The latest episode of 'All On This Together' features
@FlightFreeUK
director
@EatSleepCycle
talking about her many adventures around the UK and Europe via public transport! Available on YouTube and your podcasting app of choice:
Let me get this right... The government is saying that an 18 year-old is just as capable as a 20 year-old of driving buses full of people long distances but an 18 year-old isn't as capable as a 25 year-old as make choices about their own gender and body?
Young people could soon have access to hundreds of new jobs across the bus and coach sectors 🚌
Take part in the consultation aiming to lower the minimum age to drive longer routes, and speed up access to training:
Bus socks on! Ready to roll!
I will be delay-tweeting my journey so you’ll see everywhere I go, just after I leave so I don’t get bombarded with route suggestions and, you know, safety and stuff. But time to catch some buses…
And that concludes my 35th birthday. When my mother turned 35, she was about to give birth to me, but I feel like today I have given birth to a whole Twitter bus lover community, so to each their own.
Emailed my family to tell them about how I went from 800 to 20,000 twitter followers, appeared in international media for riding buses, and that they could hear me on the radio in Canada tonight. My mom responded with, "This is really something." It is, indeed, really something.
The £2 bus fare has been extended until the end of June! I know it’s not perfect, but it will help a lot of people and promote public transport. Keep riding buses and putting pressure on the government! And I’ve definitely got some more trips to plan…
I spent years using Trainline before someone told me you can just go on any train operator's website and search for tickets to anywhere. I tend to now use whichever operator my bank is giving me cashback on, or if none, Hull Trains for the sheer fun of it.
The actual audacity of Trainline to take 75% of a refund for ‘Admin Fees’. A measly £3.25 return for train tickets that never got used. Guess which app has been deleted!
I’m still getting tons of DMs from media and other organisations about the buses, and I’m trying to reply as much as I can. However, if you work for an organisation that constantly demonises migrants or trans people, I don’t want to talk to you.
Rather amazed by the 1,200-ish new followers I've got for deciding to ride a bunch of buses so can't reply to anything else. Need to go to bed now so I can get up at 4ish to start riding buses... will update then if you're an insomniac! 😬
I expected about 5 of my transport nerd friends to like this tweet. Now I've got over 100 new followers and am seriously feeling the pressure not to mess this up!
I wanted to mostly keep this about the joy of buses, but a government minister just retweeted this thread and I blocked him. The £2 bus are great, but a sticking plaster on a massive problem. I am pro public transport; not an advertisement for this inhumane government.
In some very fun news, my bus adventures have landed me an excellent literary agent! This calls for planning more bus adventures… and writing a book about them!
Delighted to announce I have now signed the wonderful
@ETWriteHome
whose adventures travelling the UK by local bus are already taking the nation by storm.
Have just cleared out the file folder I used to organise my transiberian railway journey from years ago to put in the stuff I need for this journey – from one epic journey to the next!
The Barbican just sent me an email apologising for an email they sent accidentally but the email they sent apologising for the email sent accidentally is the only email they’ve sent me.
Have I fallen into a logic puzzle?
Going to bed ahead of the lass buses tomorrow. Had a friend Text and Sau, “Sorry I missed your Birthday! I only realised when i read about it in the Guardian…” What a weird life…
I’m wearing two-colour tights and the two different legs match different trains on the Sofia Metro and, I have to say, one if the most exciting things to ever accidentally happen to me.
Every year, my partner and I make a gingerbread tube station (admittedly, he does all the arty and mathematical bits and I just roll out dough and mix icing). I’ve been lobbying for Hounslow East all year and it looks SO GOOD!
And what did I do when I got here? Got on another bus!
@on_lothianbuses
#gifted
me a ticket to their open top bus tours which was a new experience considering four days ago I had 900 followers.
The actual reason I caught all these buses to Edinburgh is
@TheAuldHoose
nachos. Only slightly kidding (Diet Coke pint for scale… and desperately needed energy)…
Hello old friend… rolled in on the 51 Border Bus, after a comprehensive tour of all the places in the outskirts I’ve stayed in because I couldn’t afford to stay in the city centre during The Fringe…
My partner and I are staying in a small cottage in Derbyshire for the weekend. We bought food on the way here, but now only have the remnants of a few different meals left.
Not wanting to be wasteful, I turned them into a six-course tasting menu.
Currently sitting on the Eurostar, at the very beginning of a three week trip to Istanbul and back. That’s a lot of cities that contain a lot of buses and I’m excited to ride (a very small proportion of) them all!
I’m REALLY excited about today. Not just finishing this challenge, but also because I love the Northumberland coast. I’ve travelled along it by train, car, bike and coach, but this will be my first time going through on a double-decker so I get a higher view. 💚
@Roberto_cycles
It's a government cost-of-living crisis helping measure – almost all the buses in England are £2 from January–March (would be great if it lasted beyond that... but taking advantage while I can).
not only is public transport free in Brussels, but they even have a bus called "Not The 48" which takes you to a mystery location if you're feeling a bit down or you just don't have anything to do that day
something for other cities to consider
Today I was invited to talk about my bus journey at
@TfL
’s Bus Directorate’s leadership away day. Forgot to take pictures there but they gave me some more TfL swag (because I don’t own enough).
Also, at the same time I crossed the Scottish border I got a message from the Daily Mail saying they’re writing about me. I would like to say I did not consent to that.
#NightmaresComeTrue
📣 Tunnel boring machine Emily has started her 3.4 mile dig under the capital 📣
She becomes the third TBM delivering the tunnels which HS2 trains will travel through under London.
Find out more 👉
After a week of travelling all across Britain I was so filled with the beauty, diversity and generosity of this country.
After about an hour of hearing about the Tory party conference I want to leave and never come back.
Oh, also, for all the people asking how much this cost! I spent £30 on buses in England (all £2) which doesn't count my 3 London buses I got for free. I then spent £16 on the two buses I took in Scotland. What a difference the £2 fare makes... it should stick around.
Alright. I have left Sheffield. Plan now is to get as far as I can on buses (can’t make it to hotel) then take a train to my hotel. Then tomorrow morning I’ll get the train back to where I left off and start from there. That way I will not feel like I’ve cheated at all.
I just did an interview with “As It Happens” on
@CBCRadioCanada
– which will mean nothing to most people in the UK but was an absolute staple in my house/parents’ car growing up in Canada. What a strange turn of events…
Land’s End to John o Groats by local bus and (now) bicycle day 7 – a day I didn’t intend to be doing but I’ve watched the sun rise in beautiful Wick and am going to get the bike.
I’ve made it to Pontefract (a palace I always think sounds like it’s in France)! Taking a cab to my prebooked hotel, will then come back to where I left off today tomorrow morning and keep going!
I’m on my way to Cornwall to start my local bus journey to John O’ Groats in the morning! I know taking the overnight coach there saved me a lot of money… but this is how I feel about it:
My partner at dinner tonight: I wonder if you could get up to the arctic circle via a series of local buses.
Me: From where?
Him: I don't know, let's look at Norway on google maps...
BUT I JUST GOT HOME!
I need to stop scrolling through Twitter and getting angrier and angrier with this government. Let's support refugees, let's support organisations that support refugees, let's not let them win.
“What have you done in service to this country?” you may ask…
Well, I found these Nadine Dorries books in the book exchange at Morden Station and have strained my back carrying them around all day just so that no one else would accidentally start reading them.
Made it to Barnsley that had the most incredible post-modern bus station I’ve ever seen. I loved it!
Unfortunately it was full of teenagers who were harassing everyone (well, me, I don’t know if they were harassing others).
Had a supermarket delivery while a boiler repairman was here and it BLEW HIS MIND that I carried the whole plastic trays into the kitchen and unloaded them there. Called his wife on the spot to tell her how much time they could save.
Now I feel oblidged to spread the word!
My partner and I have somehow wound up in a hotel room in Budapest where there are no other guests in the hotel, it's obvious this room has never been stayed in before, and it may or may not be a scam... 🧵
A few people have encouraged my to share petitions about retaining the £2 bus fares, and I absolutely am happy to share and sign those petitions, but I'm not convinced this is the best thing to do to keep the fares... 1/
@PranMan
This is something I've been curious about for a while, and I'd really love to hear perspective on this from someone who understands the Inidan immigrant experience, caste and Indian social structure. I feel like I've read or heard nothing o tnhe subject from UK publications.
Bus socks on! Ready to roll!
I will be delay-tweeting my journey so you’ll see everywhere I go, just after I leave so I don’t get bombarded with route suggestions and, you know, safety and stuff. But time to catch some buses…
I’ve made it to Alnwick! Meant to take the X18 but when one of those failed to exist took the X15 instead. Was hoping to get to Barter Books before they closed at 6, but such is life.
I have never been to Leicester before and wish I had more time to explore the city – I’ll have to come back. But I had an INCREDIBLE lunch at Healthy Louisa’s! I thought I’d be living off of meal deals but so many nutrients! Strong recommendation.
Took the 610 dragonfly from Potters Bar to Luton. It’s called “The Dragonfly” which I’m reliably informed is because the De Havilland Dragonfly plane would have been built in Hatfield, which it passes through. It has interesting bench seats and chargers! 😊
Alright! Day 4 of Land’s End to John O Groats (by local bus – I keep forgetting to mention that…). Last night I made it to Liverpool and I’m looking forward to the lakes today! Got my Routemaster moquette socks on this morning…
Land’s End to John O Groats by local bus day 5! Last night I made it to Galashiels where I stayed in this B&B which was about two steps from the bus station (the large building behind)…
I have officially booked an overnight coach to get me to Penzance in a couple of weeks (I couldn't justify the cost of the sleeper train). Land's End to John O'Groats by local bus – here we come!
Massive support to all the teachers today (and every day)! I used to be a primary teacher and had to walk away for my own mental health. Teachers have to fill so many cracks in society and deserve a reasonable workload, good pay and respect!
Land’s End to John O Groats Day 3! Last night I made it to Chepstow, just over the borer into Wales. This morning I’m on my first proper tiny local bus with single seats on one side. Still takes contactless though!
Land’s End to John O Groats Day 2! Last night I made it to Paignton, Devon. This was technically further east than I needed to go but had cheaper hotels. I’m back on the GOLD and unlike last night, this one is actually gold (and double decker).
Land’s End to John o’ Groats Day 6. Last night I made it to Inverness. Had a lovely curry for dinner and wandered the posh charity stops and local museum this morning. And Leakey’s bookshop!
Last night I had to climb this fence to get from the bus stop to my hotel because I don’t think they were expecting many people arriving by bus in the large retail park on the outskirts of Alnwick. 😂
Bad news… bus socks are definitely not warm enough for these buses and I’ve only brought three pairs of them with me… thankfully I was a teenager in Canada who wore miniskirts in snowstorm so I’m immune to frostbite. 😂
Some guy snuck on without paying and the driver pulled over, came out, and made him come back and pay. If they did that in London buses would move about a mile an hour…
Thanks so much to all the people who have been following the journey. I’m sorry I haven’t replied to every comment – there are so many and I couldn’t even find them all!
As I got on, one of the people in front of me said “should we get a table?” to which the other replied, “Where else would we put the wine?” so clearly this was a good time bus!
The comments on this are so frustrating. If the line is used this much, London needed it. This absolutely does not mean that other parts of the country don't also need better transport – they do! It's not an either/or, no matter what the government might say.
It made me laugh because the wrong-branded bus is called “Mango”. My partner was meant to join me on this trip, but his chinchilla, who is named Mango, is on medication she needs daily so he had to stay home. So now we’re both with Mango!
Oh, also shoutout to the staff member in Leeds Bus Station (I assume driver but I didn’t ask) who recognised me from Twitter. Forgot to ask your name because having someone recognise me from the internet is so surreal, but nice to chat buses without you!
I haven't eaten meat for most of my adult life, which means I've travelled to many countries where the majority of restaurants have few if any meat-free dishes. I therefore have come up with what I feel is the definitive ranking of vegetarian international eating experiences.
There’s a kid, maybe about age 4, sitting in front of me on the bus with his face pressed against the window like every mundane feature of North London is the most fascinating thing in the world. Even I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed looking out a bus window that much!
Now it’s too hot and everything is steamed up. A man who got on asked if he could open the window. I’ve never heard anyone ask before! We’re definitely not in London anymore! 😂
Ever since I took a bus to the Giant's Causeway, I've wanted to see more of Northern Ireland by bus and I'm doing it!! May 31st - June 2nd it's Northern Ireland bus adventure time!
Have not slept. Too excited about buses (and I took a painkiller with caffeine in it which successfully extinguished my migraine but also raised my energy level way too high)!