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A Universal Serial Bus. Apparently. |
I have never liked public transport, partially because of unfamiliarity as I've never really used it much at all. The last month has probably seen the most interaction that I've had with buses in my life, having taken them in to work during some weeks and used them for transport to Garthdee and back. Another part of this dislike is the fact that it involves interacting with the Aberdeen bus drivers, who seem to harbour an intense hatred of anyone who dares to dirty their vehicles with their presence.
As I've gained more experience with the whole "bus" thing, I've noticed that even though the fares are stupidly high, the amount you actually pay is directly proportional to the competence with which you can get out your means with which to pay. Fumbling around for ages with change or not having anywhere near the correct change on you usually prompts the bus driver to sigh in a pitying fashion and tell you to "just get on". I swear I have not yet done this on purpose, because it feels a bit wrong, even if you're paying with your dignity rather than money.
Fortunately, things can work in your favour without you having to sacrifice either pride or pocket - last Friday I was given a free journey in to work because the ticket machine on the bus had broken down. This saving can be viewed in many optimistic ways - I could now get 10% of a BT reconnection fee, or buy four and a half packets of muffins. For £6.10, though, I wouldn't be happy paying it for a bus regularly unless it actually flew to Aberdeen.
I think it's logical to assume that if the bus fares were reduced, more people would use them. And I don't mean by a little - I mean taking the trip in to Aberdeen down to about £1 or something. If they did that, they'd be cramming people in like sardines, and I daresay making a lot more money from it - making the bus actually less expensive than driving in by yourself in an SUV with a colander for a fuel tank and the Eiffel Tower strapped to the roof would probably attract more people in to using the service.
By the way, something running in the background keeps causing the window title to flicker every minute or so, and it means that letters get lost on their way from the keyboard to Notepad. If you find any, please send them back to me via the internal post. This is also annoying, but it's too short a point to put in to "Things I've Declared War On, Part III: Applications That Steal Your Window Focus".
As I've gained more experience with the whole "bus" thing, I've noticed that even though the fares are stupidly high, the amount you actually pay is directly proportional to the competence with which you can get out your means with which to pay. Fumbling around for ages with change or not having anywhere near the correct change on you usually prompts the bus driver to sigh in a pitying fashion and tell you to "just get on". I swear I have not yet done this on purpose, because it feels a bit wrong, even if you're paying with your dignity rather than money.
Fortunately, things can work in your favour without you having to sacrifice either pride or pocket - last Friday I was given a free journey in to work because the ticket machine on the bus had broken down. This saving can be viewed in many optimistic ways - I could now get 10% of a BT reconnection fee, or buy four and a half packets of muffins. For £6.10, though, I wouldn't be happy paying it for a bus regularly unless it actually flew to Aberdeen.
I think it's logical to assume that if the bus fares were reduced, more people would use them. And I don't mean by a little - I mean taking the trip in to Aberdeen down to about £1 or something. If they did that, they'd be cramming people in like sardines, and I daresay making a lot more money from it - making the bus actually less expensive than driving in by yourself in an SUV with a colander for a fuel tank and the Eiffel Tower strapped to the roof would probably attract more people in to using the service.
By the way, something running in the background keeps causing the window title to flicker every minute or so, and it means that letters get lost on their way from the keyboard to Notepad. If you find any, please send them back to me via the internal post. This is also annoying, but it's too short a point to put in to "Things I've Declared War On, Part III: Applications That Steal Your Window Focus".
