Travelling By Public Transport In Europe

I can't drive but of course love to travel, so thought I would write today about using public transport both in the UK and the rest of the European countries I've been to or through. In the UK, the train companies used to be funded at least partially by the government, but for as long as I can remember have now been privately funded. I don't know who funds the buses, but I would guess they're privately funded as there are so many companies that run them. I don't know though, because you can normally get information on buses and timetables etc through local councils. Because of the fact that the trains here are privately funded, the companies find every way they can to make them expensive as they can, regardless of the quality of the journey. I can normally get a seat on a train, but it's not garranteed, because the companies sell as many tickets as they can and reserving a seat is only optional. There are discounts that some people can use like if they fall into certain age groups or have a disability. I think there are also some discounts for families. Even with a discount though, I would say at times a train can be the most expensive next to taxing a taxi. I haven't flown on an internal flight in the UK, but I'm told some people find that option cheaper than trains. That's not to mention the price of food on trains and at stations! I've payed at times £2 for a cup of tea and at the same time found out that sandwiches then cost around £3.50! Let's take my own food I think. Well when I remember to get or make something. In terms of local buses it depends on the company, especially with local buses. Some companies charge a rather large amount to go only a few minutes round in a circle, while others charge somewhat cheaper to do a similar distance and journey-length. Again you can get various bus passes making the journey cheaper or even free of charge. Speaking of free travel, I'm told that people with disabilities living in Scotland can get a card to allow them to travel on the trains within Scotland for free! I'm starting to use National Express lately for coach travel. Even if I didn't have a coach card, it would still make it considerably cheaper to travel by coach than by train. I'm going to visit my friend Dawn (who writes the Barriers To Bridges blog and website) soon. Taking the coaches will take a lot longer, but be barely a third of the price of the trains. I haven't used Megabus, so can't comment on their buses or service, but I've so far found National Express drivers friendly and helpful and the buses more comfortable than the Flixbus buses. In Finland and many other European countries, the trains are subsidized heavily by the governments. I say that because a journey from Helsinki to Rovaniemi taking between 8 and 12+ hours depending on which one you take costs 80 euros, but you can pay £80 or more for a journey from Hereford to Newcastle, which only takes about 5 or 5 hours! The other difference is that the Finland journey I just mentioned is normally a direct route and the same price whether you want to go now or book 2 months ahead of time. When you buy a ticket with the train company there, you reserve a seat by default, so the ticket is also the reservation. I like this because it means absolutely no one stands up for a train journey, unless of course they're going to the toilet or the dining car. Speaking of dining cars, they have them rarely in the UK trains, but both in the UK and Finland they have not many vegan options. On the Finnish trains though, you normally find at least 1 option and you actually get to sit down with a plate and cutlery like in a restaurant. For people who read braille, the seat numbers are sometimes in braille on the side of the isle seats on the trains in Finland, but not the compartments as far as I know and there is nothing at all on the British trains. I can't remember if I've mentioned in previous posts on here, but taxi meters in Finland start at 6 or 7 euros, so by definition fares are so much more expensive than taking a bus. To get from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to the other side of the city it costs 40 euros in a taxi but only 5 by bus. I can't comment on any national coach services there, because I haven't used them, but even getting around by local buses is so much eaper than by taxi. Of course walking is also totally free and I like to walk if I don't have a bunch of stuff to carry. I think the taxi meters in Germany start at a lower amount than in Finland, because to go 7 km across Berlin it cost about 18 euros. The cheap taxi companies in the UK start at £1, but normally the start at £2 or £2.50. Although I don't find the Flixbus buses in any way comfortable, I find some of the drivers to be so kind. I like ferries too, because they can be cheap if you book at the right time and the food is normally pretty good. I ate some food in one of the restaurants on the ferry from Turku to Stockholm and was glad to see they were using reuseable napkins or whatever you call those things you wipe hands on. I booked that ferry with ferrysavers.co.uk and the ferry I went on from Copenhagen to Dresden was included in the price of my Flixus ticket. I enjoy being able to walk around on ferries or on the longer journeys you can go to sleep if you want. The sofa in the cabin turns into a bed. I know ferries hold a lot more people than planes, so I would guess they're more environmentally friendly, as well as the fact they don't seem to dump fuel but keep hold of it. I could be entirely wrong though, because there are some statistics that say aeroplanes are the second most environmentally friendly mode of transport. To conclude, I plan on using more coaches for longer distance travelling in the UK rather than trains. I have recently come across a service called blablacar, which allows you to get picked up and dropped off if people are driving in the same direction ... Apparently it's kind of a ride-sharing service. I can't comment on that as it's not something I've tried oud.