Buses

Life in the UK is very different I am sure you can appreciate. So many things that apply in the States do not apply here. I wanted to talk about buses as I know that there is a huge difference between the people who use them in the States and the people that use them here in the UK.

Depending upon where you are from in the States, riding the bus is not a regular thing to do and generally only people who cannot afford cars ride buses. Here in England it is not the same. Sometimes it is peoples main way of travel, just as some people might take the train to London for work. This goes for the whole of Europe as well.

Running cars are expensive, nearly £5,000 per year (maintenance, gas, car tax, etc). Also it is not as convenient as to drive into the town centres as it is States due to traffic and parking costs.

So if you lived somewhere such as Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds or Ely, you might hop on a bus to go shopping or to work rather than drive into town, find a parking spot  and fight the traffic in and out of town. Ely has a free one that runs on the weekends.

Some families are one car families here. Also surprisingly, not everyone drives here. Many people are put off from getting their license as it is also very expensive (driving lessons, theory and practical test and final test). They also do not feel comfortable driving as you know the English roads are not the friendliest ones.

Buses are not to be confused with coaches. Coaches are the buses that you take for long journeys.

The buses nearly run through every village and can almost get you to where you are going. A good resource to get directions to where you are going is Transport Direct.

They are not necessarily always convenient as you think they would be, so plan ahead for delays. But they definitely can get you out of a jam if your car is in the shop.

We just thought we would explain why people would ride buses out here so you can see that they are utilised differently than is seen in the States.