Eurostar moves base to St Pancras - confirmation

[David Marsh]

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begin Alan J. Flavell's quote in uk.railway

Well, nobody seems to understand why holders of the Strathclyde
wrinklypass don't get a free trip on the Glasgow - Airport bus.

Probably due to that sense of self-importance that airports have, that
they don't want 'ordinary' people cluttering up their bus services..? :-(

Instead we could go for free to Campbelltown, or Ballachulish...

Can you really? All in one journey?
I thought the free travel for senior citizens [1] was only valid on
local buses within each local authority, such that you'd have to get off
and then get on a different bus when you crossed the boundary?

[1] a term which I'm sure surprises as many people here, as it does you, Alan..

So I guess I could have my 40p trip on the Subway followed by a 40p(?)
trip on the train, followed by a free trip on the Paisley local bus
which amongst other places just happens to go to the airport. Well,
sorry but a taxi (about £15) still has its attractions.

I wouldn't disagree, but my budget doesn't generally stretch to £15 taxi
fares, so it would be the subway->train->bus for me!

They could make a huge improvement already just by building an
interchange with the Subway at West Street which would greatly improve
access for the whole of the west end of Glasgow..
(or indeed for people arriving by train at Queen Street)

Well spotted, and often discussed by those who actually want to
travel. But it doesn't cost nearly enough to be politically
interesting, so who's going to sponsor it?

It came up in the 1995 proposal for CrossRail and indeed I was one of
many people writing in favour of it.

The cynical part of me suspects that part of the reason for ignoring it
(even though it would be a useful interchange regardless of CrossRail)
is because wur guid cooncillors want to dump several support pillars for
the M74 in the general environs of West Street station. And wasn't it
funny how that building on the corner opposite mysteriously became
dilapidated and had to be demolished..

Instead, they're going to throw away many millions on this pointless
rail shuttle, in spite of paying consultants who recommended against it.
And by the time that's in service, I'll be long since pensioned off...

I think it's much-needed and a good idea.
Yes, with a bit of imagination it could be a whole lot better, by
extending it to the east to form a loop linking Renfrew, Braehead and
back to Cardonald via Deanside, but at least it's a start in the right
direction.

[Alan J. Flavell]

Post by David Marsh

Instead we could go for free to Campbelltown, or Ballachulish...

Can you really? All in one journey?

So I'm assured. By bus, that is.
http://www.spt.co.uk/Tickets/concession3.html

Buses

Single journeys will be free at times listed under "When you save"
within the area formerly covered by Strathclyde Regional Council plus
approximately 10 miles travel beyond that boundary into the "extended
scheme area". All bus companies which operate in the area of the
Scheme participate.

Never tried it myself, but a neighbour told me that a friend of hers
has been to Campbelltown and back with her pass. And I remember
reading about one old gent who had his free trip to Ballachulish, and
then asked to buy a ticket to Fort William, and was incensed when they
threw him off the bus. Which you can understand on this basis:

There has been some confusion about using the scheme to travel to
destinations outwith the Strathclyde boundary. If people wish to
travel to a destination outwith the scheme boundary they must
purchase a ticket for the whole journey. The scheme was designed to
provide free local bus travel, not subsidise long-haul journeys.

See http://www.spt.co.uk/Tickets/scts_faq.html

ObRail, within the Strathclyde region the pass entitles to a single
fare of 40p on the Subway, or the same on heavy rail up to 10 miles,
but if the journey is over 10 miles then half fare has to be paid for
the whole journey. That must be very irksome for those who need to
travel, say, 12 miles to visit their family. The scheme is also very
unsymmetric, since the main centre of population (I mean Glasgow) is
quite close to the edge of the region.

Post by David Marsh
I thought the free travel for senior citizens [1] was only valid on
local buses within each local authority, such that you'd have to get
off and then get on a different bus when you crossed the boundary?

I'm not sure where you got that from, but the current scheme dates
from (I think) about 2002, and was extended to men aged 60 or over, in
the interests of sex equality, as from 1st April 2003. Were you
perhaps thinking of some earlier scheme?