On the buses

Off for a bit of last minute shopping. The shop where I was headed is on the edge of town. I was going to grab a taxi but unusually there were none at the taxi rank outside my office. So I walked to the bus stop and took a bus. I am quite impressed with the buses in Gijón. I feel that even if I were a complete stranger I could happily get around the town on the buses without getting lost. Inside the buses they have a scrolling screen telling you where you are and what the next few stops are, and the bus shelters have schematic diagrams of the bus routes and scrolling displays telling you how many minutes wait there is until the next bus for each route. In addition there is a single flat fare and almost everybody pays with a swipe card so no delays while people look for change. And of course there's the obligatory smartphone app, 'Gijon Bus'.

While there are disadvantages to living in a densely populated city, there are distinct advantages, like most facilities being within walking distance and good public transport where they are not.

Still, there's space for a little nostalgia for the old hop-on AEC RT buses on route 119 that took me to school a long time ago in a galaxy far away.