Why are there no buses in the evening except TfL services in the Home Counties?

[Dai Corner]

When I lived in Bournemouth last year there are evening buses, but nearly all of them are inside the town. The interurban ones all stop after 19:00 with the exception of the 40 (Swanage - Wareham - Poole) which has one bus into the evening, the 50 (Swanage - Studland - Sandbanks - Bournemouth) in summertime only, and one single departure of X3 (Bournemouth - Ringwood - Fordingbridge - Salisbury) on Friday / Saturday night only.




Yes I'm mainly focusing on these areas now. Why do these areas have high car ownership given the proximity to London? Isn't it that the more rural the place, the higher the car ownership? I'm definitely expecting high car ownership deep in Cornwall or in Scottish Highlands but the Home Counties are just an extension of the Greater London built-up area.

Because they can afford them. Buses are for the poor.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Because the public transport is London centric, going between the towns is very long winded by trains.

For example traveling from Bracknell to Woking is a 20 minute drive or hours via public transport

Because they can afford them. Buses are for the poor.

Both of these, basically. Trains are for going to London, buses are for poor people, old people and teenagers, taxis are for airports and back from the pub, for everything else there's Maste....er...Range Rover.

 

[AM9]

Yes I'm mainly focusing on these areas now. Why do these areas have high car ownership given the proximity to London? Isn't it that the more rural the place, the higher the car ownership? I'm definitely expecting high car ownership deep in Cornwall or in Scottish Highlands but the Home Counties are just an extension of the Greater London built-up area.

Areas in the home counties aren't the same as the outer boroughs of London. As I said in post #68, load up a map of London and the Home Counties and view it in 'sattellite' mode, where you can see the extent of built-up areas. The London boroughs generally are contained within the M25, often 5 miles or so inside the road. Similarly, many of the towns in the Home Counties have green belt between them and the M25, so except for the few areas where development has created a corridor of housing across the border, most Home Counties towns are independent of their nearest GLA conurbations, and there is little local traffic between them. For commuting however, there is a network of radial railway routes and some trunk roads that leapfrog the green belt to reach the commuter metro railheads.

 

[GusB]

Let's keep the thread on topic, please. We're specifically discussing evening services in the Home Counties. Thanks

 

[bramling]

Because the public transport is London centric, going between the towns is very long winded by trains.

For example traveling from Bracknell to Woking is a 20 minute drive or hours via public transport

Indeed, there are many such examples. Something like St Albans to Hatfield or Luton to Hitchin is pretty uncompetitive by train. Interestingly some of these journeys had rail service in the past.

 

[miklcct]

Indeed, there are many such examples. Something like St Albans to Hatfield or Luton to Hitchin is pretty uncompetitive by train. Interestingly some of these journeys had rail service in the past.

So bus services should be attractive as there is no direct train service on these corridors.

 

[cactustwirly]

So bus services should be attractive as there is no direct train service on these corridors.

But buses are never going to be attractive against cars.

I need a car to get to work, as taking the train needs 30 minutes walking each side.
The bus runs but is expensive and is a poor service, taking an hour for what is a 15-20 minute drive

 

[miklcct]

But buses are never going to be attractive against cars.

At the same time a car costs much more than a bus as well, and there is the hassle of finding parking space if using a private car.