(14 Jun 2024, 12:43 pm)Andreos1 wrote I think we need to get your friends thoughts on this.
Were they pleased to get the extra time to spend with you or do they prefer you getting the bus?
Generally the only time I get the bus these days, is when I'm off out for a drink somewhere.
Very rarely bother using them these days, regardless of how easy or difficult it may be to get parked in a city centre and the main reason is the length of the journey.
Even if I spend a good period of time looking for a spot, it's still quicker than using the bus.
More often than not, the parking is more accessible than hiking from a bus station or stop too.
Unfortunately they were, I literally had to beg to leave at 11pm, I tried to leave at 10!
As for the time difference, if I'm only going into Bishop or Spennymoor then there isn't really a lot in it, so I'll just take the bus.
But this morning I met my mother at the Arnison Centre and it took me exactly 25 minutes to get there, by bus that would have taken an extra hour.
(14 Jun 2024, 4:24 pm)morritt89 wrote Could a car or at least access to a car match the convenience of a bus/public transport?
I passed my driving test when I started uni (2011) but didn't get a car until I graduated (2014) and that was to allow me to travel to my PGCE placements (Tyne Met College & East Durham College). I did bus it a couple from times but it took an age and when i finished late on a night it was awful.
Fast forward 10 year or so after my teaching and bus driving careers I'm now a driving instructor. The main reason I'm getting from my students is that they can't get to/from work using public transport or it limits what hours they can work. My first student this morning for example lives in Cleadon, has one job on Sea Road in Fulwell, a second job in the bridges and university in Sunderland. She also cares for her elderly relatives in Grangetown but nowhere near a bus stop.
Me personally, if I travel to Sunderland (alone) I get bus but if we go as a family, the car is cheaper. To Newcastle, we park at the Metrocentre (free) and bus it.
I have pretty good access to public transport from my house, it's the reason I chose it. I live on the route of the X21, and the Arriva 1 and 6, with the 5 just a few minutes walk down the road. So I can get to Newcastle, Gateshead, Durham, Darlington etc. without a change.
I still have no intention of buying a car for myself anytime soon when I can just continue to sponge off family, especially when she has a Nissan Leaf just sitting there after moving onto something a bit more spicy.