So, everyone’s been banging on about cutting emissions, right? And the city started making a big song and dance about our new “low-emission” public transport. I thought, okay, I’ll give it a proper go. See what all the fuss is about. I’m all for cleaner air, figured it was my turn to try and be a bit greener in my daily grind.
First off, I decided to switch my usual bus route to one of those new electric ones. The council put out all these leaflets, pretty pictures of sleek, quiet buses. My old diesel chariot was noisy and, let’s be honest, a bit smelly. So, the idea of a silent, fume-free ride? Sounded pretty good to me. I checked the new timetables online – that was the first step.
The first time I tried to catch one, I waited. And waited. The app said one was ‘due’, but that ‘due’ time came and went. Eventually, it did roll up, looking all shiny and new. It was definitely quieter. Like, eerily quiet. You could actually hear people’s conversations, which was a bit weird. Inside, it was cleaner too. So, thumbs up for that.
But here’s the thing, these eco-friendly options, they’ve got their own set of headaches. It wasn’t just a one-off delay.
- Frequency: It felt like there were fewer of these electric buses. My old route, a bus every 10 minutes. This new one? More like every 25-30 minutes, if you were lucky. Miss one, and you’re properly stuck.
- Reliability: I heard a few drivers chatting. Apparently, the range on these things can be a bit iffy, especially on colder days or if the traffic’s bad. They have to be super careful about getting back to the depot for a charge. One driver even mentioned they had to cut a route short once. Not great.
- The Infrastructure: Then there are the trams. We’ve had some electric trams for years, and they’re great. Smooth, no fumes. But putting in new lines? Mate, it’s chaos. Roads dug up for months, sometimes years. Businesses suffer. It’s a massive undertaking.
It just feels like they launched this big green dream without properly thinking through all the nuts and bolts. It’s like they bought a fancy new toy but didn’t get enough batteries or build enough charging points. The old system, for all its faults, it just… worked. You knew where you stood. This new stuff? It’s a bit of a gamble each morning.
I remember this one particular Tuesday. I had an important appointment, right across town. I planned meticulously. I’d take the new electric bus, leave plenty of time. The app showed it was on its way. Fifteen minutes later, still ‘approaching’. Another ten minutes, the bus icon just vanished from the map. Poof. Gone. I ended up having to call a taxi, fuming, and probably creating more emissions than if I’d just driven my own car. So much for my eco-warrior moment that day. It was a proper letdown.
Honestly, I think the whole low-emission public transport idea is brilliant, in theory. We all want to breathe cleaner air, right? But the way it’s been rolled out here, it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride, to put it mildly. It feels like a lot of shiny promises but not enough solid, day-to-day reliability. You kind of expect a few teething problems, but some of this feels more like a full-blown toothache.
So, yeah, I’m still trying to use it. When the electric bus actually shows up, it’s a nicer journey. The trams are good if they go where you need to. But I’ve learned to have a backup plan. And then another backup plan for that. It’s not quite the smooth, green, utopian future they sold us. Not yet, anyway. It’s more like they’ve given us a half-baked cake. Looks good on the outside, but still a bit gooey and disappointing in the middle.
