(07 Dec 2020, 10:36 am)streetdeckfan wrote It seems to be about as well used as any other service that goes to Arnison.
We were at the Arnison the other day and when driving past McDonalds, an absolute twat in a BMW (who'd have thought it) came speeding down the wrong side of the road to cut out the traffic, just squeezing between us and the other cars.
Had it have been me driving I'd have purposely blocked it and caused some right drama, but my mother moved over and let them past!
I don't know why people insist on going through the McDonalds drive through, we just park in Sainsbury's and walk over, then drive out the other way past KFC. Were usually in and out before cars have moved down one space!
Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
Yeah, my mother works at Sainsbury's and she's been told to stay clear of the Mercia car park. She works weekends so she spends half her time finding a parking space, they used to have an overflow carpark in Northumbrian Water for staff but I don't think they do that anymore.
Its got to the point where she'd rather get the bus in because of the parking, but with her finishing any time between 2 and 6am she couldn't get home!
Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
That's probably a whole new debate, for a whole new thread.
But yeah, totally get it and totally understand it. If she can't use the bus to get home, then the chances are she's not going to use the bus to get to work and she will contribute to the issues which delay the buses in the first place.
We are told that buses are better than ever, are nicer than ever and services are frequent.
They may be for some, but not for those on shifts, not for those who have to plan journeys/connections with military precision or who have a boat load of shopping to lug around and have no chance of fitting it on to the seats or in to the tiny on-board storage facilities.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have an issue with operators encouraging us to make the modal transfer. I do have an issue in them encouraging us to do it when it doesn't work as it could or isn't as convenient as it could be.
There is so much work which could be done, beyond sending a bus or two (which have a naturally limited footprint and follow each other for a section of the route) in to a retail park and then complaining that it is stuck in traffic (likely to be those who can't, won't or are unable to use their two buses which serve the retail park - 21/X20 or 62/64).
I'd argue that both Dalton and Teesside Park' Silverlink and also Retail World are all in the same boat as the Arnison Centre. They all have buses which follow a similar route and have that naturally limited footprint as a result.