I don't know whether to laugh or cry. First, I did say 'not medium and long distance buses'. I don't know what your definition of trip lengths is, but I dare guess that very few of the UK's feeder bus routes would qualify as either medium or long. Second, I did mention connectivity, which includes short-haul buses, light rail, taxis, city buses, etc.
It seems that people in this country all too often forget the differences (and similarities) between North America and Europe. For instance - the main UK island is just about 553 miles from top to bottom and 316 miles at the widest (Penzance to Ramsgate) and would fit into the New England states plus New York State. Yet if you look at National Rail's Principal Routes map and compare it to rail density in the northeastern US (particularly passenger routes), it would compare much more favorably to a US rail map of 1890 than the current map and should make any rail advocate jealous (or hurl).
Granted - the population is different (63.1 M for UK vs. 35.5M for NE/NY), but a quick estimate of rail density ratio looks like 3 or 4 to 1 in favor of the Brits. Can anyone tell me, with a straight face, that this country is honestly doing what it takes to provide an adequate rail system that would boost/support a wider economy?
With the exception of Scotland (which would roughly compare to Maine), I doubt most people using feeder coaches in the UK spend anything close to the 3 or 4 hours a person from Corning or Ithaca would have to be on the bus to catch Amtrak at Rochester or Syracuse - I've done it myself. If an Ithaca student has to be on a bus for 3 1/2 hours to get on a train at Syracuse (and no, there aren't enough trains to have a quick connection at most times of the day), then wait for a train, then be on the train for 6 1/4 hours for a trip of well over 10 hours, why wouldn't they get in a car for a 6 hour drive?
Yes - many Amtrak users take (much longer than should be necessary) bus trips to get to the train - but imagine how many more rail users there would be if people didn't have to travel just to travel....
G.
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What the #*** did we just hit, Over ???