“My point is Steve, that Bristolians are backward when it comes to using public transport. Most have no idea of advance purchase tickets, a concept that's been around for nearly 50 years. They faff about when getting on and off buses and trains, delaying everybody. They further delay late-running buses by asking the driver loads of questions despite information being readily available, sometimes in front of their faces. There's a saying about leading horses to water.....

Agree totally with Bob de Bilde. It's possible that successful governments didn't invest in Bristol's public transport as they saw it as a complete waste of time and money. I guess the perception is that most Bristolians would use a car for any journey longer than 500 metres. I remember one Bristolian telling me in the 1980s that he was proud to be in a city that had the most cars in the country. Now, you are living with those consequences.”

“The reason why Bristol's public transport is so poor is that it has been starved of investment by successive governments.

Every single Core City in England has a mass transit system courtesy of central government, except Bristol.

It really isn't difficult to comprehend.”

“The reason why Bristol's public transport is so poor is that it has been starved of investment by successive governments.

Every single Core City in England has a mass transit system courtesy of central government, except Bristol.

It really isn't difficult to comprehend.”

“Londoner,

What's your point?

That Bristol isn't London?

We know that.

Eh?”

“There's an issue of backwardness here. It's the attitude. When I first used Bristol's public transport in the 1980s, it seemed to me as if how it would've been in 1950s London.

Firstly, buses that go together to the same place at the same time. To be effective, you need to space the timetable out by about 6 mins between buses. Secondly, paying cash is so pre-world war 2. Swipe cards or tickets you buy before you travel - that will speed things up.

First, whatever their faults and there's far too many to list here , provide good route maps, fare information and timetables on their website and other media. When I travel in an unfamiliar place, I always find out information before I travel, not wait till I get on a bus then hold everyone else up.

I traveled yesterday from London. Due to the discovery of a body on the line at Taplow, all trains were delayed. I bought my ticket 4 days before I made the journey and got it for £21 single from Paddington to Bath. Had I bought it that morning, it would've cost £50 or so. The same as if I walked into an airport and bought a single to Mumbai, it would've set me back more than £800. If I bought the ticket a few weeks earlier, it would be half the price.

How can you expect public transport which has been in private hands since 1986 to work any differently? If you adopt a Transport for London approach, where the public authority rigourously oversees the private contractors, then you might get somewhere. Just putting Bristol's public transport in public hands without proper infrastructure in place will result in a return to the 1970s. That's when there were 2 hour gaps in some sevices. That's when everybody moved over to car use. You couldn't complain about Bristol's bus fares in the 1970s; they were the same as most other places. So there must have been other reasons, eh?”

“Why are Bristol taxi fares higher than London taxi fares?
-Beacause the taxi firms know we have the worst public transport system in the UK so can charge what they want.

Why does it cost more to take some bus journeys around our city than the low-paid can earn in an hour?
-First bus. Nothing else to say.

Why does it cost more to catch a train to London than it costs to fly to Rome and back?
-First Great Western. (Notice a theme here?)

Do Bristol traffic lights procreate?
-Yes. Like rabbits.

Looking forward to my steak!”

“I'd like to ask the committee a few questions, but against the green informed mono-opinions of highly representative groups like Sustrans and Friends of the Earth, I doubt my questions would get heard.

I'd like to know this. Why are Bristol taxi fares higher than London taxi fares? Why does it cost more to take some bus journeys around our city than the low-paid can earn in an hour? Why does it cost more to catch a train to London than it costs to fly to Rome and back? Do Bristol traffic lights procreate? Simple questions really. Now if Kerry could answer those in plain English, I'd buy her a steak dinner!”

“Bob

If you read This Is Plymouth you will see that many in that city feel it has won that particular crown.

I make no apology for going on and on about this but until there is one council responsible for the urban mass that is Bristol (instead of the current two, with two more having responsibility for bits round the edge) the talking and doing nothing will continue.

This is the problem. The four councils that make up Greater Bristol have statutorily to confer and supposedly reach consensus on all manner of things but they rarely do, reach a consensus that is.

It's madness and we're all suffering because of it.”

“How wonderful!

Yet more talking and no action - the usual story in Bristol.

If there were awards for talking, debating and producing reports and pretty brochures, Bristol's transport planners and politicians would win them all.

Actually doing something about the situation is clearly beyond them.

Half the people at this talking shop, people like Kerry McCarthy MP (whose Government have completely failed Bristol in virtually all areas) and First Group are part of the problem, not the solution.”

“One local MP who isn't quoted in this story is Stephen Williams MP for Bristol West. He is in a childish sulk and is boycotting the select committee and therefore not getting involved in decisions relating to the future of Bristol's transport infrastructure and economy. Perhaps he should return some of his salary.”