British buses are embarrassing
I live in Switzerland. Going back to the UK and trying to use public transport there always comes as a bit of a shock.
In Switzerland, there are two big things which makes city public transport work (rural is different): firstly, tickets are valid for any form of transport in an entire zone for a particular duration, allowing unlimited travel within that zone, with a standard 'single' typically being valid for an hour, and 24-hour tickets costing exactly twice what a single does; and secondly, every single bus stop has a ticket vending machine.
The first point means that in can get from point A to point B on a single ticket even if there isn't a direct bus there. I can choose any route I like, provided it's in the same zone, and I can mix and match buses, trams, trains or boats (Zurich has river buses). In the UK I need to buy individual tickets for every leg of the journey, which adds up very quickly. Plus, as a 24h ticket costs two singles, if I'm doing anything even slightly complicated I just get a 24h ticket, giving me unlimited travel, and then _never have to think about it_. That's surprisingly important (as anyone who's had to juggle return legs of multiple bus tickets in the UK knows).
The second point means that I can buy my ticket before I travel rather than having to get them from the driver, with exact change, in the middle of a stressed queue in the rain. It allows the buses to move more quickly as they don't need to wait at the stop for as long. Swiss people are also pretty honest, and they don't bother to routinely check tickets, which also allows them to have multiple doors for rapid entry and exit.
Every time I try to use UK public transport it just makes me feel like they're trying to actively discourage travellers...
(The UK exception is London, where the Oystercard actually works pretty well. Do any other big UK cities have something similar? The only one I go to these days in Glasgow, which doesn't.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
