"MIG" wrote in message
...
On good form today with reports of South Eastern services suspended
between Shepherds Bush and Milton Keynes.

Their willingness to repeat nonsense for bulletin after bulletin is
often less obviously workable out than that one, like the time that
they kept announcing that services on the "Lewisham line" were being
diverted, when they meant that services between Dartford and Lewisham
via Bexleyheath were being diverted via Sidcup (rather important for
punters to know that they were NOT going via Bexleyheath, but WERE
going via Lewisham).

They do this sort of thing over and over. The newsreaders just keep
on dumbly reading it out every half hour. You'd think that the London
travel newsroom would have some vague idea about transport in London.

But it's not just BBC London and it's not just public transport related. I
reckon the "best" reports are those on Radio 2 for roads. "Sally Traffic"
and her colleagues cover the country from north to south to west and it
doesn't matter if you're local to the area they are reporting on or a
stranger you can get a reasonable idea of what's going on. They're not
perfect by any means but I will admit to listening to R2 when driving purely
for their reports. Things go downhill in two ways. Firstly when they
start talking about PT. It doesn't matter if they're talking about the ash
cloud or something wrong with the the trains they just spout what they're
given. They are capable of questioning and interpreting road information
so why not PT? Secondly don't get me going about BBC local radio when it
cuts in. The traffic reports are all over the place and often meaningless
to anyone who isn't a local. And as Graeme says they must be reading press
releases for PT. Otherwise how can you justify reporting that Cross
Country can't run between Basingstoke and Southampton on a weekend when the
line through Micheldever is blocked and say nothing about SWT? Yes, SWT
should send something out but then I would expect the reporter to put 2 and
2 together, report the line is blocked and then tell me what SWT are doing
and then what XC are doing.

I have complained to the BBC but all I got back was "thank you for your
feedback".