by fozzy »
29 Aug 2006 09:27
I hope STAR don't mind me giving my opinion on this. I was a regular coach traveller in the late 70s to early 90s but have only recently returned. I thought the journey would be less stressful by doing so, especially on the tiring return leg.
Re: Saturday. Yes, we got there on time... but really it was by sheer fortune and nothing else. The preceding two hours had been quite stressful and it appeared we wouldn't make the kick-off.
I don't want to be over-critical like some people seem to but please can I comment/suggest the following:
Firstly :-
The departure time (9:15 on Saturday) would be just about OK for Wigan which, if I read correctly, is generally considered as 4 hours on the road. If that's the case, then you have an arrival time of 1:15. If you then allow a half-hour stop, that is 1:45. Given that M6 traffic is so unpredictable and frequently terrible, there is then not much room for error.
Secondly :-
You simply don’t have time to pick people in town. In future, would it not be more sensible for the Mad Stad departure time (being that we're right by the M4) to be the ACTUAL time we get on the road? If Station pick up is necessary (and you may argue that most people can get to the Mad Stad, they do for home games!) then couldn't that be done BEFORE the Mad Stad, as there really is a lot of time wasted before you get on the motorway network. The time was pushing 9:45 by the time we were going up St Peter's Hill in Caversham.... it's all eating in to what was a tight time anyway.
As I said, I don't want to be over-critical, at the end of the day we saw the entire game....... just suggestions for a less stressful outcome.
Now shoot me if you're not happy with that.