[Travel] Mill Road P&R Chaos

[superwomen]

has anyone spoken to club on the mill road issue as waiting for hour is Not fun ! Is mill road really suitable for this as it cant take double decker buses (little bridge ) not enough smaller buses/DRIVERS any ideas you lot ! Plus a27 can get very busy !

 

[Weststander]

It's just so shit that a stadium less than three miles from Brighton town centre is so consistently, annoyingly tricky to get to and from, for the majority of 'customers'

I've always thought that trains should be the game-changer. Either a longer platform at Falmer to take more carriages or more frequent trains to/from Brighton on match days.

11 years on, has anything changed on the trains side?

 

[herecomesaregular]

Shame the bendy buses are gone but as they only did 4.5mpg and are now out of production it's not a surprise. As they have been replaced by double deckers in the fleet one does wonder whether Mill Road is still a viable P&R site?

 

[Titanic]

It's one hour 19 times a year - the club / council / rail companies will not invest in rail / road infrastructure on that basis.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I've always thought that trains should be the game-changer. Either a longer platform at Falmer to take more carriages or more frequent trains to/from Brighton on match days.

11 years on, has anything changed on the trains side?

Reckon the trains have largely given up trying very hard to provide a decent service, and the club have largely given up trying to give them any grief over the level of service. It is what it is *sucks in teeth*

 

[Westdene Seagull]

The bendy buses had stopped a while back. I noticed that there were none at the Leeds game. It took us longer to get back to Mill Road.

There were a number of them running for the Chelsea game. In fact the only match other than yesterday I've not caught one was the strike day.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Past few games, I've just got there in time or missed a few minutes and then left about an hour after FT and still had bloody great Queues for Mill Road. (Since we've been at the Amex, the queue has generally been gone between 45-60 mins after FT). Apart from the strike, I think it's the reduction (and now withdrawal) of the bendy buses which seemed to hold 3x a normal bus. And I noticed yesterday that there were two sizes of 'normal' buses, the majority being 'small' normal.

I'm sure @Hiney has a lot on his plate, but wonder if we could use his position on the fans thing to communicate the problem or maybe @Bozza with his contacts as, without changes, this isn't going away

And coming back yesterday about 5.30-5.45, we came down Coldean Lane. Problems on the A27 ?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It's one hour 19 times a year - the club / council / rail companies will not invest in rail / road infrastructure on that basis.

If it really was an hour then fair enough but yesterday, totaled up, was over three hours for 101 minutes of 'football'.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

There were a number of them running for the Chelsea game. In fact the only match other than yesterday I've not caught one was the strike day.

Bus company is phasing them out aren't they? Pretty sure I read it in the Argus recently (well the headline and the first couple of paragraphs anyways)

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Bus company is phasing them out aren't they? Pretty sure I read it in the Argus recently

They have - last week ! Hence the rubbish yesterday. I'd have hoped that the club might have thought about the halving of capacity and hired some extra single deckers.

 

[Napper]

Saturday 3pms when have plenty of time to factor in the transport ball aches are the only KO that seem to work.

Everything else is just a complete pain in the arse.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I am NOT belittling the complaints as they are perfectly valid, and having been stuck in football transport queues I know how frustrating they can be .... but it is noticeable that these complaints always seem to surface after a defeat. (Same as complaints about prices, transfer schemes, bottle tops etc). If we'd won on Sunday no one would give a toss about anything, we'd all be suffused with a warm glow.

However, that point notwithstanding the complaints are valid. If at the end of the season the football has been so-so or poor it'll be the ancillary issues as much as anything that'll determine whether people renew or not. So it needs sorting out.

Nah, that's bullshit. I was expecting a thread about the buses on here regardless of the result. Yes it's human nature to complain when things haven't gone your way but that doesn't come into it, for me – I still complained bitterly about Ali Mac's Leicester goal being ruled out, for example.

I could forgive things a bit after the Spurs game because a) there was a train strike and b) the club had arranged for more buses to come over from Portsmouth (twats) to cater for the extras but the A27 was closed at Arundel/Chichester, which meant all of the plans went to pot. I got that information from one of the staff at the top of Mill Road, so no reason to doubt it.

The removal of the bendy buses had a massive impact yesterday. Fortunately, the pre-match queue wasn't too bad (not as bad as Spuds or Chelsea), but getting out we did our normal routine of sprinting at the final whistle and once the first lot of buses had been and gone – obviously taking away half of the people that they normally would – there was nothing for ages. Then another two buses and then another wait. I didn't time it, but I'd say it took about 30 mins more than normal to get home – no massive deal, but just a bit annoying.

I said to Bobkin Jnr while leaning up against the railings, waiting, that it's all very well the club wanting people to travel to games via public transport, but the means to do so have got to be fit for purpose. Clearly not everything is in their hands, but Bennett's Field no longer being an option and now the P&R bus capacity severely reducing will just piss people off.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'd be interested to know what the plan is, or if it is just to keep the status quo...

 

[WATFORD zero]

Saturday 3pms when have plenty of time to factor in the transport ball aches are the only KO that seem to work.

Everything else is just a complete pain in the arse.

I'm afraid they don't work anymore. I've seen the De Zerbi flag once

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Nobody is going to like this.

Jnr was playing in the morning, so got the train over.
I didn't want to 'sunday service' that, drove, parking up in Brighton riding to and from the ground.

Assuming the ref blew are 16:00, I got back to the P&R BP garage at 16:42.

Called Jnr wondering why he wasn't there, to which he replied 'still in the queue, haven't moved yet'.

Jnr gave it up and joined the train queue.



Leaving the same place at the same time:-

I got home at 17:30.
He got home at 20:10.

Can't believe you didn't give him a backie from the Amex back to the Statmobile!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Nah, that's bullshit. I was expecting a thread about the buses on here regardless of the result. Yes it's human nature to complain when things haven't gone your way but that doesn't come into it, for me – I still complained bitterly about Ali Mac's Leicester goal being ruled out, for example.

I could forgive things a bit after the Spurs game because a) there was a train strike and b) the club had arranged for more buses to come over from Portsmouth (twats) to cater for the extras but the A27 was closed at Arundel/Chichester, which meant all of the plans went to pot. I got that information from one of the staff at the top of Mill Road, so no reason to doubt it.

The removal of the bendy buses had a massive impact yesterday. Fortunately, the pre-match queue wasn't too bad (not as bad as Spuds or Chelsea), but getting out we did our normal routine of sprinting at the final whistle and once the first lot of buses had been and gone – obviously taking away half of the people that they normally would – there was nothing for ages. Then another two buses and then another wait. I didn't time it, but I'd say it took about 30 mins more than normal to get home – no massive deal, but just a bit annoying.

I said to Bobkin Jnr while leaning up against the railings, waiting, that it's all very well the club wanting people to travel to games via public transport, but the means to do so have got to be fit for purpose. Clearly not everything is in their hands, but Bennett's Field no longer being an option and now the P&R bus capacity severely reducing will just piss people off.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'd be interested to know what the plan is, or if it is just to keep the status quo...

Don't use 'em meself, but I don't get why they don't stagger the P&R buses, maybe have some of them parked up somewhere so there's a steady flow. Nobody on this earth wants to be stood in a non-moving queue for half an hour or more, and nobody should have to

 

[WATFORD zero]

Don't use 'em meself, but I don't get why they don't stagger the P&R buses, maybe have some of them parked up somewhere so there's a steady flow. Nobody on this earth wants to be stood in a non-moving queue for half an hour or more, and nobody should have to

I don't think staggering them will improve the situation as the earlier they get the buses full and away, the earlier they'll get back. It's frustrating waiting with no buses appearing, but I don't think staggering them would actually improve the efficiency.

And notice that I refrained from the blatantly obvious xenophobic Scottish staggering line you were trying to lure me into

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

The bendy buses only stopped last week. This is going to be a definite problem

Yes it really really is. Those old bendy buses may have been polluters, but they were gerat people movers, and even the double deckers that will presumably replace them don't have anything like the same capacity.

 

[Brovion]

The bendy buses only stopped last week. This is going to be a definite problem

They did indeed (31st October). Here's the Argus report:

Bye-bye bendy buses: When can you ride the final service?

Today is the final day you can ride these bendy buses.

www.theargus.co.uk

 

[Weststander]

Saturday 3pms when have plenty of time to factor in the transport ball aches are the only KO that seem to work.

Everything else is just a complete pain in the arse.

They're shit as well.

I turned back and went home from the top of Mill Road queue at 3.15 one Saturday earlier this season, the transport mayhem coup de grâce was news of an A27 eastbound minor crash blocking a lane or more.

 

[warmleyseagull]

Got one of the early buses having arrived just after 11 and sat in car watching end of cricket. The bus stopped twice en route on A27, not quite sure why but evidently struggling up the massive incline with a very full bus. Sort of suggests the non bendies are not up to it (and yes, the bendies were by no means reliable).

Living 3 hours way, I simply have to get an early bus home. I got to West Dorset by 7.15; only an hour later than mate who lives in Bolney and stayed to end of game.

Soon others will realise they need to leave early and doubtless we shall get another sanctimonious 'fans leaving early' thread.....