Rail replacement service bus blunders

Before I start, this is not a rant or moan, but yesterday I had a shocking journey from Formby to Liverpool supposedly on a train.

Now, having spent many a weekend on such works in the past, railway maintenance and renewals need doing and blockade working during holiday periods is the best option.
To set the scene, a railway bridge at Sandhills north of Liverpool was being renewed and there was a bus replacement service on. Now, considering the train to Bootle Oriel Road where the train terminated was not that full, I didn't see a problem.

However, a total lack of co-ordination, organisation and communication by the Train Operating Company (TOC) led to a chaotic experience which increased a 30 minute journey to a 1 hour one.

Can it be so hard to:

• Communicate verbally with passengers
• Have a sign saying where to queue
• Have decent information about where replacement buses pick up from

Rather than having:

• Rude and abusive staff who clearly did not like being outside the relative warmth of a railway station
• A total lack of information on which bus was for where

The big joke in this that the TOC charged full fare where some had to stand on the steps to the top deck of the bus and the bus itself was an experience.

This small example shows the totally uncoordinated nature of public transport in the UK as even a rail replacement bus service had little to no apparent planning. No wonder so many people travel by car and avoid public transport. As someone who supports our railway it's also hard to state a case at times like this.