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Find Hotels on National Rail Journey Planner

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unsatisfied

unsatisfied

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A "Find Hotels" with Booking.com checkbox has been added to the initial National Rail Journey Planner input area. It is selected by default.
Archived main page and archived journey planner page, click on "Departing from" or "Going to" to reveal.
Archived Booking.com landing page with National Rail partnership banner.

I had enough at adverts in the app, and resort to using the website with ad-block enabled, and now this?
There's no point nationalising our services if the bodies in charge purposely choose to additionally sell our time and attention for money.

What a disgrace.
 
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AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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Not defaulted for me either, using the website.
 
unsatisfied

unsatisfied

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AlterEgo said:
Not defaulted for me either, using the website.
Click to expand...
The default is on if, at the moment of making the Plan Your Journey input popup appear on the webpage, your viewport is sufficiently wide, and unselected if not. This threshold is the same as the one that determines whether the popup goes all the way to the edges of the screen, or whether it has rounded corners and is centred on the translucent webpage background. This seems to be rudimentary attempt to only inconvenience desktop screen users (but leave the Booking.com mention).

My main gripe, is this is an additional advertisement, on a public-facing service that users are directed to. Furthermore it is one that sneaks upon unsuspecting users.
Is NRE trying to lower themselves to Trainline's standards? But even Trainline doesn't have 3rd-party banner advertisements pushing undesired products and the occasional scam.

Can anyone name another country's official railway website that has adverts?
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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unsatisfied said:
My main gripe, is this is an additional advertisement, on a public-facing service that users are directed to. Furthermore it is one that sneaks upon unsuspecting users.
Click to expand...
Entirely fair gripe to be honest, it's actually pathetic to see this.
 
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TUC

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No problem with advertising banners, or additional tabs, to link to hotel bookings. however, pop-ups are a real accessibility problem for visually impaired users as the screen reader suddenly appears to not be working when actually a pop-up has overlayed one corner of the screen, preventing the main screen from being read.
 
Howardh

Howardh

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At least, now we know, we have the option to untick the box, but it will appear the next time. I'm no tech geek, but if we accept cookies shouldn't it remember our choice? That aside, they really should be opt-in not opt-out.
 
Topological

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TUC said:
No problem with advertising banners, or additional tabs, to link to hotel bookings. however, pop-ups are a real accessibility problem for visually impaired users as the screen reader suddenly appears to not be working when actually a pop-up has overlayed one corner of the screen, preventing the main screen from being read.
Click to expand...
Same.

I would prefer agencies to use adverts than charge more. I actually appreciate that the BBC uses adverts when viewing pages internationally.

However, any adverts should be placed in a way that does not cause issues for visually impaired users. Or in a way that does not cause issues for anyone else already facing challenges when interacting with the site.

For the rest of us, does it really matter that they want to sell you a hotel, or anything else, at the destination?
 
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35B

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Topological said:
Same.

I would prefer agencies to use adverts than charge more. I actually appreciate that the BBC uses adverts when viewing pages internationally.

However, any adverts should be placed in a way that does not cause issues for visually impaired users. Or in a way that does not cause issues for anyone else already facing challenges when interacting with the site.

For the rest of us, does it really matter that they want to sell you a hotel, or anything else, at the destination?
Click to expand...
I’m in the “anti” camp, because I have chosen to use that information site for the purposes of finding out about my rail journey. I find being given additional information distracting, and have experience of others finding it actively confusing.
 
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Lewisham2221

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Oh no! Anyway...

Of all the things "the railway" does (or doesn't do) for me to be annoyed about, this one barely even registers
 
unsatisfied

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There aren't adverts on GOV.UK. I think there should be standard approach taken across all essential services sites.

Advertisements are an inefficient way of converting customer's time and attention into money as the service promoted, agency, graphic designers and more involved take a portion of the benefit leaving National Rail with only a fraction. So, unless the advert is something productive like theatre, art, or public announcements, it shouldn't be done if the government can't admit it decides what is productive for us and/or our time and energy is worth so little it's cheaper to show adverts instead of increasing fares/subsidy by a tiny amount.

Why stop here? Let's play auditory adverts at the platform during 'dead' time the customer wastes waiting for trains, and install posters on the backs of seats. If you have no guidelines, this is what happens.
 
A

Alex C.

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unsatisfied said:
My main gripe, is this is an additional advertisement, on a public-facing service that users are directed to. Furthermore it is one that sneaks upon unsuspecting users.
Is NRE trying to lower themselves to Trainline's standards? But even Trainline doesn't have 3rd-party banner advertisements pushing undesired products and the occasional scam.
Click to expand...
Trainline is probably where this came from, for at least 6 months, when visiting their website on Desktop, they have a pre-ticked checkbox which opens booking.com in the same way as posted in this thread.
 
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StephenHunter

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Going through my personal files, I've got a copy of the PKP 1958-1959 timetable that the Central Intelligence Agency has in their online archives. (I kid you not)

It has things in there that look remarkably like adverts.
 
styles

styles

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This is unfortunately becoming very common.

Here are some screenshots from sites I've used recently.

Skyscanner:
1773661690247.png

Rome2rio:
1773661720416.png

Trainline:
1773661750328.png

Splitmyfare:
1773661866186.png

All ticked by default.

What I dislike most is that it's a pop-under as well. This means your train/plane search results open in a new tab, and the old tab is taken over by the booking.com redirect. If you then close that accommodation tab, which I do when I accidentally forget to uncheck these boxes, you can't use the back button in the new tab it's opened for the transit booking.

It's awful user experience and awful for accessibility.
 
duffield

duffield

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So to summarise we have the following:
  • Opens new tab so if you don't notice you will end up accumulating multiple booking.com tabs (and maybe think you've got browser malware!).
  • Breaks back button functionality as a consequence of the above
  • Negatively affects accessibility as a consequence of the above
  • Selected by default
  • And worst of all, it does not keep your preference. This would be a fairly minor annoyance if it was one untick and you're done, but as it is it's really pretty obnoxious.
Unprofessionally implemented and user hostile, so exactly what you'd expect from the modern internet. :(
 
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bleeder4

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Just noticed this myself now. Box automatically ticked when using the website. Disgraceful. I have no problem them adding it as an option, but it shouldn't be ticked by default.
 
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