RE The Large Ones Post on Ask The Club............

[Barrel of Fun]

Welcome to the world of public transport BoF

I am pretty pissed off with PT as the moment. Southern have changed everything and I need to leave earlier and get abck home later. Since Monday, every train has been late and my fast train back to HOve has been replaced by a service that takes 200% capacity. Plenty of empty seat on the train before, but a 17:30 from Chi takes too many people. The service before was prefect, but now...

 

[British Bulldog]

I am pretty pissed off with PT as the moment. Southern have changed everything and I need to leave earlier and get abck home later. Since Monday, every train has been late and my fast train back to HOve has been replaced by a service that takes 200% capacity. Plenty of empty seat on the train before, but a 17:30 from Chi takes too many people. The service before was prefect, but now...

The west coast service has gone real shit now Bof, They geared it all up to PPM ( ie trains arriving within 5 mins of time ) and it's failed miserably. Then again thats what happens when you put non railway pen pushing people in charge of these things.

 

[British Bulldog]

I don't see what the time of night has to do with it? Their Dad will be with them.

NSC stupid post of the year.

 

[Yorkie]

It really is people's OWN BUSINESS how they wish to get back from a match. For sure they shouldn't need to justify why they'd prefer to catch a bus! In my case, I get particularly IRRITATED if I have to be defined by my inability to walk miles and miles since that isn't the point at issue. That point being an inexcusable lack of buses.

Roz, it was an attempt to help someone. Of course if everyone wants to chime in with their condemnation of my help, well sod them.
15 mins walk isn't miles and miles. I walked for 15 mins to school every day. It is one mile.
British Bulldog loves to put the boot in, you notice. He is the sort of person who has a go at me in the pub as well as on Nsc.

 

[El Presidente]

British Bulldog loves to put the boot in, you notice. He is the sort of person who has a go at me in the pub as well as on Nsc.

Ignore him, I have it on very good authority that he has a small willie and smells of wee wee.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

On a non-match night in December, the bus company provides a bus every 30 minutes into Brighton (and then on towards Hove and Hangleton).

That's what they'll provide on match nights as well UNLESS THE CLUB MAKES ARRANGEMENTS FOR EXTRA BUSES.

The economics of putting five buses (and five drivers, each paid for at least half a shift) out for just one journey each at 9.45pm are such that there is no way that this can be done without the bus company losing money, even allowing for the value of the vouchers.

 

[sten_super]

Roz, it was an attempt to help someone. Of course if everyone wants to chime in with their condemnation of my help, well sod them.
15 mins walk isn't miles and miles. I walked for 15 mins to school every day. It is one mile.

But, with the greatest of respect (and I don't want to be accused of jumping on the anti-Yorkie bandwagon) Bozza was making a genuine complaint about the standard of the buses. If he doesn't want his kids walking for 15 minutes after the game, that's his perogative. I'm sure he realises that there are alternatives, but they are not alternatives that he thinks are appropriate for himself and his kids.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I come 70 miles in each direction and have to go via Clapham junction to get home after an evening game (at about 1.30 am).

This, of course, is irrelevant to the point of this thread...

B&H buses are f****** shocking after the game and something needs to be done. That IS the point.

Well, when I go to the game from the flat I have to walk about 42 steps, so there...

 

[The Large One]

Roz has, once again, got it spot on, and Yorkie has missed the point by a country mile.

I am perfectly capable and prepared to walk back into town after the game, but I'd prefer to take the bus which is far more convenient, and which if I knew it was going to be there, I would happily take.

If I knew it was not going to be there, I'd walk or take the train. It's not about anyone's perceived laziness - it's about knowing whether the service is going to be provided.

All I've done is ask the club to ask Brighton & Hove Buses to see if anything can be done. Even one extra bus would help. If they can't, or Brighton & Hove Buses tell the club to get stuffed, then I will speak to them myself. I am waiting for a reply from Insider to see what happens next.

And Brian, you can shut your cakehole. You're wrong about the travel voucher - it IS part of the agreement that they can used used to get FROM the game. Look at your match ticket - there are TWO vouchers.

 

[The Large One]

On a non-match night in December, the bus company provides a bus every 30 minutes into Brighton (and then on towards Hove and Hangleton).

That's what they'll provide on match nights as well UNLESS THE CLUB MAKES ARRANGEMENTS FOR EXTRA BUSES.

The economics of putting five buses (and five drivers, each paid for at least half a shift) out for just one journey each at 9.45pm are such that there is no way that this can be done without the bus company losing money, even allowing for the value of the vouchers.

True, but think of the PR value in giving the perception that Brighton & Hove Buses run a good service for the benefit of the community, rather than only their shareholders.

 

[Brovion]

Interesting thread. In the 'Yorkie v Buzzer' sub-plot I do see Yorkie's point of view; watching football anywhere involves, to a degree, either queing or walking.

However I also see Buzzer's point. Walking through potentially atrocious winter weather to sit in the open - and then walk back home again - may have been acceptable in the 1950s but I think he's every right to object to doing it now. I think Yorkie represents a minority of people who are prepared to put up with considerable inconvenience to support the club and fair play to her. But I think Buzzer represents the majority who are more inclined to say 'stuff that for a game of soldiers' and not bother.

An attendant problem is that the bus service in Brighton and Hove is shit and over-priced at the best of times. Expecting it to be 'good' whenever there's a home game is wishful thinking.

 

[Mr Blobby]

All this means is less and less people going to Withdean or people parking in the exclusion zone. Is that what the club want?

I have complained numerous times about waiting around for a bus back into the centre of Brighton after games. Nobody takes any responsibility and its always the poor stewards at the bus stop that get the stick.

The club want people to abide by the restrictions of playing at Withdean, well they should arrange appropriate transport arrangements with the local bus companies. Is it really that difficult.

The club need to look after the few of us still going to Withdean on a regular basis or soon there will nobody left at home matches.

Its OK for Yorkie to say walk here, walk there, thats not the issue. They need people to use "public" transport, but how can they do that when nothing turns up for 20/30 minutes.

TLO raises a valid point but then gets told basically its hard luck, he is lazy, its all part of the withdean experiance, perhaps this shows why we average only 5,000 home fans!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

There is a reply to TLO on 'Ask the Club'.

 

[Buzzer]

If it appears that I'm deliberately picking on Yorkie then I can assure you it isn't the case. As it is, I love Friday night games but have 2 young boys with me so getting back I have the following options:

1) park illegally up to 1 1/2 hours before the game. Not an option as I have to get back to Brighton from London so just can't do that

2) park up by Preston Drove and walk 20 minutes in the freezing cold with 2 tired boys. Also, not an option. I have found out I won't have the car that night and even if I did I really am loathe to drive from Hanover to Preston Drove.

3) Hope there is a bus. TLO waited for 40 minutes last time. I can't take that risk at 10 in the evening on a cold December night.

4) Walk. - Now, I know Yorkie is trying to help BUT for Christ's sake is there any parent here that would be prepared to walk back next Friday from Withdean to Lewes Road at 10 in the evening with a 5 year old and an 8 year old?

5) Get a taxi. More expense for me.There's also the waiting for how long before it arrives.

I'm not trying to deliberately cause trouble. I just want to take my boys to see the Albion but there are too many obstacles for it to be feasible. I'm not an uber-fan and there are (I'm guessing) lots of other people who are put off seeing the Albion because it really is such a hassle to get back. There is a very real problem here. It's not helped by telling people like me that I could find a way if I really wanted to go. My boys and I are STHs and WANT to go. Fairweather fans are less likely to take that suggestion too kindly. And these are the fans that we all want to see return to Withers.

 

[Lady Bracknell]

I'm certainly not picking on Yorkie either. But I do believe, very strongly, that everybody's personal circumstances are precisely that - personal. For sure, they shouldn't need to provide a chapter and verse explanation in order to put a halt to a PLETHORA of inappropriate, alternatives. Even if they were provided with the sole aim of being helpful.

Getting back to the personal though, I certainly wouldn't have walked my sons back from Withdean to Lewes Road after an evening game when they were the same age as Buzzer's lads. One of them would have wanted to go to sleep halfway home and the other would have most probably been tetchy to say the least. Not the best end to an evening with your children. Therefore, given the availability (at least in theory) of a bus, I would have expected to catch it.

(PS. That, in the Dark Ages, some of us walked miles to school in our clogs, burdened with our slates and small siblings on our backs, is, with respect, an irrelevance!)

 

[DJ Leon]

All this means is less and less people going to Withdean or people parking in the exclusion zone. Is that what the club want?

I have complained numerous times about waiting around for a bus back into the centre of Brighton after games. Nobody takes any responsibility and its always the poor stewards at the bus stop that get the stick.

The club want people to abide by the restrictions of playing at Withdean, well they should arrange appropriate transport arrangements with the local bus companies. Is it really that difficult.

The club need to look after the few of us still going to Withdean on a regular basis or soon there will nobody left at home matches.

Its OK for Yorkie to say walk here, walk there, thats not the issue. They need people to use "public" transport, but how can they do that when nothing turns up for 20/30 minutes.

TLO raises a valid point but then gets told basically its hard luck, he is lazy, its all part of the withdean experiance, perhaps this shows why we average only 5,000 home fans!

This, in a nutshell, is exactly the point. Those saying it's not economically viable to put on extra buses may be right, but it'd also be chearper to print the programme on toilet paper. Not really the point, is it?

 

[Scotty Mac]

I walked for 15 mins to school every day. It is one mile.

at 10pm
on a friday night
in the freezing cold
in a city where thousands of people are out drinking

times have changed. i certainly wouldn't want to be walking for 15 minutes on a friday night at any time of year with two young kids

 

[Mendoza]

I complained to the bus company about my journey to Lewes everyday, and how the 5a bus (from the ground) I need to get to St Peters Church to get the 28 to Lewes is often late and means I miss the bus to Lewes and have to hang around for 15 minutes waiting for the next one, and be late for work

In the same email I complained how the 28 bus on the way back to Brighton never comes within 15 mins of its scheduled time.

To my surprise they emailed back the same day to see how they could help. The next day there was an inspector on the bus from its starting stop, and he took notes of all the traffic build up on the way to my stop. This was on the Thursday, and funnily enough the 5a turned up on time that week and I got one the bus to Lewes as expected.

The inspector then did the same for my journey home, where the bus arrived at my stop in Lewes 19 minutes late. He apologised, but still the bus comes 15 mins late everyday. From the scheduled time of the bus arriving at my stop to me getting home, he recorded at 1hr 14minutes (Lewes County Hall - Withdean Stadium)

At least they acknowledged the problem, but cant do anything about it

 

[sully]

at 10pm
on a friday night
in the freezing cold
in a city where thousands of people are out drinking

times have changed. i certainly wouldn't want to be walking for 15 minutes on a friday night at any time of year with two young kids

Walking 15 minutes also doesn't help you to get back to Hanover!

I took Buzzer's option last Friday and was at home with the kids listening on the radio. The previous evening match, I'd waited at the bus stop for long enough to give up and start walking. TLO was actually setting the pace ahead of us, and decided not to go into town at all in the end! Myself, The Grub and Fourteenth Eye got on the bus when it finally came along somewhere near Preston Village. When we got to the stop by the old Sainsburys, the next bus up to Queens Park wasn't even on the board, so we got a cab up to the No Name where we finally got a beer well over an hour after the game had finished.

The travel voucher simply doesn't work for those of us who live in the City. It's actually easier for us to use the Park and Ride at Mithras House, which is ridiculous, as I thought the whole idea was that we should be encouraged to leave our cars at home.

We're expecting the attendances at Falmer to be much larger and it's more difficult to take the Shanks's pony option from there, so the club need to get this sorted with the bus company now, or Falmer won't work either.

 

[Superphil]

It's great that you are so healthy!

BUT, you are still missing the point.

It's not a train voucher, it's a travel voucher and why should we have to walk (if able to) fifteen minutes to a train station when the bus stop is two minutes away?

Anyway, my car will be parked within the Withdean No Parking Zone (which is not enforceable legally) for future evening games and indeed for Saturday games if the situation deteriorates.

At the risk of not having read the whole thread because it became tedious, you could use the Park and Ride. They always have ample buses to take you to the car park at Mill Road after the game. That way you don't have to park in the "No Parking Zone" and you get to use your travel voucher, and free parking.