On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:17:18 -0500, David of Broadway
wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:
The real issue is that New York's bus system is a fair bit simpler than
London's. I have used it and "studied" it from bus maps. Your use of
and familiarity with your grid street pattern must also assist in
comprehending the bus network. The use of "uptown", "midtown" and
"downtown" as commonly understood descriptions of areas of Manhatten is
also a further help. IIRC many services are described in this way as
they run N-S or E-W (Crosstown?) - this must also help people know which
way a bus is going. We really only have West End and City plus some
district names which are very familiar like "Victoria".
True. It seems like London is very much organized around specific
points of interest, while New York is organized around streets and
overall directions.
I'm not sure London is particularly "organised" - it just "is"! I
think far more thought was given to the layout and development of New
York. Don't know which I like best though.
I know the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn are more involved in terms of
service provision but your overall number of regular NYCTA routes is
still relatively small. I know there are commuter express services as
well but I believe they are advertised separately.
I'm impressed with your knowledge of our bus system!
Well I do like to use the public transport network in a city -
especially when it is both similar and yet radically different to the
one I use everyday.
I also like to study maps which is partly why I have some understanding
of the bus system in the 5 boroughs and the limited links between them -
another interesting factor which is not really noticeable in London.
But the same goes for our bus stop maps. We don't have systemwide (or
borough) maps at the bus stops; we just have individual route maps.
Except that yours are easier to read. (Yours are also customized for
the bus stop, while ours cover the entire route.)
I hate our stop specific info panels - they are next to useless and in
some cases utterly untruthful. The one at my local stop is most
certainly incorrect for early mornings - one time when you need it to be
right if you are not to stand waiting for a very long time.
We no longer have area maps at our stops. We have bloody stupid and
unhelpful spider maps that tell you very little.
Each bus stop in the city has a four-sided Guide-a-Ride box. If only
one route stops there, one panel has the map, one panel has the
timetable, one panel covers general information, and one panel has a NO
STANDING sign. If two routes stop there, both maps and both timetables
are posted. If three routes stop there, typically only one timetable is
posted -- invariably /not/ the timetable for the least frequent route
(i.e., the one whose timetable would be most useful). If four routes
stop there, forget about timetables. I can't think of any single bus
stops shared by five or more routes (typically they'd have staggered
stops in such a situation).
Something tells me people have not really thought your bus stop
information provision through correctly. TfL's can be variable but
you'll usually have all the route information available at the stop.
Keep in mind that NJT does not publish an overall bus map. For most
routes, the "approximate geographic representation" is all there is.
And, in my experience, it's completely useless.
I was unaware that there was not a system bus map. I consider such
things to be essential.
For instance, look at the map for the 319:
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0319.pdf
It certainly looks to me like there is a simple transfer between the
train and the bus in Atlantic City. Nope! The train station and the
bus station are several blocks apart, not signposted. Although the bus
passes closer to the train station, the only stop it makes in Atlantic
City is at the bus station itself.
Which is somewhat crazy.
I will say, most transit agencies in the U.S. do post detailed
timetables. If anything, New York City Transit is the exception; on
many of the more frequent routes, notations like "Then every 6-8 minutes
until" are common.
Well we get marvellous things like that. Even when buses are every 12
minutes we get "buses every 12 minutes" - have a look at this for
unhelpful.
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...__00001fda.pdf
Now tell me what time a 34 leaves at about 10.00 on a Sunday morning or
in fact what time it leaves at any time other than 0541, 0556, 0009,
0021, 0033, 0045 or 0057!
--
Paul C
Admits to working for London Underground!