A Transport for London Routemaster bus
I take a lot of pride on being on time for work. If I say I will be at a certain place at a certain time it is a matter of professional pride that I fulfil that commitment. I have always said that reliability is a more important factor in finding work than brilliance. If the person at the end of the line can rely on your appearing when you say you will, that is the major factor in his booking you for the job. No matter that you will be brilliant, you just have to be there,
For this reason, I got up early to catch the first train to Victoria from Brixton tube station during April when I was going for a job in Newhaven – only to find that the early trains had been cancelled by British Rail. You can take a lot of trains and taxis for the cost of running a car but you are at the mercy of public transport if you do. Since my beloved Jaguar (which was starting to cost me a lot money) had died I have relied on trains and buses.
The story of the death of my Jag may be worth a paragraph or two. In what was turning out to be a wet rather than a white Christmas, I drove through a puddle, which runed out to be a pool, To be more accurate, I was able to drive in but not out. Since then Wexford Council (for we were there) has prevented a pool forming in the road – but it was too late for us, we had to rely on the kindly Irish to help us out of the jam we found ourselves in.
It was my fault entirely. Maybe not entirely, but I had driven into the pool thinking that, because I had driven through others, this would not be a problem for the car. Big mistake – as we saw (and felt) the water entering it with us unable to do anything. The car was a write-off and we were grateful to a salvage man who rescued us (not charging anything extra for working on Christmas day) and to some firemen who moved the car to safety.
Say what you like about the Irish. but they will always come to your assistance and rarely charge you much for it. We knocked on the door of some strangers who took us home and would not accept any of the money we tried to force on them. This was while the car was being taken to the garage, I have noticed how friendly they are – certainly compared to the English who are much more reserved and distant,
Anyway, since that fateful Christmas I have been a pedestrian and public transport user. I can still drive but never do so in London, which is not a car-friendly city but has a good public transport system that I use when I am working, I even have spare Oyster cards that I give to people I am showing around, charging the tour operator for their cost. I like travelling on busses where you can see things and the tube trains which move you around quickly.
However, the unions are all powerful on public transport and, if they do not like the way that British Rail or Transport for London )the new name for London Transport) operate, they have little hesitation is downing tools. To make matters more complicated, there are multiple unions that train drivers and other employees can join so, if one is unhappy with the management, it affects your ability to get around easily.
The train cancellations were actually caused (according to the information we were given) by a faulty signal. However, I suspect that British Rail cancels the first trains in the morning, often because the drivers have not showed up, preferring a warm duvet to a cold journey to work. Maybe I am being overly cynical but is it coincidence that it is always the early train that are cancelled?
Anyway, to cut along story short, I was unable to reach the ship in Newhaven Harbour on time (which I hate doing) and had to change three times at Gatwick, Brighton and somewhere else to reach Newhaven, Then I had to find the ship, which also proved difficult, and relied on a local guide who drove me there. It would – as I later said to the person organising the tour 0 to have given me a hotel room to be safe,
My other blog is diaryofatouristguide,blogspot,com
Edwin Lerner
