Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?
--
Peter Lawrence

Peter Lawrence wrote to uk.transport.london on Tue, 28 Sep 2004:

Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?

Some and some. I read somewhere that Ken Livingstone isn't happy with
Countdown in its present form, for that very reason, and it will be
replaced with some kind of upgraded service.
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 26 September 2004

"Peter Lawrence" typed


Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?

You & me both.

Maybe what Countdown displays to others is better. Who knows?

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:06:11 GMT, "Peter Lawrence"
wrote:

Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?

I think you are partly unlucky - it worked OK for me this afternoon at
Aldwych - but there are well known problems with the Countdown system
which means that the displays cannot always be relied upon. I understand
a new system is being procured by TfL (it was certainly in the EU OJEC
process) - whether it's still in the budget and when it will be
implemented I cannot say.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:06:11 GMT, "Peter Lawrence"
wrote:

Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?

I think you're just unlucky (or the system doesn't work well on the
routes you use). My experience of it is that, when it is working at
all (which is the main problem), the information tends to be of
reasonable quality.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...

there are well known problems with the Countdown system
which means that the displays cannot always be relied upon.
I understand a new system is being procured by TfL (it was
certainly in the EU OJEC process) - whether it's still in the
budget and when it will be implemented I cannot say.

I hope it will be specified better than the current system, which uses a
relatively expensive display but doesn't tell people what they really want
to know. A much more useful system could be produced a lot more cheaply. Who
can I write to about this?

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
"Peter Lawrence" typed



Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?


You & me both.

Maybe what Countdown displays to others is better. Who knows?

There seems to be a difference between stops. I find one at Piccadilly
Circus relatively accurate whereas those at South Kensington are highly
inaccurate (and don't show all buses). At South Ken it doesn't help that
the 345 terminates there so there's no predicting when the next will
depart (other than the timetable!).

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 23:16:04 +0100, "John Rowland"
wrote:

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
.. .

there are well known problems with the Countdown system
which means that the displays cannot always be relied upon.
I understand a new system is being procured by TfL (it was
certainly in the EU OJEC process) - whether it's still in the
budget and when it will be implemented I cannot say.

I hope it will be specified better than the current system, which uses a
relatively expensive display but doesn't tell people what they really want
to know. A much more useful system could be produced a lot more cheaply. Who
can I write to about this?

How DOES it work anyway? I've looked for technical info on the system but have
found nothing.

Neil Williams wrote:
On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:06:11 GMT, "Peter Lawrence"
wrote:


Am I just unlucky or is the real time information displayed atbus
stops always fictional, meaning it has little relation to which buses
actually arrive and when?


I think you're just unlucky (or the system doesn't work well on the
routes you use). My experience of it is that, when it is working at
all (which is the main problem), the information tends to be of
reasonable quality.

This is the thing: "when it is working". The biggest problem with it is
that seemingly every time that I walk to bus stops near where I live the
familiar "COUNTDOWN" display warns of another failure.

Plus there was the great time I saw a 319 due in 10 minutes... 9... 8...
3...2...1... went past the bus stop on the other side of the road. I
hope it was just co-incidence

Dan

John Rowland wrote:
"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...

there are well known problems with the Countdown system
which means that the displays cannot always be relied upon.
I understand a new system is being procured by TfL (it was
certainly in the EU OJEC process) - whether it's still in the
budget and when it will be implemented I cannot say.

I hope it will be specified better than the current system, which uses a
relatively expensive display but doesn't tell people what they really want
to know.

OK, "the next bus 13 will be here in (an estimated) 8 minutes" --
this isn't what I wanted to know? Or isn't this what the displays
are telling me?

#Paul