Are Paper Bus Timetables still in your area?

[stuartn]

Genuine question. Do people take paper timetables out with them, or just just them as collectables? I'd find it far too faffy to have multiple bits of paper out with me rather that just looking up online what I need.

Yes I do, it's way easier and faster to re-plan on the way, with paper timetables- especially where there are area books. In fact it's easier to plan at home with area books. Another Stagecoach one which I got last Summer (dated 31 August 2025) is Preston, Leyland, Chorley & South Lancashire. I can't remember where I found that one.

Lloyds Coaches at Machynnelth in mid Wales have produced a new system timetable this summer, and are reporting double digit growth in passengers over 2025 on all routes.

 

[overthewater]

I prefer Paper timetables aswell, there right thier in your hand and you can see ALL of the information usually at once.. what if you had bad signal which happens lot you can't get information up,

 

[Fawkes Cat]

what if you had bad signal which happens lot you can't get information up,

What if it's raining? What if it's dark? Your paper timetable won't do too well in those scenarios.

That's not to say that there may not be something to be said for one timetable medium over the other, but please can we be careful about pleading one point and taking that to conclude the issue.

 

[Andyh82]

It’s interesting now variable it across the country.

Whereas the good companies that you’d expect to mostly do timetables, and those you wouldn’t expect generally don’t, there are some key exceptions

Lothian for example not doing timetables for their main city services when you’d expect them to be one who would

I think it always stands out where one operator does and one doesn’t in the same city operating the same type of services, for example Oxford Bus do, but Stagecoach Oxford mostly don’t. Thames Valley, Reading and Carousel do, but First Beeline don’t.

 

[overthewater]

What if it's raining? What if it's dark? Your paper timetable won't do too well in those scenarios.

That's not to say that there may not be something to be said for one timetable medium over the other, but please can we be careful about pleading one point and taking that to conclude the issue.

What if your phone goes dead, what if you drop it in a puddle? what if someone steals the phone?

That does not mean I don't look up bus times for stuff etc etc etc I personally really do dislike timetables on phones.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

What if your phone goes dead, what if you drop it in a puddle? what if someone steals the phone?

The last two of these could apply equally well to paper timetables....

To stop teasing, it seems to me that the real tests are surely
- whether the existence (or otherwise) of paper timetables has any impact on the level of use for the buses, and
- the cost (specifically the net cost after any uplift in usage) of providing paper timetables.

Are there any figures on these points?

 

[Gareth1990]

I use the guides like the Lakes bus guide and the Dales bus guide. I often find quicker than looking at my phone

Especially in the Lakes where mobile reception is often nonexistent

 

[staleydm01]

I prefer Paper timetables aswell, there right thier in your hand and you can see ALL of the information usually at once.. what if you had bad signal which happens lot you can't get information up,

I support that, I like paper copies of everything over digital stuff that won’t scan, try looking up timetables on public transport WiFi, the apps often won’t even load.

 

[Statto]

I certainly prefer paper timetables too, much easier to cross reference other services if you're planning to go on multiple routes than scrolling on a mobile.

Also prefer paper route maps for the same reason, try looking at a TFGM area map on a mobile, you have to wait for it to load everytime you scroll.

 

[TUC]

If you have to replan a journey at short notice, isn't a look at Google Maps and seeing what might be three or four different alternative options far quicker than sorting through multiple timetables?

 

[overthewater]

The amount of times Google maps have got it wrong is a joke, I've had to help people as they were completely lost thanks to Google.

 

[route101]

Google can be good for list of services from a stop, the route shown isn't always accurate.

One annoyance with google is bus stations, they have multiplie bus stop icons but usually only one lists services, you have to find that one icon.

 

[TUC]

Even without Google Maps, I's still rather use sites such as BusTines.org to see where services actually are rather than rely on a paper timetabl.

 

[YorkRailFan]

If you have to replan a journey at short notice, isn't a look at Google Maps and seeing what might be three or four different alternative options far quicker than sorting through multiple timetables?

That relies on you having a phone signal though. Some don't even have access to a smartphone in the first place. That goes for Google Maps and Bustimes.

 

[TUC]

That relies on you having a phone signal though. Some don't even have access to a smartphone in the first place. That goes for Google Maps and Bustimes.

Without going down that path yet again, I do suspect that public transport enthusiasts seem unusually unrepresentative of the general population in the lack of a smartphone or the ability to get a phone signal.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Without going down that path yet again, I do suspect that public transport enthusiasts seem unusually unrepresentative of the general population in the lack of a smartphone or the ability to get a phone signal.

Depends really. If we're talking about the Lakes By Bus guide or the DalesBus booklet, then a lot of users won't have access to a phone signal. There's other examples across the country too.

 

[43055]

Google can be good for list of services from a stop, the route shown isn't always accurate.

One annoyance with google is bus stations, they have multiplie bus stop icons but usually only one lists services, you have to find that one icon.

or even names of stops can be not in line with what we are use too and most who use Google maps just ask for the stop name on boarding which there could be two with the same name on a longer route.

I find that I have to fill the rack on the bus around once a week or so with timetables so they are sill well used.

 

[Andyh82]

If you have to replan a journey at short notice, isn't a look at Google Maps and seeing what might be three or four different alternative options far quicker than sorting through multiple timetables?

There are two different types of people, those who want a third party to journey plan for them, and those who want to do it themselves, seeing the full range of journies available

Printed timetables and well presented timetables on the website help with the second group

 

[Fawkes Cat]

There are two different types of people, those who want a third party to journey plan for them, and those who want to do it themselves, seeing the full range of journies available

Do you have any feel for the sizes of these two groups?

 

[thameslink2000]

West of England Combined Authority have produced at least three guides for Bath & North East Somerset - Keynsham, Chew Valley and Midsomer Norton/Radstock. They have started appearing in local libraries. All three contain maps, timetables and errors which should have been spotted at the proofreading stage.

Yate & Chipping Sodbury guide also available, picked up earlier.

 

[TUC]

(Error)

 

[stuartn]

I got the Stagecoach South Lancashire book dated 1 September 2026 at Blackburn Bus Station today, along with a whole collection of individual route timetables for Transdev- they are very good at printed route timetables, also the Blackburn Borough leaflets for their subsidised services.