The worst way to Arriva

It’s a Monday morning and somehow you’ve dragged yourself away from your snug pad and to the bus stop.

Your first lecture isn’t for 40 minutes, but the 699 journey being a smooth affair offers worse odds than Roy Hodgson pronouncing his Rs correctly, so time is of the essence.

While this is the safest method, you will occasionally somehow find yourself at uni early, with 20 minutes to sit with that person you kind-of know-but-don’t-really-want-to-talk-to.

If you don’t follow the standard practice you risk hearing the dreaded “handouts are at the front”, as you walk in late and the lecturer announces your inability to make a 9am.

699-The German for ‘6-no-no’

As you can see, she’s not too happy at the price of her pass

Arriva have been creeping up the prices for bus tickets throughout the years. A pass taking you to the end of June will now set you back an eye watering £339, and with no UCAS discount code released this year it really feels like Arriva are twisting the knife.

Compare that to the start of 2010, when the annual pass with discount cost somewhere in the region of £240, and singles were about £1.50 – it’s now £1.80 you have to fork out. For this mammoth fee you’d expect to get on the bus with a complementary glass of champagne and have a snooze as you’re chauffeured to uni at warp speed.

But with the massive student nests in Carnatic, Greenbank and Smithdown, even the mighty Arriva have their work cut out for them. Morning bus stop queues are as long as Arsenals injury list and make hailing a Manhattan cab seem like a walk in Central Park. And once you eventually board the bus, you can’t drown out that group of delusional freshers telling each other how amazing Krazyhouse is.

Just as you think you’ve arrived, the bus stops and a policeman- sorry, a community support officer checks EVERY single ticket before letting you end the misery and sprint to your (now appealing) lecture.

Keep hold of this or you’re walking

Trade four wheels for two and you’re laughing. Jump on the ever increasing band wagon that is cycling everywhere, and it is excellent.

A journey time of 10 minutes takes you to right outside your building, so no more sidestepping the cool kids at Liverpool College. If that wasn’t enough, you can take pride in the fact your hectic day-to-day routine has finally incorporated some form of exercise (climbing the stairs in the SJ doesn’t count).

Arriva are lucky they are the only means by which a good proportion of students can get to uni. If there was any competition then the service would get better and probably a lot cheaper.

Always wear a helmet kids

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