Why are bus company websites so dreadful?

[py_megapixel]

Stagecoach seem somehow to have made simple tasks such as checking a fare or downloading a timetable take twice as long as needed. You can't get anywhere without being promoted to set your location, which it promptly forgets.
The journey planner does not seem to recognise any locations, and if it does, it's slow and unituituve.

An infrequent bus user would be forgiven for just getting in their car.

Surely a company as big as Stagecoach should be able to design a vaguely helpful website?

 

[peterblue]

It's a dreadful website.

 

[higthomas]

Better than Arriva.
Definitely the best of the big ones is Go-Ahead with their local ones.

 

[JonathanH]

Stagecoach seem somehow to have made simple tasks such as checking a fare

At least you can check a fare on their website which is a considerable sight better than the other operators.

 

[PaulMc7]

Seems to be a thing for bus operators to have fairly basic websites. Up here in Glasgow we've got Stagecoach, First, Mcgills, West Coast Motors, Citylink and Avondale and none of them are particularly great.

Even JMB in Lanarkshire don't have a particularly great website

 

[Statto]

I hate sites like Stagecoach that don't list all there timetables, you have to do a search instead, at least Arriva have full list of timetables, although the site is dreadful.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't find the Stagey one that bad, I've used it a few times. You can get timetable PDFs though you have to search for them. I'd say it is one of the better ones for a large operator, though it's not perfect.

 

[Temple Meads]

It's probably the best bus operator site that I've used simply because despite being awkward to use, it does actually contain all the info that I want, something which I can't say for any others!

 

[Flying Snail]

I don't find the Stagey one that bad, I've used it a few times. You can get timetable PDFs though you have to search for them. I'd say it is one of the better ones for a large operator, though it's not perfect.

It's OK if you are familiar with the local service, ticketing, routes and timetabling. If however you are not familiar with the quirks of that particular company and locality, like most bus services it is a massive PITA to get the correct routing and fare information you may need.

IMO the lack of standardisation in the way bus services are presented, run and charged is a big part of the continuing decline in bus users versus the continual increase in rail. Even for someone used to bus operations finding the right information for an unfamiliar area requires more effort and deduction than is reasonable, for anyone not used to divining the necessary information from the various sources of bus operating data it is understandable why the default attitude to journeys not possible by rail is either taxi from the station or drive the whole way.

I haven't found any of the operators websites to be good overall, they are all deficient in different ways. Even though Stagecoach do in some areas provide overall guides they are hard to find on the website, some will pop up when you input a single route timetable request and then not at other times for the same route where a single table pops up. Lake district gets a comprehensive guide but unless you know beforehand chances are you won't find it, even if you do know about it searching for the thing on the website is far from straightforward.

The same goes for maps, some places have area maps or town maps or fare zone maps or mixes of all the above. Some are accessed through the ticket information but not the map tab, some only through the map tab (but only if you select the right town first and to get maps for both ends of a single journey you often have to re-select the individual towns instead of just having a list of all maps for a given area) and some ares have no proper network or local mapping at all.

 

[Jordan Adam]

The Stagecoach site isn't that bad. But the lack of a route list for each opco has always really annoyed me as it's something pretty much every other operator has. I actually much prefer the layout of the website they had from 2005 to 2010 as it was much more accessible, although dated in design now. Stagecoach are also very poor when it comes to maps. So quite often if i want to see services they have in a particular area i find it much easier/faster to use Bustimes. I will however give huge credit to Stagecoach in that it's very easy to work out fares from A to B and generally the journey planner (although i loathe them) is decent enough.

The First site isn't too bad, but it's quite dated and can be cluttered in places. It's also one of the less reliable frequently having downtime. Fares are also near impossible to work out. Much like Stagecoach the website they used from around 2006 to 2011 was much better.

The Go-Ahead websites are okay, they do the job but are by far the most cluttered.

As for Xplore/National Express (Bus division). Their site isn't too bad, there is a route list for each opco but it's not as easy to find as you have to search for a route before you can get the option to go to the route list page. They do typically have network maps but these again are the the simplest to find (You have to go to the route list page, useful information and then "network maps").

The McGills website is rancid, You have to download the timetable/maps to view them which while not the biggest burden ever is a huge annoyance. A shame because the general layout isn't bad, although the route list is rather tragic.

"Lothain Group" (LB, LCB, ECB, Green Arrow etc) actually a fairly decent website, although timetables are not as easy to find and you can't go from one website to another, you have to manually input the URL or google search. Route maps are okay, although they still use the rather dated and complex spider map design. The main page is also far too PR driven, rather than having useful information such as major service updates right in the centre they have them offset in a small box to the side. Instead the main page is covered in adverts for their merchandise, Coffee Shops etc.

Borders Buses. Probably one of my favourite sites, although can be slow at times and the home page isn't that attractive.

As for Arriva, i don't need to comment much more other than that ever aspect of it is rancid and dated. I'll never understand why Arriva decided to use the colour of my Grandparents old 1980s "Mint Green" Sofa. Every thing you hover over seems to create a pop up that covers the entire page.

 

[bussnapperwm]

Another plus for NX Bus is on their website they put the fare tables for each route on their website as a combined PDF for WM and Coventry and a PDF for Dundee.

Also, Diamond Bus put on their websites route lists for each of their 3 main areas as a 2 click setup (so you click either WM, North West or Worcestershire and then you click "bus services")

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's OK if you are familiar with the local service, ticketing, routes and timetabling. If however you are not familiar with the quirks of that particular company and locality, like most bus services it is a massive PITA to get the correct routing and fare information you may need.

If you're not familiar with the area already, fares aside you are best off using Google Maps. It has public transport data for most (all?) of the UK including realtime for most areas, and it will plan any journey you like - and comes up with some surprisingly good results. To know that Stagecoach is the operator you want, you need to know at least a bit about the area for starters.

 

[py_megapixel]

I agree that the Arriva website is also awful. I would have hoped that the recent Arriva Bus rebrand would have come with less of an eyesore website, but they are still using the old website online. I've updated the title to reflect this as well.

Go Northeast has a service list which is an absolute eyesore. Black on beige is not the most beautiful colour combination as it is, but throw in service logos and symbols without transparent backgrounds, and it starts to look awful.

I was interested to see, given how bad GNE is, what the other GoAhead companies are like.
It turns out that GNW is even worse. They have chosen a slightly darker shade of beige, which looks absolutely dreadful.

 

[radamfi]

It turns out that GNW is even worse. They have chosen a slightly darker shade of beige, which looks absolutely dreadful.

More importantly, GNW doesn't show fares.

 

[PeterC]

The Carousel and Oxford sites are fine.

When planning a trip to Whitby I was given the impression that Arriva had pulled out of the area entirely. My fault for believing that Whitby was in Yorkshire!

 

[deanmachine]

The Carousel and Oxford sites are fine.

When planning a trip to Whitby I was given the impression that Arriva had pulled out of the area entirely. My fault for believing that Whitby was in Yorkshire!

Whitby is of course part of Arriva Durham County. Makes complete sense!

 

[Whisky Papa]

Whitby is of course part of Arriva Durham County. Makes complete sense!

First Greater Manchester's webpages similarly deny all knowledge of the First West Yorkshire operated 588 between Rochdale and Littleborough in the timetable listing, although it does at least appear on the current route map and the journey planner facility.

I entirely agree with the general consensus, most of the big groups sites are poor, and in the case of Arriva were much better some years ago, when very useful PDF route maps of most towns were easily found on the site.

 

[Robertj21a]

Better than Arriva.
Definitely the best of the big ones is Go-Ahead with their local ones.

The Arriva website must be one of the poorest around.

 

[smtglasgow]

The Arriva site is a special kind of hell. What really annoys is the fact that they have some decent network maps, but they’re very well hidden under ticket zones – it’s as if someone has actively gone out of their way to make them as inaccessible as possible. Even if you do find them, while most maps are up to date, some aren’t, and with Arriva’s habit of hacking off the weaker parts of their network at regular intervals, this matters.

Maybe I’m a bit old school, but I like the way that some First opcos have the full timetable pdfs on their website – although even here, they’re found under the unhelpful route maps tab, so a casual user is unlikely to ever find them.

 

[AM9]

Outside of London, the only half-decent bus website I've come across that also includes all rural services is the Herts Intalink partnership's site. It has maps covering all services in the county, timetables for all services, a route planner (linked to traveline south-east), and rail timetables. The only major omission seems to be individual fares, (day passes etc., are covered).
So it would seem that this level of information is an exception here.

 

[markymark2000]

Arriva is one of the worst in my opinion because of the area specific pages, if you select a town/city, sometimes half the services aren't shown because there are more than one area. Chester is an example of this with Wales providing most services but then also North West providing the X30 and 84.

Warringtons Own Buses has the BEST fare finder and the site is relatively simple but what lets them down is you have to download the PDFs and they don't just open in Chrome PDF viewer.

One of the worst for independents in the North West I believe is actually Halton Transport.

Outside of London, the only half-decent bus website I've come across that also includes all rural services is the Herts Intalink partnership's site. It has maps covering all services in the county, timetables for all services, a route planner (linked to traveline south-east), and rail timetables. The only major omission seems to be individual fares, (day passes etc., are covered).
So it would seem that this level of information is an exception here.

Merseytravel do the same. Merseytravel just needs a search for route by area type thing and put dates back on the maps as sometimes changes are made but the maps aren't updated but no one knows as there is no dates shown. Fare details are available for all Merseytravel fares but not for local OpCos but that seems to be normal.

 

[Busaholic]

Bring back the printed timetable, any attempt to replace it proves to be a retrograde step. By all means supplement it with a decent, accessible website with, ideally, some idea of the range of fares/tickets available, even better with full details IF kept up-to-date. Countywide bus timetables are even better, though I fear they are fast disappearing. A printed bus map is a must too, which TfL for one should be realising to their cost i.e. declining bus usage.

 

[higthomas]

It's OK if you are familiar with the local service, ticketing, routes and timetabling. If however you are not familiar with the quirks of that particular company and locality, like most bus services it is a massive PITA to get the correct routing and fare information you may need.

IMO the lack of standardisation in the way bus services are presented, run and charged is a big part of the continuing decline in bus users versus the continual increase in rail. Even for someone used to bus operations finding the right information for an unfamiliar area requires more effort and deduction than is reasonable, for anyone not used to divining the necessary information from the various sources of bus operating data it is understandable why the default attitude to journeys not possible by rail is either taxi from the station or drive the whole way.

I haven't found any of the operators websites to be good overall, they are all deficient in different ways. Even though Stagecoach do in some areas provide overall guides they are hard to find on the website, some will pop up when you input a single route timetable request and then not at other times for the same route where a single table pops up. Lake district gets a comprehensive guide but unless you know beforehand chances are you won't find it, even if you do know about it searching for the thing on the website is far from straightforward.

The same goes for maps, some places have area maps or town maps or fare zone maps or mixes of all the above. Some are accessed through the ticket information but not the map tab, some only through the map tab (but only if you select the right town first and to get maps for both ends of a single journey you often have to re-select the individual towns instead of just having a list of all maps for a given area) and some ares have no proper network or local mapping at all.

On this note, I genuinely think that if bus companies really want to attract passengers back one of the best things they could do would be to create a single source of quality bus information (website and app), and advertise it!

A national rail for buses!

But it'll never happen. They're more concerned fighting each other to the bottom rather than combining to fight the main opposition: the car.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Arriva's website isn't that bad, except for the PDF timetables which have a fair few formatting problems in them (as does the online timetable). But where the PDF is a version of a printed timetable (e.g. Northumberland coast, X93) it's good. Very Stenning.

Stagecoach's is better than it used to be, the live timing and google maps are useful, but is geared towards assuming everyone wants to travel now this second. The app does that too, with the added bonus that it won't show a bus stop half a mile awayas it's "too far away".

Go Ahead have the best website format. Transdev's was good but now, well, isn't.

GNE's website is good, clear, and the maps are accurate and easy to read. The fare finder works. Happy days.

 

[cnjb8]

I agree that the Arriva website is also awful. I would have hoped that the recent Arriva Bus rebrand would have come with less of an eyesore website, but they are still using the old website online. I've updated the title to reflect this as well.

Go Northeast has a service list which is an absolute eyesore. Black on beige is not the most beautiful colour combination as it is, but throw in service logos and symbols without transparent backgrounds, and it starts to look awful.

I was interested to see, given how bad GNE is, what the other GoAhead companies are like.
It turns out that GNW is even worse. They have chosen a slightly darker shade of beige, which looks absolutely dreadful.

I find GNEs website very useful apart from the fact they dont have a full network map. Same with Arriva. I use the bus times website for Stagecoach as their website is awful too.
They should learn something from Nottingham City Transport or TrentBarton. I find theirs really good

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Bring back the printed timetable, any attempt to replace it proves to be a retrograde step. By all means supplement it with a decent, accessible website with, ideally, some idea of the range of fares/tickets available, even better with full details IF kept up-to-date. Countywide bus timetables are even better, though I fear they are fast disappearing. A printed bus map is a must too, which TfL for one should be realising to their cost i.e. declining bus usage.

I don't know if I agree with you. We are in the digital age - I seldom use cash and I'm no generation X technophile.

Tradtionally, I always like a physical book or leaflet and I still do. The Kernow and Somerset ones are excellent. I remember some of the really good operator ones that were produced like Midland Red West. However, I then wonder how useful they actually are and who are they really benefiting. One thing if you're in a tourist area (e.g. Lake District or IOW or Cornwall) and then you're likely to be making multiple journeys across a wider area. My gut view (apologies) is that it's enthusiasts who love these comprehensive county wide books but other than that, it's limited.

There's also the argument that goes against print. How do you get it at night? Or on a Sunday? Or in village with no amenities? You can look up on your PC or smart phone these days and you have the reassurance the information SHOULD be up to date. FBB's Public Transport Experience blog goes on at length (!) about how websites are always wrong and how going on line is always the thin end of the wedge. However, incorrect information is just that.... it's wrong whether it's on a website, in a leaflet or affixed to a bus stop. Having a badly designed website is no different to having a badly designed leaflet with a plethora of obscure codes, shadings etc on timetables. Arguably, it's faster and easier to sort out that kind of information.

FWIW, I find Go Ahead (esp North East) to be one of the better ones, but the East Yorkshire one is better still. Agree with everyone that the Arriva one is terrible, as if it was done by a developer who's too clever by half rather than being market tested by actual users. Stagecoach did have a decent one but then, as has been said, the current one is just clunky. First's is similarly rather unfriendly.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I find GNEs website very useful apart from the fact they dont have a full network map.

GNE's operating areas don't really interlink or overlap, though, so it wouldn't be needed. The lack of a Gateshead map is bad though.

 

[Bletchleyite]

On this note, I genuinely think that if bus companies really want to attract passengers back one of the best things they could do would be to create a single source of quality bus information (website and app), and advertise it!

A national rail for buses!

There is, it's called Google Maps. But there did used to be such a site run by Southern Vectis by agreement with a number of other bus companies - it just fell at the hurdle you mention of bus operators being more interested in their petty spats.

 

[cnjb8]

There is, it's called Google Maps. But there did used to be such a site run by Southern Vectis by agreement with a number of other bus companies - it just fell at the hurdle you mention of bus operators being more interested in their petty spats.

Trent made an app called Hugo for when your bus is going to turn up, timetables etc... that included Wellglade Group, NCT and I think Arriva Derby. It's still going on today.

 

[sprunt]

Trent made an app called Hugo for when your bus is going to turn up, timetables etc... that included Wellglade Group, NCT and I think Arriva Derby. It's still going on today.

And in my experience, it's absolutely unusable. When I tried to use it, it just didn't work, and had me prodding away at the screen to no effect whatsoever.