In addition to my post yesterday, I have to further the crusade against the horrible public transport system of Skåne. This morning Mette and I had to take the bus to the Swebus Expres (cheaper) bus to Copenhagen airport.
Upon arriving to the bus stop with around 50kgs of heavy luggage, we hopped on the bus bound for Nyhamnen, the stop after the central station. We checked this out on Skånetrafikens website before going, and there was no mention of any abnormailities on the route. Upon arriving at Malmo Centralstation, the bus driver decided to disappear, and we were left waiting in the bus...not unusual when they change drivers. We had to wait 10 minutes before a new driver even showed up. (fortunately we took the earlier bus, giving us 15 minutes to make it to the connecting bus). When he finally showed up, he took a wrong turn and lead us about a kilometer away from where we needed to be, and we had around 5 minutes to walk/run there with our suitcases. No apologies, no explanations, they just funked up our plans.
Once getting off the bus, Mette and I rushed and fortunately, the kind staff at Swebus express waited for us. We got there around 3-5 minutes late, but they waited, loaded our luggage and we were on our way to the airport. In transit, the bus made up time and we made it safely to the airport in good time.
I would highly recommend the Swebus express service, they were nice, helpful and half the price of Skånetrafiken. If you don't mind waiting 10 minutes more to get to the airport, its a great option.
24 June 2009
22 June 2009
Skånetrafiken is funked up!
Two in two days...talk about a frustrating time.
Skånetrafiken, where do we start. For those who don't know, the public transport services here in Sweden are divided up by region. For our region in the south of Sweden (Skåne) the service is offered by Skånetrafiken. Skånetrafiken are the inconsistent body, who control the buses and trains in the area, and serverely struggle to get it right.
My biff with Skånetrafiken goes back a long way...from their drastic overpricing for a service of diminishing quality, to the bus drivers who don't stop when you press the 'stop' button (happened several times when mom was visiting from Australia, and more). Their only reasonably priced service is the 'Sommerkort' (Summer card) which allows you to take 50 trips for 485kr (so around $2 a trip, anywhere within Skåne). This is in stark contrast to their usual pricing...a domestic journey within Malmö setting you back 19SEK (around $3.50 for something you could walk in the same time), and a one way trip from Malmö to Lund costing over 40SEK ($8), for what is usually a 10-15 minute bus trip from Malmö Värnhem. To quote my friend Jessica 'they should also have a winter card, spring card and autumn card'. Couldn't have said it better myself!
Further still, the staff of the buses/trains are often rude, unhelpful and inconsistent. While they'll allow their friend to hop on the bus without paying, they'll close the door as you are about to hop onto the bus and drive off.
Today was a day where I experienced the true wonders of this system. Due to the change of schedule of the usual bus route I took to university (171), I was unable to get to the part of Lund I desire. So I went onto the website last night and found a bus which would get me to the Central station. I walked down to the bus stop in Malmö, and hopped on the bus, to find that I needed to recharge my travelcard. So I asked the driver to charge it up for 200kr, and because he did not know how to do his job, he wouldn't let me ride the bus. He said I had to go into the 'shop' and recharge the card, and consequently I had to wait 30m for the next bus.
Coming back from a lovely day out in Lund, I had to find a place to board the bus back to Malmö. As the route 171 has been cut short, I could not board the bus at the Hospital. I walked to Scheeleparken, where the buses were meant to begin from according to the new revised schedule. (actually they are meant to run from Delfinen, but for some reason don't) After waiting half an hour at Scheeleparken, without a bus showing up, I decided to walk to the next bus stop. (in which time my purchased ticket ran out) When getting to Ole Römers väg, a bus came after 10 minutes, where I told the driver how long I had been waiting, and that consequently my ticket had expired. She frankly didn't care, made me pay for another ticket to Malmö, and said that I should know (who knows how) that the return bus leaves from Ole Römers väg and the bus to Lund only goes to Scheeleparken. With no signage at any of their bus stops, heaven knows how I/anyone else should be aware of this.
Fortunately, for my next journey, I plan to evade the 'monopolistic' system, and use Swebus express, who offer cheaper options if you book in advance. Copenhagen for 45SEK (OW) from Malmö...thats less than half the price on the Skånetrafiken/DSB service.
Skånetrafiken, where do we start. For those who don't know, the public transport services here in Sweden are divided up by region. For our region in the south of Sweden (Skåne) the service is offered by Skånetrafiken. Skånetrafiken are the inconsistent body, who control the buses and trains in the area, and serverely struggle to get it right.
My biff with Skånetrafiken goes back a long way...from their drastic overpricing for a service of diminishing quality, to the bus drivers who don't stop when you press the 'stop' button (happened several times when mom was visiting from Australia, and more). Their only reasonably priced service is the 'Sommerkort' (Summer card) which allows you to take 50 trips for 485kr (so around $2 a trip, anywhere within Skåne). This is in stark contrast to their usual pricing...a domestic journey within Malmö setting you back 19SEK (around $3.50 for something you could walk in the same time), and a one way trip from Malmö to Lund costing over 40SEK ($8), for what is usually a 10-15 minute bus trip from Malmö Värnhem. To quote my friend Jessica 'they should also have a winter card, spring card and autumn card'. Couldn't have said it better myself!
Further still, the staff of the buses/trains are often rude, unhelpful and inconsistent. While they'll allow their friend to hop on the bus without paying, they'll close the door as you are about to hop onto the bus and drive off.
Today was a day where I experienced the true wonders of this system. Due to the change of schedule of the usual bus route I took to university (171), I was unable to get to the part of Lund I desire. So I went onto the website last night and found a bus which would get me to the Central station. I walked down to the bus stop in Malmö, and hopped on the bus, to find that I needed to recharge my travelcard. So I asked the driver to charge it up for 200kr, and because he did not know how to do his job, he wouldn't let me ride the bus. He said I had to go into the 'shop' and recharge the card, and consequently I had to wait 30m for the next bus.
Coming back from a lovely day out in Lund, I had to find a place to board the bus back to Malmö. As the route 171 has been cut short, I could not board the bus at the Hospital. I walked to Scheeleparken, where the buses were meant to begin from according to the new revised schedule. (actually they are meant to run from Delfinen, but for some reason don't) After waiting half an hour at Scheeleparken, without a bus showing up, I decided to walk to the next bus stop. (in which time my purchased ticket ran out) When getting to Ole Römers väg, a bus came after 10 minutes, where I told the driver how long I had been waiting, and that consequently my ticket had expired. She frankly didn't care, made me pay for another ticket to Malmö, and said that I should know (who knows how) that the return bus leaves from Ole Römers väg and the bus to Lund only goes to Scheeleparken. With no signage at any of their bus stops, heaven knows how I/anyone else should be aware of this.
Fortunately, for my next journey, I plan to evade the 'monopolistic' system, and use Swebus express, who offer cheaper options if you book in advance. Copenhagen for 45SEK (OW) from Malmö...thats less than half the price on the Skånetrafiken/DSB service.
21 June 2009
Fringes are Funked Up!
What is it about fringes...they suck, and women just don't get it. Neither do Dutch footballers who all manage to look like pornstars. They just opt for disgusting lengths of horsemane laying before their eyes (in some cases covering their eyes) as if they are trying to hide something...I ask 'what are you hiding, and why is it so ugly that we cannot see it'.
My hatred for fringes dates back a long time, almost as far back as my hatred of the bow-tie. The worst form of fringe being named 'the Chloe fringe' (after an age old horrible Home and Away actress), spanning from left to right ear and the flat line of death going directly across the forehead. It almost looks like one massive monobrow, which is somehow linked to the rest of the womans hair. Fact is, NOBODY LIKES THEM! We are forced to endure the torture of fashion shows, where hortoculture (Haute Couture) is the new black, and the ridiculous is on display. Then you see some undersized pale Estonian model, walking with hair down to her nose, while wearing a salad mixture of fruit, green dress (probably signifying vegetables), fully knowing that it will never be worn outside of the catwalks in Milan. (the worlds most funked up city). You then see the camp world in awe over the artistic impression, and of course that fine touch of elongated fringework. Fact is, the pale Estonian model probably has the most beautiful ice cold blue eyes, and you are missing all of the fun, because some ridiculous fringe has covered it up.
People should be well aware that hair belongs on top of the head going backwards...or alternatively, none at all.
Note the funked up things in todays post:
Dutch footballers (and Dutch hair)
Bow ties
Milan
Hortoculture
Hopefully not so long for the next funked up post.
My hatred for fringes dates back a long time, almost as far back as my hatred of the bow-tie. The worst form of fringe being named 'the Chloe fringe' (after an age old horrible Home and Away actress), spanning from left to right ear and the flat line of death going directly across the forehead. It almost looks like one massive monobrow, which is somehow linked to the rest of the womans hair. Fact is, NOBODY LIKES THEM! We are forced to endure the torture of fashion shows, where hortoculture (Haute Couture) is the new black, and the ridiculous is on display. Then you see some undersized pale Estonian model, walking with hair down to her nose, while wearing a salad mixture of fruit, green dress (probably signifying vegetables), fully knowing that it will never be worn outside of the catwalks in Milan. (the worlds most funked up city). You then see the camp world in awe over the artistic impression, and of course that fine touch of elongated fringework. Fact is, the pale Estonian model probably has the most beautiful ice cold blue eyes, and you are missing all of the fun, because some ridiculous fringe has covered it up.
People should be well aware that hair belongs on top of the head going backwards...or alternatively, none at all.
Note the funked up things in todays post:
Dutch footballers (and Dutch hair)
Bow ties
Milan
Hortoculture
Hopefully not so long for the next funked up post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)