Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:40:06 +0000, Dave Newt
wrote:

How different to here, where the same old mantra is repeated 6
times at almost every station, and is routinely ignored.

Well yes but I have to say that the constant exhortations to "do
this, do that, breath in, breath out, this line is running, this
one isn't, don't leave your bag" drive me crazy even though there
are good reasons for making the announcements.

There are only good reasons if the announcements are effective. Since
there is, as you say, a constant stream of the damned things, it seems
to me very unlikely that they are effective, since people just switch
off or get irritated with them.

Has there been any research into the effectiveness of general
exhortations about keeping your belongings with you, about CCTV
coverage, about not smoking, etc.? (Though I realise that if a station
supervisor sees on his TV monitors someone smoking or walking away from
their baggage, a one-off targeted announcement may be useful.)

Similarly, has there been any research into comparative dwell times at
stations which do or don't have "closing doors" announcements? Since
all trains have audible warnings of closing doors (if you count D stock
hissing sounds as such), and it's hardly a surprise that the doors have
to close before the train departs, I can't believe that the
announcements do much good. If they were just "mind the doors" instead
of this nonsense about the train being ready to depart, which it plainly
isn't with all the doors open, it would be less annoying.

Some stations achieve a balance but the odd one doesn't and a
wait of more than two minutes can mean you hear a stream of
noise over and over again.

Agreed. Hearing more than once that there is a "good service" while
waiting for your train is particularly irritating. Or at Leicester
Square last night awaiting a westbound Piccadilly: "There is a good
service on the Northern line". The Paris Metro answer is to display
network-wide service disruption details on a monitor as you enter the
station, and I find this much more sensible.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)