Bus back to the car (From Stroud News and Journal)

Bus back to the car

EVER mindful of the need to be more "green" I am constantly wracked with guilt as I drive to work in Dursley.

So when I found myself without a vehicle for two days, I decided to travel by bus. There is an hourly service between Stroud and Dursley - a real luxury inrural areas - and it did occur to me that this was something I could do daily. Leave the car at home, take the bus and help save the planet.

The first shock came when I realised that to get to work by 9am I would have to leave home at 7.50am.

It's a 20-minute walk from Rodborough to Merrywalks and the 8.15am bus takes 45 minutes to get to Dursley. A total travelling time of one hour and ten minutes to do a 20-minute car journey.

But hey, no gain without pain. I was set on a "green" mission and a small thing like leaving home 40 minutes early was not going to stop me. (At that point I had forgotten that I had to do it all in reverse in the evening).

Shock number two came when I discovered that I couldn't get a return ticket before 9am. Why?

"That's the rule," said my helpful bus driver.

The uncharitable thought did cross my mind that with a single ticket costing £2.60 and a return costing £3.90, the bus company was quids in if workers needing to be in by 9am were using the service.

However my helpful driver did point out that if I bought a daily Rover ticket costing £5 I could save 20p a day. After two days of catching the bus I had to admit defeat.

The journey is long and tedious, the buses are uncomfortable (yes, even those new low-liners) and the cost is prohibitive - not to mention all that wasted time spent travelling.

So it's back to the car.

But I must admit my admiration for the drivers who manage to get those huge buses around the car-packed side streets in Stonehouse.