Super Sign Set-up at Sidmouth (2)

You Do Have to Ask "Why Bother?"

How did reality compare with electronic on a damp, cold and blustery day (last Tuesday) as fbb shivered at Sidmouth's "Triangle" bus stands? The above list shows the timetable departures for just less than an hour.

This is what happened:-

 1015 

fbb arrives at the Triangle bus stops.

 1020 

The 1019 to Lyme Regis (but only going to "Marine Place" electronically) disappeared from the screens but no bus had appeared.

 1030  

Axe Valley's 899 to Seaton left on time.

 1038 

The 1037 to Exeter disappeared from the screen.

 1045 

The 1045 to Exmouth departed on time. The driver had announced that he would not be serving Otterton because of flooding.

In case you wondered, Sidmouth is the unmarked area above the coloured 9A, 9 and 157 blobs. Its name and location are a state secret.

Of course the bus still showed Otterton on its blind and the new electronic departure sign was ignorant of the unfortunate inundation.

 1045 

The 1037 to Exeter arrived.

fbb was so excited that he forgot to photograph the next arrival. But he did snap the next-but one which followed it.

 1050 

The 1049 to Honiton pulled in just as the time clicked to 1050 and the departure vanished from the screen. But, excitement mounted as ...

 1051 

The 1019 to Lyme Regis (sorry; to Marine Place) departed, 32 minutes late.

 1055 

The 1055 to Whimple departed on time.

 1208 

The 1207 to Exeter disappeared from the screens.

 1210 

The 1207 departed; as did fbb to join Mrs fbb and No 3 son for a bacon roll and a medium (i.e. large) coffee at Shauls.

 1230 

fbb's hands reappeared attached to the end of his arms.

As ALL these departures were presented in timetable time (e.g. 1049), the electronic sign was no use whatsoever. 

What puzzles fbb, a skilled (?) user of a smart phone, is why all this spiffing technology cannot be used to tell people what is actually happening. Forget about GPS and sustainable databases; just rig up a twitter feed to each electronic sign and publish corrections and updates.

Stagecoach (and others) are always extolling the virtues of their Twits and, presumably, paying people to send out messages like this:-

Stagecoach SouthWest ‏@StagecoachSW  6h6 hours ago
@VMHatfield I am very sorry to hear this, which scheduled service are you catching? Many thanks
0 replies . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply    Retweet    

In reply to Samantha Durston
Stagecoach SouthWest ‏@StagecoachSW  6h6 hours ago
@SamD83 I am very sorry to hear this, I have flagged delays with the depot and planning teams. Many thanks
0 replies . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply    Retweet    
  
Stagecoach SouthWest ‏@StagecoachSW  6h6 hours ago
#Plymouth The 10:00 Falcon Plymouth to Bristol is going to be delayed by 20 min. Apologies for this delay
0 replies . 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply    Retweet    

Stagecoach SouthWest ‏@StagecoachSW  7h7 hours ago
Morning everyone, I’m back online, let me know if I can help you with your travels.

So it ought to be very simple to get something like a Twit message to the bus stop screens. And there is that nice blank bit along the bottom to fill up!

Oh, of course - silly silly fbb.

The twittering comes from Stagecoach's plush offices, whilst the signs are run by Devon County Council's deep throat computer.

You wouldn't want to give those money grasping, profiteering folk from Stagecoach a link to the wonderful Devon system, now would you?

And the systems will surely be incompatible and/or managed by contractors; so a double whammy there!

By way of (non) explanation, here is one helpful twit:-

I've un-followed and re-followed now if you would like to try DMing again?

Probably best make an appointment with your GP or, if it gets worse, hurry down to A & E!

Silly Sign Set-up at Seaton?
fbb did promise a quick review of the newly operative Seaton sign BUT; the whole set up is so potty that it needs more investigation. Just as a taster, note the duplication on First's service X52 on Wednesday afternoon, last.

Both X52s to Bridport were scheduled for 1533. In case you wondered, loading is usually in single figures or less.

So more from Seaton's silly sign (is that the same as Marine Pace?) next week.

sn-Ap Stops
Sheffield Correspondent Roy asked a good question (see yesterday's blog).

An initial trawl by fbb did not reveal anything much but a deeper probing unearthed the following from the sn-Ap web site.

There is a warning, however; "coaches do not necessarily serve all stops". The service is book-ahead only via an App or in-line. The company is currently only offering departures for Thursday to Sunday inclusive.

And Absolutely Nowt to do with Public Transport

  Next Civility blog : Saturday 26th November