On 28 Jan, 11:31, Michael Hoffman wrote:
Boltar wrote:
Its a good idea if done in moderation. Unfortunately this rarely
happens, and if iits done for every single stop on a bus route it'll
quickly drive people up the wall especially if they chuck in some mind-
the-doors messages on top.

Automatically announcing every stop is regularly done in some other
countries. For example, I know it is done in Heidelberg, Germany, with
no notable increase in lunacy. It's quite useful. Of course, they don't
have the inclination to spice it up with constant "mind the doors this
is a special announcement please do not leave your bags or small
children on the bus when you leave"

(Yeah, when you hear "this is a special announcement" you can
guarantee that you are about to hear something general and not time-
sensitive.)

My experience on the 123 was that it wasn't actually every stop; it
was every stop that was previously deemed to be a compulsory stop
before they all became request stops, ie the white stops.

When the distinction is officially done away with and stops are
presumably all the same colour, I wonder which ones they will choose
to announce?

When the distinction is officially done away with and stops are
presumably all the same colour, I wonder which ones they will choose
to announce?

I hope, all of them. As a passenger, I might know the name of the stop /
place where I need to get off a certain route, but if I don't know the area,
how the hell can I tell?! With London Buses being as busy as they are, I
cannot realistically rely on the driver to let me know.

Best Wishes,
LEWIS

MIG wrote

Automatically announcing every stop is regularly done in some other
countries. For example, I know it is done in Heidelberg, Germany,
with

My experience on the 123 was that it wasn't actually every stop; it
was every stop that was previously deemed to be a compulsory stop
before they all became request stops, ie the white stops.

When the distinction is officially done away with and stops are
presumably all the same colour, I wonder which ones they will choose
to announce?

My experience out in the sticks (routes K3 and 281 now have a few
equipped vehicles) is that it's every stop. Of course out in the sticks
even request stops are fairly well separated so adding "next stop 400
metres/yards" would be a useful enhancement.

--
Mike D

On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:13:39 -0000, "solar penguin"
wrote:


Dusty Shelves wrote:

Well, apart from traffic levels & overcrowding of course. I have to
suffer this damn incessant voice almost every day...

If you don't want to hear it, then concentrate on something else and let
your brain filter the sound out, just like with any other unwanted
announcements.

Precisely. I use the 123 every day and it was one of the first routes to
get the system. While we've had all the teething problems and various
different forms of messages and timing of them I find no issue with the
system at all.

I can ignore if I want to and pay attention if I wish to. I don't find
it any more intrusive that the auto messages on tube trains.

Why?

Because it's good idea that should've been introduced ages ago. The
real question is why did they wait so long before introducing it.

Precisely. I'm also looking forward to the expansion of countdown style
displays at stops plus the ability (hopefully) to get real time stop
departure info texted to your mobile phone. With a lot of effort you
can just about use Transport Direct to get the timetable information per
stop.

I hope there is some kind of backlash against it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4991326.stm

I hope there isn't. Why would there be?

It's interesting that the _only_ person the BBC could find to speak
against it was a Liberal Democrat MP. If this really was an unpopular
idea, you can bet Cameron's Cronies would be rushing to complain...

Apparently there were 12 complaints that sat behind that BBC
"exclusive". There's nothing wrong with the standard stop and route
announcements. I understand some people are fed up with other
pre-recorded messages being played constantly - I've never had that on a
Tottenham garage route. The few times the "special" messages have been
deployed they were all genuinely helpful or appropriate.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message
,
Dusty Shelves writes
Well, apart from traffic levels & overcrowding of course. I have to
suffer this damn incessant voice almost every day...
Why?
I hope there is some kind of backlash against it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4991326.stm

I was on the 298 route on Saturday evening and I thought it was very
good (although I note other people's comments on how it could be
improved). The best part was, as the bus approached Southgate Station,
the control/depot phoned in and asked the driver where he was. I can't
remember what the driver answered, but the control/depot pointed out he
was running early and the driver apologised and said he would pull up at
the next stop until he was on time. The half hourly bus had managed to
become over 10 minutes early in fact (the roads just aren't as busy at
night as during the daytime).

The only way that I can think that control bothered phoning in is that
they must have installed some automated flagging system for when buses
are running seriously early and connected it to iBus. Fantastic!
(better than the timetables were more sensible; but this will do as an
alternative). Of course, with such a system, in terms of driver
training the control ought to be initially able to set it up for routes
running 10 minutes early and decrease it to 5 minutes when the drivers
are better behaved!

--
Paul G
Typing from Barking

"Mr Thant" wrote in message
...

Currently it's only played after the doors close, which means you
don't hear if the bus doesn't stop. And it's only "141 to London
Bridge" rather than "This is a Northern Line train to High Barnet".
Likewise they only say the name of the stop you're approaching, not
anything else.

Perhaps they will put external speakers on the bus?

On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:08:33 +0000, Paul G
wrote:

In message
,
Dusty Shelves writes
Well, apart from traffic levels & overcrowding of course. I have to
suffer this damn incessant voice almost every day...
Why?
I hope there is some kind of backlash against it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4991326.stm

I was on the 298 route on Saturday evening and I thought it was very
good (although I note other people's comments on how it could be
improved). The best part was, as the bus approached Southgate Station,
the control/depot phoned in and asked the driver where he was. I can't
remember what the driver answered, but the control/depot pointed out he
was running early and the driver apologised and said he would pull up at
the next stop until he was on time. The half hourly bus had managed to
become over 10 minutes early in fact (the roads just aren't as busy at
night as during the daytime).

The only way that I can think that control bothered phoning in is that
they must have installed some automated flagging system for when buses
are running seriously early and connected it to iBus. Fantastic!
(better than the timetables were more sensible; but this will do as an
alternative). Of course, with such a system, in terms of driver
training the control ought to be initially able to set it up for routes
running 10 minutes early and decrease it to 5 minutes when the drivers
are better behaved!

Depot based control is part of I-Bus. With the GPS tracking controllers
can see exactly where buses are. AIUI the system will automatically flag
variances against the schedule / timetable.

The driver also has a module in the cab with a display that also shows
in real time whether the bus is early or late. I noticed this for the
first time on a 192 and was genuinely surprised at how neat the unit
was.

The system can obviously track the service over the whole day and the
collation of operational statistics should help to improve future
timetables. Once it becomes clear how each route performs on a typical
day as well as in unusual conditions then schedules will be able to be
tweaked to make services more reliable and resilient.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

"Paul G" wrote in message
...

I was on the 298 route on Saturday evening and I thought it was very good
(although I note other people's comments on how it could be improved).
The best part was, as the bus approached Southgate Station, the
control/depot phoned in and asked the driver where he was. I can't
remember what the driver answered, but the control/depot pointed out he
was running early and the driver apologised and said he would pull up at
the next stop until he was on time. The half hourly bus had managed to
become over 10 minutes early in fact (the roads just aren't as busy at
night as during the daytime).

The only way that I can think that control bothered phoning in is that
they must have installed some automated flagging system for when buses are
running seriously early and connected it to iBus. Fantastic!

AFAIK, it is not connected to iBus.

It is possible along any bus route to see small grey boxes atop a post,
which sometimes have a bright yellow sticker attached to them. Every time a
bus passes one of those posts, it sends a signature signal to the control
centre, which in turn allows the control centre to know busses' locations at
all times. I also undertsand that there is a large screen in the command
centre that can see busses' movements.

This is what I've heard and I am well aware that I could be wrong, so feel
free to correct me.

"Michael Hoffman" wrote in message
...
Boltar wrote:

Automatically announcing every stop is regularly done in some other
countries. For example, I know it is done in Heidelberg, Germany, with no
notable increase in lunacy. It's quite useful. Of course, they don't have
the inclination to spice it up with constant "mind the doors this is a
special announcement please do not leave your bags or small children on
the bus when you leave"

It's this announcement that you hear on some lines: "Stand clear, doors
opening!"

Then, after another second, they open.

Such drama.

The driver also has a module in the cab with a display that also shows
in real time whether the bus is early or late. *I noticed this for the
first time on a 192 and was genuinely surprised at how neat the unit
was.

The system can obviously track the service over the whole day and the
collation of operational statistics should help to improve future
timetables. Once it becomes clear how each route performs on a typical
day as well as in unusual conditions then schedules will be able to be
tweaked to make services more reliable and resilient.
--
Paul C

Admits to working for London Underground!

All of this sounds very neat. I hope some of this data will become
available to the public, too.

Have any of the iBus' advanced countdown timers popped up around
London yet?