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Taking the bus means getting up earlier that the previous two days. I have to catch the X4 at 7:23am (it used to be the X73, when I was a kid) and the bus stop is ten minutes’ walk from my house, so I’m up at 6:30, leaving the house a little after seven.

Again, I am lucky enough to have a dry morning. The walk is shorter than the one to the train station, but there is no shelter at the bus stop. This does not seem to have stopped several people declaring their love for each other on the fence behind it.

Not just the scourge of cars ...

The bus arrives on time and is clean and newly-upholstered, though I would love to meet the person who chooses the fabric for bus seats. I sometimes wonder what their house looks like.

The journey takes about 40 minutes. Add on the walking time and the whole trip took a little under an hour.

The case for the bus

I really wanted to make a solid, working case for the working man’s transport. No one, rich or poor, lives too far from a bus stop. No one should find the cost out of reach. Sadly, a return ticket cost me £5.40. The bus journey was the longest, yet it cost the most.

It's not until you look at season tickets that the case for the bus becomes clear. If I had bought a weekly ticket, it would have cost me just £16, meaning I could travel to work and back all week for just £3.20 a day, and still have a valid ticket for the weekend as well.