Living and teaching in the UK: Travelling and Transport Systems

Travelling and Transport Systems

Living the UK means using public transport in a first world country. There are such a variety of transport systems to use and in a month I have used 10 of these. What a way to get around! Living on the Isle of Wight does add a few interesting options to travelling that does not necessarily apply if you are going to London or elsewhere, but here are some fun facts about travel experiences and costs!

1. Aeroplane

Ok, so to get to the UK, the obvious way of travel is aeroplane.

We had a pleasant flight most of the way with the excellent crew of Qatar Airways. Although there was one incident where we flew right into a thunder cloud and had such a shake down that a few people actually uttered some panicked screams! A guy a few rows ahead spilled his water with a flying arm over some passengers and the passenger in front of me turned his in-flight entertainment to reading the Holy Quran for the rest of the flight…

Flying is so much fun! The flights have great meals, drinks, snacks and best of all: Inflight entertainment with books, series, movies, games, flight information and so much more! You can actually follow your flight over a world map and see how fast and high you are flying. Also the wind speed and temperature outside. Or you could just watch a movie…

And the costs:

R8000 for two one way tickets from Johannesburg to Heathrow.

Useful links:

Qatar Airways
British Airways
South African Airways
Virgin Atlantic
Emirates

Cheap Flights

Etihad Airways

2. Car

Although I cannot really say that I have used this form of transport too often in the last month or so, you do get lots of people with cars. I don’t see gas stations as widely available as in South Africa, but yes, you could buy or hire a car as means of transport.

Important to keep in mind that you do have to have insurance on a car – it is not optional – and that could be quite expensive.

And the costs:

Cars are generally cheaper than in South Africa, but varies whether you want to buy a new car or a second hand car. I must say, you can also sometimes pick up a car for free that people just leave out on the street with a note and the papers and key for the car on the front seat. That's just crazy!

Fuel is about £1.20 per litre. Have a look at this link on fuel prices.

3. Bus

This is the way to get around for me. Taking the bus is cheap and convenient. My experience of the buses are rather good.

Bus drivers are always friendly, patient and helpful. You can ask a bus driver almost anything from ‘When is the next bus to Shanklin going to come by?’ or ‘Which bus should I take to get to Dreamland in Newport?’ to ‘What should I get my mother-in-law for her birthday?’ They might not know what to get your mother-in-law. I have not actually asked them yet, but they really know there stuff when it comes to bus routes and times.

· Buses are usually double-decker with a few smaller buses going around.

· There are various ‘Stop’ buttons on the bus that you press to let the driver know you want to get off at the next stop.

· Almost all of the buses are wheelchair friendly

· You can take your dog on the bus – how awesome is that!

· The island is quite a sight to see – it is an absolutely gorgeous landscape. So me and my husband likes to take a bus on the weekends and just go anywhere to see some of this fantasy world.

· · In the summer there are open-top bus tours on the Isle of Wight to go and sight see this lovely place!

You can have a fast paced look at a drive from Ventnor to Ryde here. Right at the end of this video you can also see the pier before the bus stops at the bus station.

And the costs:

You can buy a single ticket for about £3-£5 to different destinations, but there are

various cheaper options available. I buy a monthly ticket that costs me £85 and I can go anywhere on any bus on the Island for a month. This works out less than £3 per day for unlimited travel. There are also 24 hour tickets (£10) and 7 day tickets (£24) for unlimited travel.

Useful links:

Buses on the Isle of Wight
Buses in the UK

UK Bus - National Express

Megabus

Stage Coach

4. Taxi

Taxis are freely available and a faster way of getting around than the bus. Also more expensive though.

When we landed here on the Island with luggage and all for the first time, we came over with the ferry. It was already dark and raining ice (called ‘sleet’). We did not realize the ferry stops at the end of the pier and were stranded a bit with luggage and laptops and things at the end of a LONG boardwalk without transport (we planned on just walking) and freezing. Luckily a taxi came by and saved our troubled souls. He took us to an ATM (as we did not have cash) and then to our hotel. So I was really glad for the taxi. But that was quite an expensive lesson! £20 – KAching.

And the costs:

Taxis cost about £10 depending on how far you go. Our expensive experience was on a public holiday. Then they charge double.

Useful links:

Yourtaximeter

Get taxi
Airport Taxis
Mini Cabit

5. Train

There is a train on the island, but limited routes. I have never been on the island train to be honest. I took the train on the mainland to London for training (haha) a week after I got here. Trains are fun, fast and not too expensive. I’d recommend train travel if you are travelling to a different town or place in London. Why not? We all love trains.
Here is a BBC UK train documentary of about 15 min.

Useful links:

6.The underground!

So this was an amazing experience for me. It is a train that goes underground in a tunnel. The tunnel is literally just big enough for the train to fit in. This is an extremely fast and efficient way of travel.

I guess if you have to do this every day it can get a bit depressing as there is no sunlight. For a rare occasion experience I would recommend to try it at least once.

This way of transport might be a challenge if you are claustrophobic.

From the underground station we sort of missed the exit elevators and then used the emergency stairs. Just keep a careful lookout for the elevators as the emergency stairs are quite the climb…

Here is a little video on how it looks that might give a feel of what the underground and travelling looks like:

7. Ferry

What a fun way to travel! The ferry takes about 20 minutes from the mainland to the Isle of Wight. It feels like riding in an aeroplane – except you are surrounded by water. The ferry goes smoothly up and down with the water as it cruises along and I enjoyed it tremendously. This is a bus-like ship that takes passengers and also cars across the waters.

And Here is a little something on the ferry

And the costs:

Category	Day return	Return	Single	Evening Flyer
Adult	£13.60	£24.40	£12.20	£8.20
Child (5-15)Children under 5 travel FREE	£6.80	£12.20	£6.10	£4.10
Senior Citizen	£10.20	£18.40	£9.20	£6.20
Student	£10.20	£16.40	£8.20	£7.00

Useful links:
Wight Link goes from Portsmouth to Ryde
Redfunnel goes from South Hampton to Cowes/Yarmouth
Isle of Wight Ferry

8. Hovercraft

Of all of the transport systems I used since being in the UK, the hovercraft is probably the strangest and most exciting.

It is a ‘ship’ with a rubber tube surrounding that inflates. It can move on water, dry land and even cement! It hovers above the water – so you don’t feel the up and down movement of the water as you do with the ferry. It moves from land to water without you noticing exactly where you hit the water. The hovercraft takes about 15 minutes to cross from the mainland to the island. Here is a quick three minute video showing the Hovercraft

And the costs:

Fares	Standard Fares		Concession Fares
Fares	Adult (16yrs+)	Child(5-15yrs)	Concession Adult (16yrs+)	Concession Child (5-15 yrs)
Single	£14.50	£7.30	£11.60*	£5.85*
Period Return (valid for 90 days)	£26.00	£13.00	£20.80*	£10.40*
Day Return From Ryde & Southsea	£17.50	£9.00	£14.00	£7.20
Family Day Return (up to 2 adults & up to 3 children)	£45.00
Senior Blue Card Day Return (Ryde to Southsea only)	£11.00

Useful links:
Hover Travel to Isle of Wight

9. Floating Bridge

This is strange. Between Cowes and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight I found this floating bridge. It is basically a ferry that are pulled to and fro from one side to the other on chains. The chains lies under the water so that sailing boats can cross it. Which I am guessing is the reason there is no bridge. Some of the sailing boats passing the river mouth have high sails and wouldn't go under a bridge.

This floating bridge can take over cars and foot passengers.

Have a look at this right here.

And the costs:

For foot passengers this service is free! Cars pay a small amount.

11. Walking

Image result for footpaths on the isle of wight

For any town on the Isle of Wight it is possible to just walk if you live and work in the same town. This is probably the cheapest way to go. Ryde, where I live is quite hilly though and I live on the opposite side of town from my work, so I prefer to take the bus. But it is about a 35 minute walk.