Milton Keynes bus service very poor
Bus service in Milton Keynes, what flaming bus service? It's in a right mess and if you are thinking of leaving the car at home and taking the bus I'd advise you to think again!
I've been working in Milton Keynes for over a year now and I usually commute to work on my motorcycle. This has all worked out quite well even though it is more than 20 miles of single carriageway and the traffic is sometimes less than fluid. One day however, this young lady wasn't watching where she was going and parked her four wheeled contraption directly in the path of my bike causing me to have a major bum twitch before striking the side of her car.
Okay, this isn't quite as bad as it sounds as I had a lucky escape and was able to borrow a bike from a friend whilst the insurance companies dragged their heels and finally sorted out some money for me. The problem is that there is the odd day when I need to come to work by public transport, for example when the roads are too icy or if my bike is being serviced etc.
Getting to Milton Keynes from Bicester is bad enough as there are only two suitable buses in the morning; one these is at 7.15 and the other at 8.25. The 7.15 bus gets me to the rail and bus station for 8 Oclock and the other one gets me there at ten past nine. This would be great if I worked at the rail station, unfortunately I don't, because I work on the other side of town up at Kents Hill.
As most of the taxis charge around 8.00 each way I figured that its probably a good idea to check out the local bus service. That was when I realised how bad things were in Milton Keynes. I discovered that firstly there are very few buses actually go out to Kents Hill, and secondly the ones that DO are very infrequent with only one every 30 minutes at rush hour if you're lucky. Whilst looking at the timetable I noticed that some of the buses, particularly on a Sunday only run as every two hours Not exactly a flexible user friendly bus service!
Wasn't the big idea was to encourage people to ditch their cars and use public transport? Well they're not doing very well here in Milton Keynes are they?
Comments from visitors
Then this week the bus taking my son to school didn't turn up, he waited 20 mins for the next one, that also happened a couple of days ago, and the same bus, when comming back is supposed to stop at Two Mile Ash school, but because of the horrendous parking by parents at the school the buses can't get past the school at kicking out time (15.30) , so because of this the buses have been bypassing two mile ash altogether! But they don't put this info on the timetable on-line! My son said 2 women got very irate with the driver cos he didn't stop at the school and they had to pick their kids up.
And the bus in question.......the number 4.
The service is appauling at the moment, and yes i did complain! :)
Stuart Westley - 10-Apr-11 23:23
Keturah Johnson - 1-Aug-10 18:55
Home from home - 24-Jul-10 09:54
Lena R, Olney - 14-May-10 10:56
It was like a ghost town, but known as toy town when they first started to build it up(1983).
It was only occupied by the youths from M.K's and surounding area's that want to cause trouble and set fire to the mall.
I have a couple of friends that have taken jobs there in the past and given them up because of the area.
Free of Milton Keynes at last - 26-Aug-09 16:17
Personally I prefer cycling, but the MK cycle lanes, though safe, are very slow, because they meander and loop all over the shop. Cyclists actually have destinations in mind, it's not always Sunday afternoon!
It's not always comfortable or feasible for everyone to cycle, and the bus service in MK really is unbelievably bad. I doubt if 'the majority' of residents think it is fine. The regional transport department should be given a season to sort it out, or the whole lot fired. How the hell are Arriva holding onto their contract? If the bus service is sometimes under-used, there's a very good reason - you have to forget about the bus when you're going out after dark. Just in this gripe, look how many MK people have said they are looking forward to buying a motor. End result: Even fewer passengers on the bus outside peak hours...
Aron James , Two Mile Ash - 30-Apr-09 19:26
Tracy Steel, Campbell Park - 24-Mar-09 09:27
I am going to have to get a car this year cause standing for 40mins in very cold temperatures and the stress isn't doing my health any good





