Everywhere in Europe does public transport better?

[Tony]

I have just come back from 4 days in Paris where of course public transport is always said to be better than what we get in this country.

Well to start with Paris has one big advantage over somewhere like Birmingham. It has about 24,000 residents in every square kilometre. I think Birmingham has between 3,000 and 4,000 which means you have a lot more prospective customers.

During my stay I saw
Bad points:-
Buses with Etched windows and general vandalism.
Bus Drivers leaning out of cab windows swearing at other motorists.
Branded buses on wrong routes
The livery involves a lot of white with some buses haveing all lower panels white so look dirty quickly
Buses with non-working destination displays and bits of paper with numbers on in the window.
Most of the on-street timetables just show first and last bus, so you have no idea of the frequency.
I have one photo of a bus with route branding upside down.

(lots of this look familiar)

Good points:-
On street maps were easy to understand to see which bus you needed
Most routes seemed to be very frequent with most passengers using electronic payment similar to Oyster so boarding was very quick.
Traffic seemed chaotic at places (like Arc de triumph) but buses seem to get through quite quickly.

The only trains I caught in Paris were RER service to Disneyland. A journey of about 40 minutes the same as my commute to work
The return fare was 14 Euros. A lot more than a peak return from Hednesford to Birmingham, who says our trains fares are more expensive than everywhere in Europe.
The trains themselves were double deck commuter trains with very uncomfortable seats, even a 150 is a lot more comfy. and again, even when we were returning and the service was less frequent there were no timetables, just first and last trains. The 'next train' boards just said Paris this platform, no timetabled times OR real time at Marne le Valle (there is real time in Central Paris).

In general as you can see I found the public transport experience very similar to what you get in Birmingham in a lot of ways, better in a few and worse in others.

[jc]

Certainly will be interesting to see some photos if you get the time Tony, am planning a trip there in March next year on Megabus ... Thanks.

[Bob]

Do the trains actually run? unlike half of the weekend evening trips on the chase line

[Tony]

Do the trains actually run? unlike half of the weekend evening trips on the chase line

You cannot tell if half the trains are cancelled because I couldn't find any timetables!

[PM]

I have different experiences of French public transport-buses absolutely rammed all the time and much lower frequencies than in GB. This is in Nice and Cannes by the way so hardly rural France. Oh, and this old guy got stuck in the door and later the doors wouldnt open. No timetables although public transport is great in Perth and Santander with Transportes Urbanos de Santander and Alsa. Where continental buses are better is that they have air conditioning which we need in Britain so badly.

[andyr]

Lots of frequent services do not give exact times, buses every 5 mins aprox between certain times! Yes Paris has more residents than Birmingham and as a result many more cars. The bus drivers are in smart uniforms and give change and the branding is usually in the form of running boards placed in slots on the buses sides which can be easily changed when required. have always found the Paris system very easy to use, at a reasonable price.

[Tony]

Lots of frequent services do not give exact times, buses every 5 mins aprox between certain times! Yes Paris has more residents than Birmingham and as a result many more cars. The bus drivers are in smart uniforms and give change and the branding is usually in the form of running boards placed in slots on the buses sides which can be easily changed when required. have always found the Paris system very easy to use, at a reasonable price.

I didn't see a single bus with the running boards fitted, they all now have the branding applied with stickers where the running boards go, so if they are on a different route running boards can be put in to hide the branding, but I saw two buses on routes other than the stickers without them covered

[andyr]

Lets widen our search and look at other European cities, any suggestions? Berlin, Madrid, Prague, Milan, Koln? What have we experienced on our travels. I think Paris is one of the best systems (bit not without problems) in Europe. The Germans have a very efficent system and you could set your watch by the times of there trains, but in the last couple of years just like here lots of long needed enginering work is causing distruption which the population is far from pleased about. Switzerland, Austria, Belgium?

[richie]

I love the dolmus in turkey about every 3 mins seats 15 ish but carries about 35 lol reminds me of merry hill minis

[RW]

Pleased that you see the use of white in liveries as a bad point Tony. Surely only a matter of time before NXWM recognises that it is an entirely unsuitable colour no matter what shade of white they call it. Even the NXWM management must wince sometimes at the appearance of their 'white' vehicles.

[PM]

Swiss public transport is amazing and Jersey isnt bad either.

[Justin Tyme]

I had a holiday in the middle of France last year, and bus services outside large towns and cities were few and far between - the inter-urban and rural network was far worse than it is in Britain.  As the roads were not busy either, I wondered if locals travel less than we Brits do.

[Rob H]

Swiss public transport is amazing and Jersey isnt bad either.

Been to Jersey 3 times for a Holiday in 2005, 2006 & 2007 and I agree Peter Jersey's Public Transport is Brilliant when I was there I didn't encounter 1 bus that was late or had etchings and the Buses they have are brilliant