Always a dilemma.  I arrive at BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) on a Sunday evening from Portsmouth, arriving at 16:41 (in theory, anyway!)

Do I get on the bus, wait for the train to Redland (at 17:23) or just walk?

I was travelling with two others today so we decided to see who could get to my home quickest (both bus stop and train station are 2 minutes walk from my flat).

First, the cost.  My bus ticket cost ^1.60, but the train only cost 75p (or ^1.50 without a railcard) and of course the walk was free.

Now the wait.  I was put off the train journey by the length of the wait.  The bus was scheduled to leave at 17:00, which it did but took nearly 7 minutes just to leave the station approach.  We were taken on the usual number 9 tour round town before having to change drivers.  I arrived at the bus stop at 17:35 and arrived home at 17:37.

The train had a longer wait, almost 40 minutes but the journey only took 10 so they were home at roughly the same time as me.

But the walk.  That took less than 45 minutes, so they arrived home at 17:25 - ten minutes quicker than the bus and train.

I think this proves a point.  Walking is far quicker than taking the bus in Bristol!

Open again this evening (around 5pm).

On Friday, I was on the 11:34 from Redland to BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) and noticed there was the usual conductor but also another man who was walking up and down the train selling tickets.  Same happened on the same train two weeks ago.  The ticket vendor's badge only described him as being "Customer Service".  Also noticed that on other services in the past two weeks (namely the Portsmouth-Cardiff), they've been checking tickets and railcards in a lot more detail than I've ever seen before.  Perhaps they are trying to increase revenue on trains rather than at ticket barriers

Does a bendy bus have any advantages over a double decker?  Surely a bog standard double decker carries more passengers than a bendy bus anyway?

With regards to bemmy's comment about walking being faster than buses, this always seems true in Bristol.  I live in the Cotham/Redland area and find it is quicker to walk from Temple Meads than get the bus.  By the time I've waited for it to arrive, then load the passengers and make its way around the Station Approach, I'm already at the Waterfront area.  By the time the bus arrives at the Waterfront, I can be home, saving ^1.60 in the process.

Of course, I much prefer to jump on the Severn Beach Line service and hop off at Redland (for a bargain 75p with railcard or ~35p on an advance ticket) but the connection never fits for services from Portsmouth on the days I tend to travel.

I'm surprised these consultants haven't suggested an underground system for Bristol?  But then that is "so last century".  Why have a tube train when you can have rapid transport systems.

I agree.  I regularly travel to Cosham station, which is outside Portsmouth.  The only Plusbus tickets available are Portsmouth & Southsea + Bus or Portsmouth Harbour + Bus.  The Plusbus zone on both of these tickets includes Cosham station but there is no Cosham + Bus available.  The area in which the ticket can be used is also too small as it only covers Portsea Island and none of the outskirts.

I was at BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) earlier today (between 13:40 and 14:00) and all the barriers were open.  There was no-one staffing the barriers or the excess ticket counter, except for one PCSO who was wandering around platform 3.  The whole station seemed like a ghost town with a lack of both staff and customers.

The Train Line have done a reasonable job on the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) website by making something that slightly resembles the Mixing Deck.  Still not as good as the Mixing Deck itself and a shame they can't roll it out to all Train Line powered sites

Very interesting replies - I never realised this was so widespread.

Only yesterday did I discover that Ryde Pier Head ticket office is run by Wightlink rather than SWT^▸ (South West Trains)/Island Line.

I came across this whilst Googling for something else.

I've seen that Pembrey Station's ticket office is run by an agent: http://www.pembreystation.co.uk rather than directly by Arriva Trains Wales.

I was just wondering how they operate?  Are they simply an ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) travel agent or do they just have a machine given to them by ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)))?

Also, are there any other stations that have this sort of arrangement?  Its not something I've ever seen before, but seems like an incredibly good idea.

Thanks - both good replies that I'll remember for the future.

Have managed to get out of going to London this week (phew) so won't need to be robbing the bank!

I normally travel between Bristol and Portsmouth, so the prices from Bristol to London came as a bit of a shock.

An anytime return from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) to Paddington is ^153, or ^101 with a railcard

My journey would have needed to be first thing tomorrow morning so no chance of any advance fares or off-peak discounts.

Just out of interest, I then looked at first class prices.  ^254 for a return in 1st class - so and extra ^101 just to be allowed to sit in a lounge with a free cup of tea on-board and a newspaper.

How on earth can FGW^▸ (First Great Western) justify such high prices on this journey?

Something that has annoyed me for a long time now, just wondering if there is any logical explanation.

I bought an Off Peak Day Return on Groupsave 4 with seat reservations.  I was handed 16 tickets plus my receipt: a ticket each for the outbound, a ticket each for the return and a reservation coupon for each person in each direction.

The ticket office was using Fujitsu Star.

Why can't they put all the passengers on one ticket?  Surely that would be easier as you all have to travel together to get the Groupsave discount anyway?

I know that the NXEC^▸ (National Express East Coast) online booking system (which I think uses Tribute to issue the tickets) can combine the seat reservations onto one coupon but still issues a ticket for each person.

Is there any reason why you would need a ticket each?  I was under the impression that status code GPS-4 wouldn't open the ticket barrier anyway?  Do other train companies issue tickets like this or is it just the craziness of FGW^▸ (First Great Western)?

The Southern website uses the same booking engine as NXEC^▸ (National Express East Coast).  Govia's other franchises (London Midland and Southeastern) also use the Mixing Deck.

Thanks all.  Just one more question, am I correct in saying that groupsave tickets cannot be used on XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) trains?

Just wanting to clarify that if I buy a "Off-Peak Day Return" on Groupsave from Axminster to Torquay, could I get off at Dawlish for a few hours on the return journey (and leave the station)?

Outbound I can go directly on an SWT^▸ (South West Trains) train, but on the return I'd need to go FGW^▸ (First Great Western) then SWT.  However, if I did get a direct train it would still stop at Dawlish.

I was going to use a Devon Day Ranger but found that it would be cheaper to do it this way.

I was at BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) this morning (around 10am) for about 40 minutes.  No automated announcements for any services.  Screens on platform 3 (the one next to the ticket barriers) were also down.  No attempt was made to make any manual announcements - they just relied on people looking at the screens that were working.