Your Worst Public Transport Experience

[doktorhonig]

The worst experience probably was when my train was stuck in the lovely town of "Březová nad Svitavou" and most of the train staff didn't bother talking English (or German, since it was a train from Germany to Austria) to us.
I had another great time, when I was on a train with an engine breakdown, and a backpack full of ice cream.

[Jacko]

for me it was a few years ago, while i was in Year 8 (now in year 10) at secondary school, and the train left Emsworth where most school kids jam pack into ones already on the train, and as we started, the train gathered speed and suddenly stopped. I then ended up smashing my face into a wall, slipping up and falling over. the was the official worst experience ever. remember there were really stupid teens on board at the time.

[orudge]

In my case, it was likely getting stuck in Heathrow Airport after the whole terrorist blah in August 2006. Was a bit of a pain, and ended up having to pay around £80 for a walk-up one-way (with railcard) fare back to Leuchars.

[dachrismaz]

I remember being stuck on the District Line (of the London Underground) on the night of 17th March 2009 between stations for about one and a quarter hours.
The only thing that made it bearable was being with two friends. We passed the time by walking the length of the train several times.

Has certainly put subsequent delays into perspective.

[61653]

I remember being stuck on the District Line (of the London Underground) on the night of 17th March 2009 between stations for about one and a quarter hours.
The only thing that made it bearable was being with two friends. We passed the time by walking the length of the train several times.

Has certainly put subsequent delays into perspective.

Must've been pretty late to be able to do that!

[Geo Ghost]

Any Arriva bus journey. They are always horrible. Sometimes more so, sometimes less so admittedly.

[XeryusTC]

I remember being stuck on the District Line (of the London Underground) on the night of 17th March 2009 between stations for about one and a quarter hours.
The only thing that made it bearable was being with two friends. We passed the time by walking the length of the train several times.

Has certainly put subsequent delays into perspective.

Fortunately for you that is not as bad as my two hour delay on my trip with the Eurostar. A trip that would've taken 13 hours took 15 hours after some guy in France decided to commit suicide and got hit by the train in front of the Eurostar. Fortunately I brought H2G2 along so I had something to read. But still sitting 2 extra hours in a slightly cramped space still isn't much fun

[Emperor Jake]

A few years ago in Paris, getting from the airport to Gare du Nord via RER, was not a good experience. My family and I were stuck in a crowded train for two hours because of a bomb scare, inside a tunnel, with our cumbersome luggage and tired from a 20-hour flight. Plus, Charles de Gaulle is the crappiest airport ever. The layout is confusing and the place has the atmosphere of a bunker, everything is stark concrete and hard seats, and there are very few shops scattered all over the place. (in Terminal 1 anyway) Contrast this to the modern and carpeted Changi Airport with its jungles, waterfalls and butterfly garden...

[doktorhonig]

Charles de Gaulle was also my worst airport experience.

[EXTspotter]

CDG isn't too bad. Terminal 1 is a complete hole but the different parts of T2 are much more light and airy. I used T2E for the Paris - London - Paris A380 crew training flights (which were always delayed however the A380 was sooo nice) and it was a very nice experience.

[Gord]

Back in 1999 when I was at uni in Bangor. Was on my way from my family home in Lowestoft back to Bangor. It was in the days when First Northwestern ran loco-hauled services from Birmingham to Holyhead. Anyway, had stoped to see a friend in Nottingham on the way so travelled back late at night.

Was due to catch a train around midnight from Birmingham for Bangor. It was a freezing cold night. I was hungry and out of money and just wanted to get to bed. Got to New Street off the Nottingham train and had a 40 minute wait. Fell asleep on the platform in New Street and got woken up by sercurity telling me to get out of the station as I couldn't sleep there tonight, (I was in a state, no clean clothes, unshaven..typical student!) I told him that I wasn't homeless and I showed him my ticket and he kindly escorted me to a warm waiting room. He came back 10 mnutes before my train was due to leave to make sure that I didn't miss it. He was really helpful and was telling me stories about how drunk people from Dublin normally use that late night train on their way home!

Anyway, I got on the train. There were carriages with compartments on the train so I settled into one of them. About 5 minutes out of New Street all of the lights on the train went out and we were plunged into pitch black darkness. Made my way into the corridor and noticed someone with a lighter n the next carriage, (which was a relief...because I wondered if was on empty stock on its way to a depot somewhere!) So me and the other passenger looked down the train and noticed a carriage with the lights on so we went to sit in there.

Eventually the guard came round and we asked what had happened. He explained that as there were so few passengers they decided just to use the one carriage that night! (Would have helped if they had said something at New Street!)

In the end I did get some sleep on that train. Then back in Bangor at around 2am, the taxis at the station refused to take me up the hill to my student digs due to the ice and frost. So I spent the rest of the night with very heavy bags slipping and sliding up the hill to my halls.

A strange journey that one!

[Geo Ghost]

It seems First Capital Connect standards are slipping... a lot!

I've never missed a train to memory. I've decided not to bother getting some at home but I've never had the problem of missing a train at the actual station.

Well today that changed even though I was 10 minutes early. Went to the Knebworth ticket office (shut as always..) leaving only the dreaded ticket machine.
Someone there before me was there for a good 5 minutes trying to get it sorted and I was thinking "what the hell..." the entire time.

Soon as she went... it then took ME 5 minutes to get the dam crappy thing to work! Honestly, the time it takes to load each page I could have gone on nationalrail.co.uk and ordered tickets!
Three menu options - "Buy, Collect, Language". I click buy and it skipped two screens each time and tried to make me get a 7-day travelcard for £94
Then the back 'button' (aka, area of the screen you have to poke or smash with a fist till something happens) failed to work as did pretty much anything else.
Result - 10 minutes early and I missed the train. A rather hacked-off phone call to FCC soon followed who then told me to use the ticket office which was open. Interrupted by me saying it wasn't open.
Then I am told "It should be open till 1-" "I'm standing in-front of the ticket office. I can most certainly tell you sir that it is shut without a doubt... again!"

I think FCC are going to hate me before long..

[teccuk]

Yes, it does. If any ECC contracted service doesn't, we want to know about it.

Haha!

GeoGhost, this is WorstGroup we're talking about. They win a franchise / buy a bus company and paint everything puke pink and send the staff on 'rude and unhelpfulness' training.

Like most of you i've had some terrible public transport experiences, but then i've had some pretty awful driving experiences, and the worst transport experiences have always been air travel.

[orudge]

Fell asleep on the platform in New Street and got woken up by sercurity telling me to get out of the station as I couldn't sleep there tonight, (I was in a state, no clean clothes, unshaven..typical student!) I told him that I wasn't homeless and I showed him my ticket and he kindly escorted me to a warm waiting room. He came back 10 mnutes before my train was due to leave to make sure that I didn't miss it. He was really helpful and was telling me stories about how drunk people from Dublin normally use that late night train on their way home!

Hmm, this actually reminds me of what might arguably be my worst experience. Flying Ryanair with my friend Caroline from Rome to London back in 2006 (a few weeks after the terrorism incident I mentioned, actually). Our flight left at 6am or something, so being cheap, we thought we'd get to the airport the previous night and just sleep there (as we'd done in Stansted on the way down). Get the bus there, find a row of seats each, all very nice. I think I actually fell asleep, indeed, until around 11pm, when a guy came around telling us we all had to leave. Turns out they were doing construction work, so they turfed us all out at 11pm and we had to "sleep" outside until 4am! That was a fun night...

I even made a little video about it!

On the plus side, I did meet a nice Swedish girl who also was stuck outside with us, who I kept in touch with for quite a while, so I guess it wasn't all bad!

[Jacko]

Thats rather unfortunate. Dont you hate queing up to use a ticket machine, when your train is in like 5 minutes, and the guy at the front is going dur.... hwat do i do now??? and the guy next to him goes "press buy" and he goes "what?". Long story short it took us 25 minutes to get a ticket for an 8 minute journey, and had to wait for 30 minutes for the next train!. RIDICULOUS. They really need 3 ticket machines at Havant it is pathetic, one is cards only, one is coins and cards, but surprise surprise, people with cards queue up at the COIN machine. i should wait there with a shotgun for any idiot who tries this...

[JamieLei]

I rather like the Japanese ticket machine experience. The way tickets are priced, at least for non-express journeys, is very simple. All tickets are singles, there are no returns. Above the ticket machines is a map, showing the diagram of the surrounding lines. You search for your destination station, which tells you the fare. You put money in the machine, press your desired fare, and out pops a ticket along with your change. The process takes about 10 seconds at the machine, and there are always quite a good number of them (well over 20 at Hankyu Umeda station). I rarely buy tickets any more since I just use Smartcard everywhere I go.

Since Japanese railways are almost* entirely a closed system, if you can't read the Japanese or can't find your destination station, pay for the cheapest ticket. When you get to your destination, pay the difference at a fare adjustment machine (the barriers won't let you exit unless you've paid the full fare).

*Some local lines work like buses here, where they have unmanned stations. When you board, you collect a ticket which shows your boarding location. As you get off, you check with an electronic chart next to the driver for the fare, and pay as you get off. If you boarded on another line, the driver will calculate the fare for you.

[Gord]

Quite lucky here. The staff at Stourbridge Junction are very helpful and are often quicker than the ticket machine anyway.

[Ameecher]

What's a ticket machine/office?

[Gord]

Your part of Norfolk is lucky to still have railway stations!

I remember in the 80's at Oulton Broad North, there would be a man selling tickets to the passengers going to Lowestoft as it was impossible for the guard to get through the train between the two stations.

I doubt that happens anymore.

Was rather surprised when I was last there to see a departure screen on the Norwich bound platform...that's progress for you!

[Ameecher]

Ha they have that at North Walsham until 11 or so, they gave him a little hut and everything, just before the train is due he shuts up shop and gets on the train to Norwich meaning the busy train then has 2 guards on board, seems like quite a clever idea!