Bus Late for Jeremy Corbyn.

Bus services up and down the country have seen price hikes and cuts to services. For example, in my own neck of the woods, I have seen prices on the local bus services rise steeply in Blackpool. A trip to town from where I live which is roughly about 3 miles, perhaps more, is £2.30. Many of the buses around here travel empty sometimes as many passengers cannot afford the astronomical fares into town. Its ok for old people as they have free bus passes, I am not knocking old people for this, simply saying that those who are on benefits or low wages should also get free bus passes. Local government is being hit hard by austerity from central government so many councils are having to put up prices on their bus services to compensate or cut back services it seems.

In the Midlands where I lived before, it was private bus companies that operated. Dudley Council, unlike Blackpool, did not operate its own bus company The service operated by these bus companies was ok, the interior of the buses was also ok, the fares were affordable, but of course they will have risen since I was last there.

Jeremy Corbyn was waiting for the no 21 bus, to take him to a meeting with local residents and community leaders, to discuss cuts to bus services. However, his bus turned up late, for which the bus company on Twitter, apologised.

In the end, Mr Corbyn had to be driven to the meeting so he would not miss the event.

The route the no 21 bus was supposed to have taken, was instead taken by Jeremy Corbyn's car. Mr Corbyn was driven from Kirk Hallam, Derbyshire to Lenton, Nottinghamshire.

Later on, Mr Corbyn posted a video of his 40-minute journey to the meeting, where he was driven by car, instead of the bus. Mr Corbyn highlighted the fact that cuts to bus services had allowed the lateness of this bus to transpire. Mr Corbyn also highlighted the fact that him getting the bus and it being late, was ok, however, it was not good enough for passengers facing this every day.

The fact of an MP even taking an ordinary bus is a rarity in itself, if it happens at all. Would Theresa May have taken the bus, probably very unlikely, as being Prime Minister, she gets driven around in a motorcade, that always seems to be above the speed limit.

Travel by public transport used to be encouraged by the local and national government to cut down on congestion and pollution. However, in these lean times with bus services being cut and bus fares rising, it looks like that idea has been abandoned.

By taking a bus at least, it would appear Mr Corbyn has a feel for the common person, whatever you think of him as a person and in his politics.

I used to drive a car until my anxiety and depression stopped me from doing so. This transpired some time ago and although I miss having a car, I don't miss the expense. So for my transport, I am reliant on either lifts or public transport.

Blackpool operated a bus service with a fleet of buses that were ok, but they certainly needed updating. Blackpool council must have found a pot of money from somewhere, despite the austerity many councils are facing up and down the land, because, from nowhere there appeared a new fleet of single and double-decker buses.

The new buses are grey in colour but seem to be environmentally friendly in the fuel they use (or that appears to be the case!). They carry wi-fi for those who love to stare at their i-phones or tablets all day, there are fewer seats but more space, there is accommodation for both wheelchair users and parents with buggies, I have to say as compared to the old fleet, I much prefer these new buses. They may even be Mercedes make, in which case, this would have cost the council a hefty sum. How they paid for the new fleet is an interesting question to speculate over, probably the money was found in another department, came from the central government or paid for partly or completely, by council taxpayers.

As I have said, the only criticism I do have is the hike in fares. Two irritating aspects I have noticed on the bus service here is when the bus stops to pick up passengers the engine automatically cuts out. Maybe it is a way of saving fuel instead of leaving the engine running. Another aspect of the bus service is that sometimes when buses pull into a stop they have a break, which is annoying if you are trying to get somewhere fast or just wanting to go home. However, this probably happens to give the bus driver a break or if the bus is ahead of its allotted time for arriving somewhere.

Generally, I find the bus service good with time management when waiting at a stop. The bus drivers are usually polite, though you can get the odd ignorant driver and rude or aggressive drivers I have found thankfully, are a rarity.

So to sum up, Blackpool offers a good bus service overall.