On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 18:44:00 +0000, Ian Jelf
wrote:

In message , Dave Arquati
writes
Ian Jelf wrote:

Some people (all North Londoners) I was talking to after a walk
recently were all coming out with this sort of stuff. I was trying
to get them interested in a guided walk of Crystal Palace and the
principal reason they weren't interested was because it was so
difficult to get to places south of the river by public transport.

Well it is South of the river you know. That's another universe and you
need a passport to get across those bridge things in the middle of
London.

Oh yes... the frequent and widespread train network in South London
makes it extremely difficult to get anywhere, not to mention trams and
buses... :-)
You just but that was precisely the point that was being made to me.
No tube = no public transport.

Well I clearly cannot have travelled around Central and East London on
Sunday as I did it all by bus and great fun it was too.

When I mentioned the NR network, someone said that they knew of one
station where there was only a train **every half an hour**! When I
said that most of the network had far more - and in any case every 30
minutes would be considered good in some areas - I was treated to the
incredulous one-liner "but you'd need a **timetable**"!

Yes they are another concept created by alien beings that normal people
cannot be expected to comprehend. I have often acted as an informal
alternative to both LT and BR travel enquiries and people are genuinely
surprised that you can get from A to B - whether in London or elsewhere
in the country - with relative ease by public transport.

Most people simply need reassurance and some decent information - I once
provided info for a blind friend of a friend who made it to a wedding in
Uxbridge by train and Tube and walking the last bit. She was full of
gratitude for the confident information and helpful hints that I
provided which she had been unable to access via conventional means.

Perhaps that's a Tube map mentality, which might be partly resolved
when the Overground Network-style maps are combined better with Tube
maps.
Indeed.

In part. While the Tube map is a pretty good design I find many people
cannot cope with maps of even moderate complexity and as soon as you
suggest using a bus (another alien creation) or changing between modes
(a way to certain death) then people become too scared and return to the
comfort and predictability of their cars. All this despite the certainty
that they will get lost in their cars and that the public transport
journey would probably pass without a hitch. Information provision and
the "ease of use" of public transport has a long way to go to address
these problems.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!