Are buses there when you need them? Up until a month ago I hadn’t needed to find out. Until, that is, my car was off the road for a number of weeks.

This is a big problem for me as I live in Plymouth and although there is a fairly frequent daytime service bus to allow commuting to Tavistock, it is more limiting when I need to cover stories for the Times.. So, I have to rely on lifts, the phone and people sending photos into me.

Then there is the bus journeys themselves. At the moment I’m grateful for the £2-a-trip to cut down on my costs, but this gets costly when you need multiple changes at £2 per different route.

I appreciate the good things about buses; they reduce isolation for those without cars and cut down on car travel which reduces pollution and congestion. I found I could use the 90-minute commutes (factoring in walking to get the bus in Plymouth) to catch up on work, albeit with travel sickness. I also enjoyed the novel new views from the top deck above the hedges.

Catching the bus, though, involves taking a different mindset to travel, and to banking on arriving when you said you would at your destination.

The buses are more often late than on time, so I have learned to accept my fate and make the most of the time. Another new pastime during my time as human cargo is to people watch. You can’t escape conversations and some are funny, especially the many older women on a day out to Tavistock; one pair reminded me of the comedy TV character Hyacinth ‘Bouquet’. I’ve also picked up some newsy snippets. But the man taking loudly on his mobile for an hour gave me a headache.

My first bus broke down at Yelverton, while last week a departure from Tavistock never arrived, with no explanation.

Buses have been in the news recently locally, with the question mark over whether the popular discounted £2 fare to go anywhere will continue beyond November. There is also debate on whether the management of services will be handed to local management. This is a hot topic in rural areas and especially in Tavistock where there have been weak links obvious on some routes. Devon County Council manages the bus routes, deciding where and when buses run, but more local management could improve the service.

Despite the greater benefits to society of having buses, I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel again.