And we think rail information systems and facilities are lacking ...

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From yesterday's diary ...

"I'm reminded when I travel by bus as to just how good things are when I travel by train.

My local bus stop is a sign on a lamp post.  There's no timetable displayed, no route numbers, no shelter.  You need a sixth sense or local knowledge to know what calls. A raised kerb does allow wheelchair access to the bus, not that it's really needed because the buses have a ramp anyway, and there's a tree under which I sheletered a few yards from the stop while waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

When I had waited well past the due time, I went onto the bus company's app (rated, I note, one start out of five) and after a bit of prodding around it told me when the next bus was due.  Which wasn't my bus, because once its time had passed it went off the display, even though the bus hadn't appeared.

The bus - due at about 16:28 - appeared about 20 minutes after that. Just one other passenger on it, no timetable leaflets, no fares shown ... and off we go. Quite sharpish, actually, and I was thrown into my selected seat.  I ain't good on my pins these days, but I appreciate that the driver wanted to make up time.

Now - at 17:08 - I'm on the bus and typing my notes up.  We've just passed the next bus going the other way, but because ours is so late we met it in the narrowest part of the route.   Let's just say that the meeting hasn't exactly reduced our tardiness!

And following up

I happened to be at a bus meeting (that's where I was headed).  So much to talk about, so little time, and so little effect really possible (short term) on these systemic issues that the came up only a little.  But the advise is "check with the app before the bus is due to see if it's still timetabled, and if it is and it falls off the app - don't worry as it will probably be along"

[Bmblbzzz]

And if you don't have a smart phone or maybe there's no signal at that point?

Even where there are screens with realtime info it's not necessarily any better. All the stops up the Gloucester Rd in Bristol, which have screens, have displayed "No information available" constantly for the last week or so. At least they do have shelters and printed timetables (and a fairly frequent service, unless it's Sunday or evening of course).

[ChrisB]

What would you rather have - these screens or support for bus services?

Unfortunately, one would reduce the available funds for the other. It's the same (reducing) pot

[simonw]

Virtually all buses in Bristol, and many others areas offer WiFi, and therefore a location finding mechanism.

Surely, the software that maps timetables, bus stops and buses can estimate when buses are late, by how much and if they are cancelled.

[bobm]

In Swindon, where stops are shared by Thamesdown and Stagecoach, you get real times for the former and timetabled times for the latter.  Which means a Stagecoach bus will disappear off the screen once the time has passed while the Thamesdown, whether late or not, will remain until it arrives.

The two companies have recently reached agreement to accept each other's smartcards after about five years, perhaps real time running for Stagecoach will be next on the list.

[Fourbee]

The two companies have recently reached agreement to accept each other's smartcards after about five years, perhaps real time running for Stagecoach will be next on the list.

Are the Stagecoach buses fitted with this ticket machine?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/ERG_TP5000_ticket_processor.jpg

(Edit: it supports GPS so would support real time info, maybe older machines don't)

[bobm]

I don't catch Stagecoach buses as often as Thamesdown but it looks familiar.  I will double check next time I board one.

[Eliza]

You have a bus stop, Grahame?! The official stop, where I get off in Taunton, has no post, flag or road markings.  This is because it is a bi-directional bus stop, served by the stop on the other side of the road. 

From my limited experience of Taunton's buses, none of the bus flags show a route number, and only shelters have timetables.  Going into the bus station and asking at the enquiry desk for bus times, as I did, admittedly last December, produced the predictable response of, "We don't have a detailed time table, only a summary. Do you know Traveline?"

[LiskeardRich]

Cornwall council have kindly installed displays at bus stops. Due to assumingly a programming error they display the bus is going to bus station missing the place name!

[Eliza]

Cornwall council have kindly installed displays at bus stops. Due to assumingly a programming error they display the bus is going to bus station missing the place name!

It brings to mind the song "Road to Nowhere".

We're on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride

Well we know where we're going
But we don't know where we've been
And we know what we're knowing
But we can't say what we've seen

[tomL]

-snip-

The two companies have recently reached agreement to accept each other's smartcards after about five years, perhaps real time running for Stagecoach will be next on the list.

This will help greatly on Sundays / Bank holiday mondays where the timetable and services are shared by both operators.

[grahame]

What would you rather have - these screens or support for bus services?

The screen I was talking about was the one that I've already paid for as it's on my phone ... just suggesting an A4 notice board with a sheet that lists services and times, and some amendments to the application so that it's a bit more new-user (and old-user) friendly.

Unfortunately, one would reduce the available funds for the other. It's the same (reducing) pot

Don't agree. Services at this stop on this service are all commercial.   And I would rather suspect that the provision of passenger information as I've just described wouldn't drive them out of commercial business - in fact the information might persuade a few more people to use the service once they knew about it, and could actually be reassured if it was late.     I've been reading the Transport information data about satisfaction levels in relation to late services ...

[grahame]

You have a bus stop, Grahame?! The official stop, where I get off in Taunton, has no post, flag or road markings.  This is because it is a bi-directional bus stop, served by the stop on the other side of the road. 

We have some of those too.   

We also have stops both sides of the road in places, but an altered bus route into a loop so that only one is in use ... perhaps I should take it down during the night and post it to you?

[ChrisB]

Money for screens comed from the same pot that funds subsidised buses. Yours may not be, but your council presumably does subsidise others?

So my point still stands. In these dats of limited subsidy, would you still seek screens?

[IndustryInsider]

Read through the posts again, ChrisB.  At no point has Graham mentioned information screens at each stop, just that the app on his phone deletes buses after they are due regardless of whether they've departed or not.

I would not suggest rural stops need to have digital displays as it would represent poor value for money, but I would suggest that each bus stop should be clearly marked as such, have a list of routes that call at it and posters with timetables for those routes.

Rail passengers are very lucky in that respect.  Imagine all railway stations in a county without information screens for three months.  It wouldn't be allowed to happen, yet that's exactly that has just happened at all bus stops in Oxford whilst they changed systems.