[DanaC]

Buses are irritating me. When I first started this part-time job, I had to set off around 7:30 to get to work for 9:10 for a 9:30 start. That gave a little leeway if a bus vanished from the schedule or I missed one of the connections on my three bus journey. I then left work a little after 2:30 and got home a little before 4pm. One time two buses vanished off the schedule and I was late, but that seemed unusual. One time I missed a bus and was late.

Then the schools went back and traffic started snarling up in the morning as I was leaving, and the journey back coincided with schools letting out. I was late to work and decided to get an earlier bus. Things were fine for a bit - then that bus was late, the next connecting bus was late and the last bus vanished - I ended up spending an extra fiver on a taxi for the last leg and was still 15 minutes late.

I started getting an earlier bus. Everything was fine - then calderdale and kirklees seemed to erupt in roadworks, positioned handily at all the major arteries in and out of the town I was travelling from and the town I was travelling to. I was late again - I ended up getting a warning for being late three times in a month.

So now, I leave my house at 6:50 for a 9:30 shift start and I get home around 4:30. I am now travelling 4 hours 40 minutes there and back for a 5 hour shift.


The distance, by a-road, from my village to the village where I work is 9.8 miles.