West Yorkshire Metro to move to a 'digital first' information strategy

[Bantamzen]

Most of the time, buses operate to time or few minutes late. Thats in my experience anyway. Paper timetables can be used to plan trips, or to see if its worth using a particular route for a regular commute. Realtime electronic information is then useful on the actual day you're travelling, to check its all running ok. Paper timetables and electronic realtime information should work hand in hand. In the same way I like to see which particular scheduled train I am planning to get, then use Realtime Trains and the passenger displays at stations to check its still running to time.

Well I don't know your experience, but in my part of the world it is not unusual for low frequency buses to way beyond a few minutes late. Delays of 10 or 20 minutes for hourly services are not uncommon especially during rush hours. Indeed so bad have the delays become, operators have been making timetable changes several times a year to try to makes them able to stick to schedules. And some higher frequency services have been advertised as "Approximately every XX minutes" at times so no exact public timetable exists.

Published timetables can be stored electronically and updated quickly & easily as required, and when accessed via a website or mobile app can allow operators or PTEs the ability to easily alert passengers to timetable changes. This is why WY Metro are moving to digital by default. There should always still be the option of requesting a printed version on demand, but printing thousands only for them to be thrown away is a waste nowadays.

 

[Tetchytyke]

The problem is the assumption is that online is easier and anybody who dosent want to do things online is a Luddite and should be ignored.

To get a paper timetable you have to get to the travel centre and collect it. Fine if you're going past it, but otherwise less useful.

To get times online you just go online and look it up. Most people are online now. Those that aren't can still get the information from the travel centre counter.

I'd rather they spend the printing costs on supporting bus services and keeping travel centres open.

 

[radamfi]

To compare, how reliable are the real time screens in other PTE area bus stations such as Manchester and Sheffield?

Do TfGM even have real time info on their screens?

 

[Bungle965]

Do TfGM even have real time info on their screens?

Yes they do, if the company that runs the service actually has the facilities for live tracking.
Sam

 

[Deerfold]

Here's hoping Metro can keep their information correct. All their online information for bus route M4 from Keighley and 7 from Todmorden show them running a Saturday service on Good Friday. The operators' websites show the M4 will be running a Sunday service of approximately 25% of a Saturday service (every 2 hours not every 30 minutes) and the 7 will be running a Sunday service of no buses rather than one every 2 hours.

 

[Andyh82]

It doesn’t quite say that.

It says there will be a Saturday service except for a few exceptions, which are then listed.

It looks to me that Transdev Lancashire (as it should be pointed out these are cross boundary services) haven’t informed Metro of their intentions.

 

[Andyh82]

Printed maps up to date to the latest service changes are now available for the seven West Yorkshire areas.

Get them whilst you still can!

 

[Deerfold]

It doesn’t quite say that.

It says there will be a Saturday service except for a few exceptions, which are then listed.

It looks to me that Transdev Lancashire (as it should be pointed out these are cross boundary services) haven’t informed Metro of their intentions.

Those exceptions are not listed so you'd expect them to be a Saturday service. Transdev Lancashire have run a Sunday service ever since I moved back to Yorkshire 12 years ago - did Metro not check with them?

When I asked on Facebook what was happening with the M4 as it usually ran a Sunday service they explicitly told me that it would be a Saturday service.

If you use Metro's journey planner it gives you Saturday times for those routes.

I've since forwarded them a link to Burnley and Pendle's and Rosso's Easter news pages.

This is not the first year they've not included the M4 as an exception. Even if you know about it it's annoying as the Sunday bus times do have some co-ordination with the 66 from Keighley, but with one Sunday and one Saturday timetable there's several occasions where there's buses 2 minutes apart for several miles.

 

[Statto]

From Transdev own sites

Buses in Keighley over the bank holiday
Good Friday 19 April Saturday service, with some exceptions - see below
Saturday 20 April Normal Saturday service
Easter Sunday 21 April Normal Sunday service
Easter Monday 22 April Sunday service
Tuesday 23 April Buses return to normal

On Good Friday, there will be a Saturday service on buses in and around Keighley, with the exception of Mainline M4, which will be running to the Sunday timetable.

Transdev Harrogate

Buses in Harrogate over the bank holiday
Good Friday 19 April Saturday service, with some exceptions - see below
Saturday 20 April Normal Saturday service
Easter Sunday 21 April Normal Sunday service
Easter Monday 22 April Sunday service
Tuesday 23 April Buses return to normal

On Good Friday, we'll be running a Saturday service, but the late night buses on the 36 which would run on a normal Saturday won't be running (the 0120 and 0220 from Harrogate, and the 0015, 0115, 0215 and 0315 from Leeds).

Transdev Lancashire

Buses in Lancashire over the bank holiday
Good Friday 19 April Sunday service
Saturday 20 April Normal Saturday service
Easter Sunday 21 April Normal Sunday service
Easter Monday 22 April Sunday service
Tuesday 23 April Buses return to normal

Transdev Yorkshire

Buses in Yorkshire over the bank holiday
Good Friday 19 April Saturday service
Saturday 20 April Normal Saturday service
Easter Sunday 21 April Normal Sunday service
Easter Monday 22 April Sunday service
Tuesday 23 April Buses return to normal

 

[Deerfold]

From Transdev own sites

Quite. It should be easy for Metro to make sure they include the same information - it hadn't occurred to me that the late 36s would also not run.

 

[johntea]

To me that reads as they aren't running the late 36 buses on Good Friday (even though a 'Saturday service') but are running them as normal on Saturday

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Printed maps up to date to the latest service changes are now available for the seven West Yorkshire areas.

Get them whilst you still can!

I do imagine that Metro will retain the route maps for a while whilst everything else is shunted over to the operators, I'm just wondering when we start to see the operators own versions being introduced.

 

[Deerfold]

To me that reads as they aren't running the late 36 buses on Good Friday (even though a 'Saturday service') but are running them as normal on Saturday

Yes. Has anyone read it any other way?