Harley, prior to corsetting her own petrol tank.
So with Harley getting sorted by the garage, we've been left at the whim of Welsh public transport, and that isn't a good thing.
One of the great things about Vienna is it's fantastic public transport system. Buses, trams, trains and the U-bahn all combine to get you almost anywhere in the city in under an hour, and cheaply at that.
The Welsh system is somewhat, different.
Picking up the car.
So with Harley in a garage some 20 miles away in the beautiful little village of Taff's Well, it falls on public transport to get us to her location for pickup. Here goes.
Step 1 - The bus.
Ok, our first job is to get the bus down to the nearest train station. Taff's Well has its train station just two minutes from the garage, but for now we need to walk to the bus stop. The time is 15.10.
The walk to the bus stop takes just two minutes. Home has two bus routes. The main route passes through the heart of the village half a mile away. The second route connects Merthyr Tydfil to Aberdare and passes along the road near to us. So we choose that. This route has a bus to and from Aberdare every 20 minutes, until 18.00. Then it stops all together, leaving just the main service from the village which goes once an hour after 18.00.
For now, the bus is due at 15.20. Our train goes 15.52 and we've just 5 miles to go. This should be a slam dunk.
Waiting for the bus.
The bus arrives two minutes late. Great. Lynda checks with the driver what time he's due to reach town. 15.45 comes the reply. That leaves us 7 minutes to get to the train station from the bus station.
Of course the Bus doesn't stop at the actual train station, that up would be easy.
Arriving at the bus station at 15.46 (pretty in time for the bus) we have to run to get the train. Missing this train will mean we'll miss the garage's closing time. With 30 seconds to spare, we make the train.
Step 2 - the Train
The train pulls out slightly early at 15.51. The journey is due to take 40 or so minutes. The train itself is comfortable but very tired. Built in 1984, the sprinter is still considered a fairly modern train for the Valleys commuter lines.
The sprinter is still considered new for the Valley's lines.
It's loud, diesel powered and definitely showing its age. Fortunately it's not the other type of train that runs along the lines. The class 143 trains are literally buses that have been mounted on a train chassis, and should have been retired several years ago. We cough and splutter our way to Taff's Well and arrive on time.
Step 3 - returning home.
Harley's not ready so we're left to wait until the repair is finished, and that'll be tomorrow. It's rush hour so we head into Cardiff, a further twenty minute train ride and grab a meal out. But with the time getting on we need to head home. After six, like the buses, the trains home become, infrequent, with a mix of one and and two and hour services available. We've just missed one train and the next one is in an hour. At 18.41 we get the train back to Aberdare, ironically it's the same train we started our journey on. We reach Aberdare one hour and five minutes later, fortunately avoiding the drunk guy who thought he'd regale his fellow travellers with his singing (he was heading to Rhymney and needed a different train.)
We have hopes of catching the next bus, but as we reach the station and see, well nothing. We have no idea when the next bus is, and with the time approaching 19.50, we decide to grab a taxi from the rank. When I say 'a taxi' I mean 'The Taxi'.
Step 4 - The Taxi
Our taxi driver forgot to start the meter for the first half a mile, however the quick 8 minute journey still costs us a 'steep' £9. Our taxi driver is a pleasant chap but his seatbelt remains unfastened for the trip. Either way, just before 20.00, we get in and reflect in the public transport system. Lynda's mother informs us that the next bus would have been at 2030 from town, meaning we'd have gotten home around 21.00, a whopping 2 hours and 19 minutes since we got on the train in Cardiff.
The rough cost.
All told. It's cost us nearly £25 for the round trip,though if we'd just gone to Cardif and back, we could probably get that down to under £20. The same trip in the car would be around £10 rising to £16 if we've parked for a long time. Compared to Vienna where €15.70 will get you a weeks pass on every form of transport within the city and its no wonder Vienna looks more appealing by the minute. It is hoped however that by 2020, we'll have a more integrated transport system from the Valleys along with new electrified trains. However, the plans are already running behind. Hope springs eternal though. By then though, we'll be sipping coffee in Cafe Central.
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