tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post6380122369529049581..comments2024-03-25T22:17:35.616+00:00Comments on Public Transport Experience: Customer Service or Dis-service [the sequel]fatbusblokehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833340546527596517noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-65607311726901625832013-12-08T20:47:22.548+00:002013-12-08T20:47:22.548+00:00Yes, calling your local station was a possibility ...Yes, calling your local station was a possibility I think until probably around the 1980s. Then I think there were a large number of more centralised locations, then Telephone Enquiry Bureaux (in BR Southern Region South West they were at least Salisbury (?), Bournemouth, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Southampton (where I joined in about 1991), then all those merged into Southampton over a period of years, then National Rail Enquiries was introduced which SWT at Southampton had the contract for for a while, then (after I left) I think they lost that and it went to India. Not sure where the calls are answered now!Stephennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-52820706805765604212013-12-08T16:54:41.813+00:002013-12-08T16:54:41.813+00:00Today, the summary on the SWT home page is showing...Today, the summary on the SWT home page is showing the West of England Line as "Part Closure", rather than "Good Service". I guess it should have been showing that yesterday as well. But even if it's correct, the summary is really only useful for seeing if there's a last-minute problem (same with JourneyCheck). For checking times before the day, I use the SWT online journey planner, but without actually buying a ticket in advance. It's certainly more difficult for those without access to the website - if only we could phone our local station to check times and fares....Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01965936499218384410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-45381343350390058012013-12-08T09:12:36.072+00:002013-12-08T09:12:36.072+00:00Agreed folks. But how do people cope if (a) thy ar...Agreed folks. But how do people cope if (a) thy are not "on-line" or (b) can't (time factor) or (c) forget! A one-stop page on he web-site would help a bit?fatbusblokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06833340546527596517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-51505925591977944902013-12-08T07:23:04.634+00:002013-12-08T07:23:04.634+00:00Fbb - a fairly straightforward procedure here woul...Fbb - a fairly straightforward procedure here would have avoided your problem. By booking the ticket in advance on the SWT website it would have told you that there was no 0629. Because the online rail booking systems require you to nominate a train, even for a fare type that is non-reservable or flexible, it would have shown you that the train was not running. Once a booking has been made the ticket can be printed out from any machine in the country that has a suitable printer (which is most staffed stations) at any time. <br />Whilst it is true that this won't guard against last minute operational cancellations you would at least be able to make travel arrangements around planned ones for engineering.<br />I would also recommend looking at one of the open source timetables, such as http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced<br />where you can see the whole picture of a service.Daddysgadgetshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12892897553855129226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-75629286643942362392013-12-08T03:19:18.815+00:002013-12-08T03:19:18.815+00:00I see what happened - you read the information in ...I see what happened - you read the information in the 'special' box for works over a wider period but forgot (or assumed you didn't need) to check the weekly 'engineering works' info. An unfortunate coincidence is that this weekend both hold relevant info and the 'special' box's reassurance about no weekend works is, while strictly correct, absent of a helpful cross-reference to other work affecting the same line.<br /><br />Incidentally, the December Summary http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/DecEng2013.aspx#130494 holds the useful full timetable for the line for Saturday and Sunday with replacement buses (linked in your blog) but in the date-specific entry (using the calendar) http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/engineeringwork.aspx?date=07/12/2013 these timetables are absent and you are directed to the National Rail journey planner. I much prefer the timetable as it gives a clearer picture of the service across the day / weekend, and what bits are 'different from normal', both of which are unclear from a date-and-time-specific journey planner query.Stephennoreply@blogger.com