I RECENTLY had s short stay in London and thought I would share my experiences with other readers.
Being somewhat of a country yokel, I was amused to see the latest innovation to the public transport system.
One bus route, the No 25, has been designated as the forerunner of a unique system where passengers are encouraged to purchase a ticket before boarding the bus, from a machine near the bus stop. I dutifully paid my £1, which covers the whole route of the bus.
On the bus I noticed that there was no-one to examine one?s ticket, as there is on the trains. Neither did I observe any other passengers with tickets, nor did I observe on any of my bus journeys any other person purchasing a ticket at a machine.
Obviously, the locals had sussed out the loophole in the system and taken the appropriate action. Did I continue to buy a ticket every time I travelled on that route? I?m not saying, but I?m not that much of a country yokel!
My second observation concerns the introduction of Quiet Carriages on First Western trains. These are supposed to be mobile-free zones. However, unlike the Wild West, where cowboys were required to check in their guns at the sherriff?s office, there is no such procedure for the checking in of mobile phones. Consequently they still ring in these carriages, the only gesture towards peace and quiet being the rapid and noisy exit by the perpetrator to the area between the carriages to answer the phone.
The proximity of the user to the automatic doors causes them to open and close continuously to the annoyance of the passengers. Some users, unable to hear clearly, have discovered that reception is better in the toilet and consequently use these to answer, thus preventing persons who require the toilet for its proper purpose, from using them.
I make these points to show that no matter what rules authority introduce, there are always ways round them. So fear not, fellow country yokels, hunting may be banned, but so what?
Tony Rushbrooke
Burrator Road
Yelverton