Welcome to life in the bus lane

Do you like the idea of visiting a few places of interest nearby but you think you'd like to have a day without driving? Maybe you fancy the idea of a trip and you haven't got a car at all. We reckon buses can make it happen.

Here at Life in the Bus Lane we want people to get out more and to get more out of the fabulous country around us. We want people to visit palaces and pubs, coasts and castles, well-known tourist attractions and places off the beaten track. And we want people to find out how they can do all this travelling by bus.

Of course, we're not the first people to think about going places by bus. But it seems a lot of people are stuck with the image of the commute to work or the trip to the shops and with the idea that bus tickets are expensive. For the return trip to town that may be true but for a bit more adventurous exploration it's not. Most bus operators and some local authorites produce a 'day rover' type ticket. These allow for unlimited travel across a region and last all day. They usually cost between £7 and £8. Family tickets are also often available. These offer good value and make the choice to leave the car behind more attractive, even if you don't have a bus pass.

We hope to encourage more people to take the bus as a serious option and to think how this might help them reduce their carbon footprint - all the rage at the moment. We hope that the initiative proves to be supportive of our hospitality and tourist industries too.

We also want people to share their experiences as a way of helping more people see the possibilities and to inspire them to give it a try. Hopefully the site will become a useful resource when it comes to planning trips by bus.

It should be fun too.