Bus stop information 'causing misery' for bus commuters

[W-on-Sea]

Yeovil is, by far, the worst place I've been recently for this. First (ah! yes that is the main operator too), you can generally forget about real time displays there anyway. I was there in September, a couple of weeks after the local network had been changed - and new timetables had been put up at the bus station (and elsewhere) that were entirely incorrect (suggesting the two main town services only ran every 70 minutes, which had never been the case, instead of every 35 minutes). The whole issue of how the routes are numbered (and change number at the bus station, having served the main stops in the town centre first) is another complicating factor. And of course there are no maps on display anywhere. And across the town in general, lots of outdated timetables and no apparent effort to maintain them.

In my experience of the Stagecoach App, the Cheltenham & Gloucester part of Stagecoach West manage to indicate services as cancelled in the app, but the Thames Transit part never does.

 

[wlbusser]

People can cope with poor punctuality if they know about it. If I see my bus is delayed 15 minutes, I can make a decision based on that information. If the bus was cancelled and isn't coming, and the next one is an hour (or longer) away then I am sat there waiting for nothing. I could decide to bail at any time to walk, or call a cab, but if I don't know then I'll probably just 'give it another minute'. It's not acceptable in this day and age.

Likewise, a late bus that gets turned around to protect the next run means it's effectively cancelled for some people who - again - wait in vain. In this case, because the service can't be altered, they're probably seeing an estimated time of arrival and may even be able to see it on a tracker. That's just as bad. The bus suddenly stops and never continues, before becoming another service.

If I know in advance what is happening then I don't mind that a bus is cancelled, diverted or late running. Even if I end up having to pay for the only other bus I can get to work at least I know.
A few times I've had non tracking buses show up, some just don't track and don't show up without any prior warning which is frustrating. I might let a bus go by as my ticket is for a different company and I end up waiting for the bus it does work with only for it not to show up so I have a longer wait for the next one.

Worse at night, my normal bus stops tracking after tracking OK on the inbound journey, and Is late running so I can either wait for it or go for the other bus that's a stop down and comes after but have to pay extra as again my tocket is not for that bus.

None of this will stop from using the bus as I don't drive but it sure as heck is frustrating when it happens.

 

[alex397]

Generally speaking, most of the systems I’ve seen used on the continent, even in smaller cities and towns, seem to work very well. I rarely see a system that just uses the timetabled times, and instead almost always use real time, and generally really reliable. I cant think of any specific examples though (apart from the big cities like Berlin which have superb systems).

What is the reason they seem to be better on the continent? Do they buy more expensive kit that’s easier to use and more reliable? Or do they organise them better behind the scenes?

 

[jon0844]

None of this will stop from using the bus as I don't drive but it sure as heck is frustrating when it happens.

And that's somewhat unfair. You can't easily find an alternative, so must put up with it. Meanwhile anyone else who has a choice, takes another option, and that's less income for the bus operator - which puts the bus service in jeopardy through lack of patronage.

I am not too worried about a bus being cancelled - it happens, just like trains... but let me know it's cancelled before I step out of my front door, or am rushing to get it from wherever I am.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Dec 2025 ==

Generally speaking, most of the systems I’ve seen used on the continent, even in smaller cities and towns, seem to work very well. I rarely see a system that just uses the timetabled times, and instead almost always use real time, and generally really reliable. I cant think of any specific examples though (apart from the big cities like Berlin which have superb systems).

What is the reason they seem to be better on the continent? Do they buy more expensive kit that’s easier to use and more reliable? Or do they organise them better behind the scenes?

TfL has a really good system*, so I expect it's properly funded abroad by people who know that providing real-time info (both before you get a bus, and when you're on it) is as essential as everything else working.

* Not saying there aren't other parts of the UK doing it well too, but far too many places aren't doing it well and seem to think it's an optional service.

 

[asb]

Is the problem sometimes down to Local Authorities not having the budget to receive the live feed from the bus companies, so there is only scheduled times shown?

 

[yorksrob]

Tracking on the local buses round my way, seems a lot more hit and miss these days.

 

[Tetchytyke]

TfL has a really good system*

TfL's system has its own limitations, particularly where they remove a bus from the displays if the tracking has dropped out. I've had it a few times where I've seen there's no bus for ages and started walking to another stop for another route, only to see the bus go past bang on time.

Is the problem sometimes down to Local Authorities not having the budget to receive the live feed from the bus companies, so there is only scheduled times shown?

I don't see many places now which only show the scheduled times.

The issue is more that, in most cases, the system will revert to showing the scheduled time if a particular bus isn't tracking. So if a bus is tracking the displays will say, for instance, '5 mins', but if it isn't tracking it will say, for instance, '11:16'. You have no way of knowing if that bus at 11:16 is on its way but not tracking or whether that bus is heavily delayed or whether that bus is outright cancelled for whatever reason.

It doesn't help that Google Maps often translates the '11:16' into '5 mins' on their app, so anyone using that app also has no way of knowing if the bus is actually tracking in real time or not.

 

[jon0844]

Google seems to be very poor with a lot of transport options, and I've noticed recently that it asks you to report a delay yourself - so I guess they're looking at using crowdsourced data to show delays where they can't accurately do so themselves for whatever reason.

 

[Mikey C]

Oh, the luxury of bus information screens at bus stops.

If they're not real time displays, they can be more a hindrance than a help. Showing imminent buses that don't actually exist, or are actually 15 minutes away due to traffic.