That's it in a nutshell. There is very little to commend Amtrack as a long-distance travel solution, when flying will get you there so much faster. I did use the Canadian VIA Rail service to travel from Toronto to Edmonton, Alberta, once, but that was partly to see what the prairies looked like without having to drive for hours and hours. On the train, if I wanted to have a nap or a drink, it was easy.
The same could be said of most intercity services in the UK ...
What gobsmacks me is the number of (usually elderly) "snowbirds" who regularly drive from Pennsylvania to Florida and back. Google maps has it as about an 18 hour drive and these days I'd probably allow about 3 days for that ...
I think you don't understand the process. When you complete and return your electoral registration form, you tick the box marked "include me in full register only".
The full register is supplied to all registered political parties for campaigning purposes only (and they may not misuse it such as selling it on. You get chokey for that).
The partial register (i.e. the full register less everyone who ticked that box) is what is available for purchase from the Council. So "some outfits" don't ever know about you because you don't appear on the register they can buy.
I expect there are delays, too, as freight gets priority over passenger travel.
My Ford car once broke down near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. I got a lift into the town with a family who were driving from Des Moines to Florida, as they did every summer. The back seat had a young boy on it and loads of books, games etc. all over it. This was before the days of mobiles or even iPods. I felt sorry for the kid, I really did.
They dropped me at the State Trooper place, who then called the only wrecker in town to tow my car in. The guy owned the Used Cadillac and Pontiac dealership, and arrived dressed in sportscoat and shirt and tie, as his usual driver wasn't available. He dropped me and the car at the Ford place next door to his. Small-town America.
When Easy cancelled our return flight from Edinburgh, we took a local train to Waverley and then East Coast main line to Kings X, tube to Victoria, and Southern down to Gatwick, then on Lewes to drop the FiL off. Then a two hour drive back to Canterbury.
We still got home earlier than the *takeoff* of the alternative flight that Easy offered from Edinburgh.
The flight up was delayed two hours too, due to thunderstorms around Gatwick.
Yeah you can view it. But are you telling me that Google etc have hordes of people going to Council offices to do it by hand?
I really pay with cash if I need change. In fact I usually walk away imndicating that they should put the change in a charity tin.
I remeber sitting on a bus and a conductor giving me a ticket, now I queue up at the bust stop, Q to get on the bus Q to get off. In fact last week I had to Q to get in the tube station then Q to go through the ticket barriers where only 2 of the 5 were working, then Q on the platform gettign the 2 or 3 train because they were packed. So a Q for a ticket might be exciting change.
Overall oyster cards and the like are better when everythings working as it should.
I had to opt in to have my bank card contactless well for my bank card to be used on TFL.
Maybe it depends on the amount aren't cards about 2%.
No, of course not. But what about private investigators if they have an interest in you for some reason?
Hmm, not really true if you factor in the check in time and the travel time to the airport. It gets very dependent on where you live in relation to the airport(s) if you're travelling from home. Trains mostly win if travelling city centre to city centre though London City Airport can work for some trips.
Add on the hassle of air travel these days. But then the train fares are bloody extortionate.
You think no single person ever had an influence on how things turn out much later on?
A lot of the infrastructure in the US is in poor condition - surprising for the richest country in the world. One thing Trump has promised to fix
- but just how without spending tax dollars remains to be seen.
Really? My niece has stopped flying from the SE of England to the NE of Scotland (where she was born, and still has family) Too much chance of the overall journey taking much longer than by train. Internal flights are far more likely to suffer from delays than intercity. Of course it will also depend on how far you have to travel to the airport/station at either end.
Yup. And to me, sitting in a train going through the countryside is a bit more pleasant than an airport waiting area.
You could say the same of the UK as one of the richest countries in the world.
Mony a mickle maks a muckle.
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