THE commute to work is often pretty easy for me - I grab my stuff, get my keys and drive myself into the office.

Coming from a town outside Worcester, the thought of using a bus had never crossed my mind.

However, with rising petrol prices, the environmental effect of car usage and the news the government had rejected Worcestershire County Council's £84 million bid to improve the bus services, I decided to give it a go.

It had been years since I had to rely on public transport and I thought back to my days on the bus going to school and college.

In torrential rain or freezing cold weather, you can rely on the car's warmth to protect you from the elements.  

Today, I was sure to pick up my coat and scarf just before leaving the house to brave the unpredictable British weather. 

After a 15 minute walk to Bromsgrove Bus Station, I finally realised why so many women wear trainers for the commute with a pair of heels poking out of their bag. 

I was surprised to see that my bus had already arrived which prompted my dawdle to become a stress-induced sprint to get to the other side of the road in three minutes flat.   


 
At 7.38, I wandered onto an empty bus and paid the fee of £7.50 for a return which even as petrol prices spike still didn't make it very economically friendly.

The bus left the station on time and I put in my headphones as the bus driver set off. 

Within ten minutes, my headphone battery had died, which is a first-world problem.  

Instead, I looked out the window and saw some wild black horses and beautiful Worcestershire countryside I wouldn't have noticed while driving every day. 

The bus started filling up with sixth form students, and I was transported back to my daily bus to school. 

Perhaps the government funding could have been put towards creating multiple buses for professional commuters or pensioners who would like to travel into Worcester at a similar time. 

Once I was about four minutes away from work, the bus driver turned right into Spetchley Road away from the office and the walk back added 10 minutes to the journey. 

READ MORE: Worcestershire left with nothing as entire £86m bid to improve buses is rejected

And finally, I walked into the Worcester News car park remembering that my office keys were attached to my car keys, which I left at home.  

Will I now be taking the bus every day? Unfortunately not. It was too expensive even with a bus pass and there were 35 stops and took 50 minutes from Bromsgrove to Worcester.

I did like having a bit of time to myself scrolling on my phone but at the moment it isn't practical.

However, I can see how important a reliable bus service is to people and perhaps, if we had received the funding, it would convince more people to ditch the car.