My first Firstbus bus card

So what’s better? Firstbus or Scotrail? There was only one way to find out…

Fight? No. I had to try them both.

My opening week as a MA Multimedia Journalism student was compounded with the weighty decision of deciding what means of transport would best cater for my needs over the next year.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I opted for rail travel.

This meant a ten minute walk to Cathcart train station. The stroll was fairly straightforward, granted an awareness was maintained as to the ongoing possibility of pavement-side puddle splashes from buses travelling along the main road. (Please note that any other potential routes to Cathcart station were ruled out instantly on the basis that they were non-newsagent passing)

Rain fell heavily on the Monday morning, and despite being miserably umbrella-less, I tried not to let that cloud my judgement at such an early stage of the decision making process.

Superlatives were not required to describe the station – it doesn’t try to be something it’s not. Clientele were largely standard, although certain individuals in the fairly numerous group of teenage school children waiting on the 8:10am to Queens Park did tend to make a nuisance of themselves – I’m not one for ‘tig’ on the platform, perhaps in days gone by.

The driver did an sterling job of keeping the locomotive on the tracks each day and the ticket officer did not let an uninspiring manner hold her back from checking zone-cards and traversing carriages.

Well cushioned seats made the going ’soft to good’ for newspaper reading.

All in, rail travel had served me well and I would have no problem supplying a reasonably positive reference to someone else in my position.

So then, to Thursday and Friday.

In honesty, bus travel was starting on the front foot in relation to my transport experiment, simply due to a lower ten-week card price than the train. However, there are some public travel factors money can’t buy, so Firstbus would still undergo a rigorous and fair assessment.

Realising I could basically do a three point pivot from flat, to newsagent, to bus stop was a noteworthy observation, as was the fact that on boarding the number 44 bus, I had completed the beneficial metamorphosis of ’splashed’ to ’splasher’.

As would be expected, the going was not so good on the bus, which was securely in the ‘firm’ bracket. Nevertheless, this did not impede on my ability to deal with unreplied texts and absorb part of the i newspaper.

I was keen to see the extent to which the bus filled with passengers as the journey progressed. It transpired that occupation of the top floor of the double decker, where I was, plateaued at approximately 75% capacity. Therefore I reckoned a decent chance of a double seat to myself for the duration should always exist.

Alas, on the basis of the close proximity bus stop and a significantly cheaper ten-week ticket, I was content to part with £80 for my first Firstbus bus card.

The acquisition of this physical bus card has had other unforeseen perks. How refreshing and foolproof a motion it is to quickly show the driver a bus card to gain access to the vehicle, in comparison to trying to explain where you want to go and fiddling about for the correct change.

Also, the bus card does have a touch of the L.A.P.D. police badges about it, and to date I am feeling like I walk the mean streets of Glasgow with slightly enhanced authority.

At least I can focus properly on university now….