Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 15:55 28 Mar 2024
- Man held over stabbing in front of train passengers
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Jet2 launches first flight from Liverpool airport
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1917)
Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore closed (link)

Train RunningCancelled
13:28 Weymouth to Gloucester
15:10 Newquay to Par
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
15:16 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
15:30 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
16:04 Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood
16:51 Filton Abbey Wood to Bristol Temple Meads
17:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
Short Run
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
13:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
15:10 Gloucester to Weymouth
15:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
16:19 Carmarthen to London Paddington
16:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
16:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
Delayed
13:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
13:55 Paignton to London Paddington
13:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
14:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
14:36 London Paddington to Paignton
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 16:12:52 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[142] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[80] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[56] Return of the BRUTE?
[46] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[43] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[34] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Poll
Question: Which is the most, second most, least reliable for a morning journey  (Voting closed: September 30, 2018, 22:20:56)
Taxi, Bus, Train - 1 (10%)
Taxi, Train, Bus - 2 (20%)
Bus, Taxi, Train - 0 (0%)
Bus, Train, Taxi - 1 (10%)
Train, Bus, Taxi - 2 (20%)
Train, Taxi, Bus - 4 (40%)
Total Voters: 10

Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: For an important meeting - what would be the mode of your choice?  (Read 2576 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« on: September 23, 2018, 22:20:57 »

From a discussion elsewhere - where someone said they would not take the bus, but rather a taxi, because the bus cannot be relied upon.

I have waited for buses that don't turn up, had taxis loose my booking or be very late ... and I think I remember  Grin a train being cancelled ...  best go early and get a coffee at destination!
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
tomL
Transport Scholar
Sr. Member
******
Posts: 212


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2018, 22:42:47 »

...Is it a weekday meeting? (Although you could argue Taxi is the only method that isn't really affected by 'weekend non-working').  Grin
Logged

grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2018, 23:01:06 »

...Is it a weekday meeting? (Although you could argue Taxi is the only method that isn't really affected by 'weekend non-working').  Grin

Monday meeting
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
PhilWakely
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 2007



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2018, 05:37:16 »

......Although you could argue Taxi is the only method that isn't really affected by 'weekend non-working'.....  Grin

A very slightly different kettle of fish, I know, but, a couple of years ago I needed to get a wheelchair taxi for my mother on a Saturday. I enquired two weeks ahead, only to get the response............ 'Sorry, but our wheelchair taxi drivers do not work at weekends'
Logged
LiskeardRich
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 3457

richardwarwicker@hotmail.co.uk
View Profile
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2018, 07:14:18 »

If it was important I’d leave say an hour early and find somewhere for breakfast or coffee in close vicinity of the meeting.
Logged

All posts are my own personal believes, opinions and understandings!
CyclingSid
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1918


Hockley viaduct


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: September 24, 2018, 08:03:43 »

Awkward squad again! Cycle, bus, train.
Logged
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1204


View Profile Email
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2018, 08:46:44 »

Same here. Folding bike, train. The bike doesn't get cancelled due to driver shortages!
« Last Edit: September 24, 2018, 12:46:23 by Richard Fairhurst » Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2018, 09:03:59 »

......Although you could argue Taxi is the only method that isn't really affected by 'weekend non-working'.....  Grin

A very slightly different kettle of fish, I know, but, a couple of years ago I needed to get a wheelchair taxi for my mother on a Saturday. I enquired two weeks ahead, only to get the response............ 'Sorry, but our wheelchair taxi drivers do not work at weekends'

Wheelchair accessible taxis are a massive issue in places.

As I understand it, there is a requirement on the railways to provide a service of equivalent or better quality for wheelchair users, but that does not seem to extend to individual taxi drivers / firms.  Which provides a huge headache for planned engineering and unplanned onward travel where a scheduled service has gone wrong.

The "rule of unintended consequences" was brought to my attention by a cynic the other day, who suggested that 90 minute delays in finding rail replacement taxis (for able bodies passengers) at Trowbrdge, and 50 minutes at Pilning, is done intentionally so that within the standard time taken a wheelchair accessible taxi could also be found. 
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2018, 10:28:57 »

It depends on the area.
In central London I would favour buses because they run every few minutes, and by allowing a safety margin a timely arrival is virtually certain.
Also if a bus breaks down or suffers gross delay, one may alight and walk, take another bus or a taxi.

A train (inc. LUL (London Underground Ltd)) carries the risk of a prolonged breakdown, with no question of continuing by alternative transport due to the "keep them on the trains no matter what" policy.

In Wurzleshire with unreliable buses at hourly or longer intervals, a taxi is the most reliable option.

I would avoid the train unless circumstances allowed a very generous safety margin, or if the meeting was of extreme importance travel the day before and stay overnight within walking distance.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
eightf48544
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4574


View Profile Email
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2018, 10:35:14 »

In my case Walk train hopefully walk

If connections involved try and get to destination on the  train before the one required.
 
Early Monday morning meetings do you risk overrunning engineering works or travel Sunday hopefully avoiding Rail Replacement Bus and stay overnight?
Logged
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2018, 11:09:52 »

It really depends on where I'm going. For anything within a mile or two (which, where we live, is most things), I walk. For a meeting in London, I get the train and the tube. For central Bristol I'll get the train if it looks like the service is running smoothly, or the bus if not. Other places, most likely I'll drive. If there's somewhere secure to put my bike at the other end, I might cycle. If there really is absolutely no other conceivable way of getting where I want to go, I'll get a taxi.
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
eightonedee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1532



View Profile
« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2018, 21:54:49 »

If you can, avoid fixing important meetings on a Monday - risk of overrunning works on the railways, roads at their busiest except for Friday evenings, and probably post weekend blues (remember Bob Geldof's song?) meaning staff absences affecting all modes of public transport. Even if you make it on time, someone else attending may not!
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page