The Romsey Advertiser 23 March 2007

Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 23rd Mar 2007

Why is public transport such a frustrating experience? This is particularly the case if airports are involved and my pet hate is anything connected with Heath Row.

Last Friday I was due to fly in from Copenhagen and, all being well, I should have had plenty of time to get home in time to pop in to the call centre at Norwich Union Healthcare and join the volunteers in taking pledge calls for Comic Relief.

The plane was delayed by over an hour and I reflected that it would be good if air companies had to publish their reliability statistics in the same way as train companies.

The passport queues were long but this did help create the illusion that the baggage had, for once, arrived promptly. The next task was to find the rail air link back to Woking. The system seemed to have changed since the last time I used it but when I eventually tracked down the bus (the signs were blanked out) I was pleased to see that a bus was almost ready to leave. My pleasure was short lived as I was told that I could only pay for a ticket on the bus with cash. I did not have sufficient in pounds so asked if Euros were acceptable. They weren't so I had to trek to the ticket office, queue for a ticket and catch a later bus. Compare this to the Danish taxi driver who had cheerfully allowed me to pay him using a mixture of Danish and Swedish Krone with a few euros thrown in for good measure.

Needless to say the bus was then further delayed by the Friday night traffic on the motorway. Actually, given my fairly negative travel experience I could not blame all the drivers for opting for cars rather than public transport.

I did eventually arrive at the Call centre in Chandlers Ford and knew I had found the right place when I spotted a young man in tights and tutu. I soon got stuck into taking calls and had to reflect that, in the grand scale of things my problems may have been irritating but they were relatively minor compared with what many have to deal with.

The diary has been disrupted this week by a host of radio and TV interviews. There was great interest in the news that Southampton University Hospital Trust earns £2.4 million profit from car parking charges but other subjects of interest included junction 3 of the M27, antenatal services and the proposed hike in off peak fares announced by South West Trains.

I am trying to finish this column before the budget speech and we are all intrigued to discover what Gordon Brown will be announcing in what many believe will be his final budget speech.

Published with kind permission of Romsey Advertiser