even that distance, after sitting on the coach for a couple of hours. But on Sunday evenings, buses are not too frequent, and it's just luck if I have to wait or not.

 

[Deerfold]

I've caught buses between Keighley Rail and Bus stations - it's about 1/3 mile with up to 4 pedestrian crossings - it can make a 20 minute difference to which bus I get home (There's usually 6 buses an hour - it used to be up to 14). I've never done it when it's needed a separate ticket. I feel a bit odd when I occasionally get a bus only 4 stops from my home locally which I do about once a month.