"Peter Frimberley" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 9 Sep 2006 13:38:36 +0100, Iain Wilkie Logan
wrote:


Please visit http://www.planajourney.co.uk/ where you will find our
multi-modal journey planning alternative to 'Transport Direct'.

The September 15th issue of 'Bus and Coach Professional' will contain a
comprehensive feature article on our system.

Ironic then that it doesn't seem to know about any buses at all.
Doesn't know any of the regular public buses that I get in London or
Newcastle.

Indeed, what is the point of this?

First two trials I make :

Hungerford to Swindon tomorrow - by train it offers a reasonable response;
by bus, offers only a journey via Heathrow. In fact, there is a regular
interval direct bus service between these two towns. As far as I can see,
there's nothing on the site to indicate that the absence of an offer doesn't
imply the absence of a service - and I can't see a list of which operators
it covers - which makes it utterly useless as a "multi-mode" service

Bath to Swindon tonight - although it seems to understand that engineering
work interrupts the advertised service it hasn't got details of the
replacement buses. So it offers only a ridiculous journy via Newport and
Gloucester.

And no wonder they're touting for business.. SMS messages cost 25p plus the
standard charge. As far as I can see, I can get better answers from the
National Rail service, and I can get it via WAP on my mobile for nothing but
a trivial standard data charge

Walter Man

On Sat, 09 Sep 2006 18:28:19 +0100, Nick Finnigan
wrote:

Iain Wilkie Logan wrote:
Please visit http://www.planajourney.co.uk/ where you will find our
multi-modal journey planning alternative to 'Transport Direct'.

The September 15th issue of 'Bus and Coach Professional' will contain a
comprehensive feature article on our system.

In the meantime, please go to our site and try out our planner for yourself.

Trafford to Lancaster.

OK, Manchester Trafford Centre to Lancaster Bus Station. 'No journeys'
OK, press the IE back button, not the one on the page.
Oops, it crashed.

Ok, fire it up again, Trafford Park (trains) to Lancaster (trains).
Lots of options with one change showing. Get the details, oops need to
change at WAC and WBQ.

Let's see if I can get any buses, oops IE crashed again....

I have had the thing crash on me several times. I fail to see the point
in using something that cannot work with Internet Explorer which is what
an awful lot of people will have on their computers.

Having read the long list of comments it seems this is primarily a rail
planner with a smattering of some National Express routes. There is no
concept of local journeys by bus and it is impossible to plan a door to
door journey. As most people actually travel from one place to another
rather than station to station I do not see how the accolade "The
Original and Best UK Journey Planner" can possibly be given to this
"system". The planner is therefore fundamentally flawed.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

wrote in message
...
In article ,
Iain Wilkie Logan wrote:

Please visit http://www.planajourney.co.uk/ where you will find our
multi-modal journey planning alternative to 'Transport Direct'.

The September 15th issue of 'Bus and Coach Professional' will contain a
comprehensive feature article on our system.

In the meantime, please go to our site and try out our planner for
yourself.

How on earth can this be described as "The BEST"? It will not
acknowledge that there is a railway line between Westbury and Salisbury,
insisting on sending me via Bath and Reading!

Maybe its a subtle hint for engineering work?

Iain Wilkie Logan wrote in
:

http://www.planajourney.co.uk/

Well, it turns my journey from a 25 minute car/15 minute motorbike
journey into a 2-3 hour nightmare, with no guarantee I will be in time
to start my shift, and that is just Mon-Fri. On Sat-Sun, I might as well
phone in sick, because I's be sacked for my time-keeping.
Working a 12 hour shift, I'd be very miffed to put another 6 hours
travel time on my day.
Your site just shows up what a load of ******** public transport is
compared to using ones own initiative. I appreciate public transport may
not be the best thing for my own circumstances, but people shoving it
down my throat as the be all and end all of saving the planet just
sticks in the self same throat. The other answer often given me is car
sharing. I know no one else who works the same shifts as me, travels the
same way, geographically,or would be prepared to wait around when it was
their turn to share, even in the same company I work for, or any company
in a fifty mile radius.
If you can get the sheep to follow your herd, good luck to you. Don't
expect this goat to follow.
At the best I could hope for more clear roads, with less car users, ie.
the people who can barely drive, but use a car for convenience to the
detriment of people who can actually drive a car with pride in their
skills.


--
Tunku

"end user" v. A command regrettably not implemented in most systems.

Iain Wilkie Logan wrote in
:


The Original and Best UK Journey Planner


On just one simple trial - refuses to acknowledge that Leicester Forest
East (LFE) is anything other than a motorway service area (it is a suburb
of Leicester - as is Leicester Forest West - also missing). It has also
wiped Walsgrave Hospital (Coventry) off the map!
A journey (any mode) from LFE to Walsgrave Hospital sent me via Gatwick by
coach. (Stagecoach 48 bus to Coventry, then bus to the hospital)
Must try harder.

In message , at 09:17:39 on Mon, 11
Sep 2006, Mike the unimaginative remarked:
On just one simple trial - refuses to acknowledge that Leicester Forest
East (LFE) is anything other than a motorway service area (it is a suburb
of Leicester - as is Leicester Forest West - also missing). It has also
wiped Walsgrave Hospital (Coventry) off the map!
A journey (any mode) from LFE to Walsgrave Hospital sent me via Gatwick by
coach. (Stagecoach 48 bus to Coventry, then bus to the hospital)
Must try harder.

I'm hoping the author can come back and answer some of these criticisms.
But it appears that:

The planner only recognises places served by trains (including LUL) and
long distance coaches, and mainly suggests travel only by these modes.

It has some "walks" between nearby coach and train stations, but not all
of them.
--
Roland Perry

On Sat, 9 Sep 2006 13:38:36 +0100, Iain Wilkie Logan wrote:

Please visit http://www.planajourney.co.uk/ where you will find our
multi-modal journey planning alternative to 'Transport Direct'.

Needs work, a lot of work.

Most of the places I tried to enter appear not to exist in your database.
The "search" button is greyed out, which is a stupid piece of interface
design.

A cross London trip from Waterloo to St Pancras results in a recommendation
to change trains four times.

Waterloo(trains)-Waterloo(LU)-Euston(LU)-Kings Cross(LU)-St Pancras
(trains)

Which seems bloody daft.

"Iain Wilkie Logan" wrote in message
...

Please visit http://www.planajourney.co.uk/ where you will find our
multi-modal journey planning alternative to 'Transport Direct'.

The September 15th issue of 'Bus and Coach Professional' will contain a
comprehensive feature article on our system.

In the meantime, please go to our site and try out our planner for
yourself.

I just did. It crashes IE6 when you try to go back a page. It crashes IE6
when you try to plan a journey. That is crap. Back to the drawing board for
you.

Nick



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Warning: Do not use Ultimate-Anonymity
They are worthless spammers that are running a scam.

In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:

The planner only recognises places served by trains (including LUL) and
long distance coaches, and mainly suggests travel only by these modes.

Not quite - if you travel from Edinburgh it starts at the bus station
even when the whole of the journey is by train.

Sam

In message , at
12:25:23 on Mon, 11 Sep 2006, Sam Wilson remarked:
The planner only recognises places served by trains (including LUL) and
long distance coaches, and mainly suggests travel only by these modes.

Not quite - if you travel from Edinburgh it starts at the bus station
even when the whole of the journey is by train.

Is the bus station (and hence Edinburgh) served by long distance
coaches? If so it meets my description.

Although most towns I looked at had a *choice* of Bus or Train station
(where both existed).
--
Roland Perry