Problems with the T14 Bus

 I'm back from my adventures - and the first thing I've done after unpacking is to send a complaint to Trawscymru about the T14 service.

I'm an anxious traveller.  I check and recheck the timetables.  So I checked the T14 timetable before I booked my train tickets, making sure I had enough time to catch the train.  I checked again the night before I travelled.  The time of the first bus was still listed as 06.59, which would get me into Hereford with 25 minutes to spare. The timetable says it's about 10 minutes, but I'd taken the early bus before and I knew it got into Hereford earlier than the timetable stated.  Even so, I could get to the platform in 10 minutes from the bus stop.

The bus arrived at 7.24am.

The driver showed me the paper timetable he was following, which showed 7.24 for arrival at Hay, and said something about half term.

There was nothing on the Trawscymru website about the bus times changing for half term.  However I did notice that 7.24 was the time for the Saturday service.  I was travelling on a Wednesday.

So I was sitting in the bus at the traffic lights by the Texaco garage when my train left the station.  I had to buy another ticket (£39.50 - which is very reasonable for a trip to London, but I shouldn't have needed to pay it), and I was an hour late at Euston.

The trains worked perfectly, both ways.

I returned to Hereford last night, having timed my arrival on the train to be able to catch the last bus home.  Surely this time there wouldn't be a problem?

By the time the T14 arrived, I was looking towards the taxi rank and wondering how much they charge to get to Hay these days.

This time the T14 was 20 minutes late, and the driver was unfamiliar with the route.  It wasn't his fault - he was doing his best - but we did end up going round Kingstone twice because he missed the turn, and regular passengers were shouting out helpful advice on the route and where the best places to stop for the bus stops were.

If anyone is interested in my adventures in London, I am writing about them on my other blog, Morwenna's Tower (on the side bar).