On Sun, 2 Dec 2007 03:23:03 -0800 (PST), MIG
wrote:

[enormous snip]

I would certainly rather see a timetable, and I find it even more
important for the Underground than for buses.

Most of the time I'd say it was the other way round for me. Where having
a LU timetable is essential are early morning / late evenings if you
need to travel on a line or a branch where the service can be thin
compared to normal. Knowing when tubes run at say 0700 on a Sunday if
you were heading to an airport or for a train connection is essential
given that 12 or 15 minute gaps can make all the difference. Similarly
who wants to wait 15 minutes between late trains if you can avoid the
wait from knowing what times trains actually depart.

The approach of the TfL information seems to be "Tell us where you are
and where you want to go at precisely what moment, and we'll work out
what's good for you".

I hadn't seen it like that before but I think that's not too far off the
mark with the emphasis on the Journey Planner.

I prefer to be given all the information and work out what's best for
myself. For example, if I know the full timetables of different lines
and routes, I can make decisions about all kinds of options, like
whether I could change a few stops further on or take a different
route, or what happens if I leave half an hour later etc.

Quite true and I prefer to do that sort of planning too. However I
understand that I'm very much the exception and many people are
relatively clueless about the transport network other than those trips
they make very regularly. You only have to witness the confusion that
ensues when a line or a station or a route is disrupted. Most people are
unable to improvise off the back of their own knowledge.

The TfL information tends to require me to spend several minutes
checking one over-specified option after another, without ever giving
me the general picture that would give me my options at a glance.

To be fair to the Journey Planner (what am I saying?!) it does create
journey options that I'd never think about and which having used some of
them were rather elegant in their simplicity.

I may have been confused about the Underground timetables, but I could
only see options for one branch, eg last trains towards Epping, but
when's the last train to Hainault? Am I missing something?

Timetables for LU branches are notoriously bad in the JP timetables
section. I tend to pick the first station past the junction (e.g.
Wanstead for the Hainault branch) and work backwards to find departure
times from earlier stations.

What I also can't find on the TfL site is simple descriptions of where
the bus routes go, as a list of places, as you get on the back of a
bus map. Is that lurking somewhere?

Not that I know off. Even worse the reverse of the Bus Maps are not put
up in pdf format which would provide that summary information.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!