Each month, I buy a travel card. It’s pretty cost effective and useful for deviations from my daily travel to the office. I usually try to buy one from a travel office in Gateshead or Newcastle because, for some reason, the cards purchased in Washington don’t work with Metro barriers. 

Unfortunately, I’ve needed to resort to the Washington travel office this morning. Another reason to avoid this office is the eight o’clock opening time, which doesn’t fit with the timing of my bus to work. After buying a card, I need to wait a half hour for a bus. 

Until today, that is. The opening times have changed; it’s now 8:30 on a weekday. 

Which means that, to use the Washington travel centre, I need to wait a half hour for it to open, buy my card, then wait another half hour (since I’ll have missed a bus while in the office) for a bus to work. 

That might not seem to be much of an inconvenience, but Washington bus station isn’t the nicest of places. I’m an advocate of public transport, but can’t comprehend opening hours that don’t cater for the working majority.