Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How well do London buses match the timetables?

michalpaszkiewicz.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 60 posts

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#31

Post by YayamiOmate »

I've noticed this when riding on a long tram lane which is supposed to be a fast track and a transfer one. So I prefer more often trams, because it means less people.

I've also noticed that I dont have to remember timetable because it's basically organized in so-much-trams-per-hour, so it's 20mins or 15, 12 etc. So I just need to remeber a minute-offset and an interval.

As a side effect, i've noticed that at rush hour when interval is 5 mins the timetable stops to have meaning because tram can be within -1 to +3 of timetable arrival, that means it can be virtullay any time. Also, I should wait max abt 5 minutes.

I think that intervals vs arrival time change meaningfullness as a relation of interval vs timetable confidence, and passenger travel time confidence for that matter. If you can't plan your arrival at the stop better than +-1min you don't need exact times for 5-6 minute intervals. For 60min it probably makes sense. I guess one could derive good metrics for this.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#32

Post by carlob »

michjedi wrote: post #29
carlob wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Rome. Here we have a schedule for departures, and real time tracking. The schedule for departures is a lie, meaning that any given departure can be canceled without notice, so unless a bus has already left the terminus you cannot be sure it ever will. So I'm guessing our public transportation works worse than the one the author describes in Rwanda.

Interesting! How do you usually plan your journey in Rome, and how often does your journey work out like the plan?

I walk out of my place, if I see a bus is approaching I might jump on it otherwise I'll use the subway or a car sharing platform.

Consider that:

* I'm one of the few people in this city to be in walking distance from a subway station (blame it on archeology)

* Car sharing can be cost effective compared to public transportation: it costs 20-30 cents per minute, so if your trip is 10-15 minutes and you're traveling with another person the car is faster and cheaper.

* The only reason I consider the bus at all compared to the subway is because the stop is literally at my doorstep.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#33

Post by zerocrates »

ben_w wrote: post #15
NullPrefix wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If I recall correctly, calorie values on nutrition boxes are the same, at least in the US: a 100 calorie snack bag will have at least 100 calories, because the FDA mandates that the seller should be at minimum providing what it claims. Check out our new BigMac Zero. At least zero calories.

You jest, but TicTacs are allowed to be labelled “sugar free” despite being 91.3% sugar because, to quote, “the amount of sugar per serving (1 mint) is less than 0.5 grams, FDA labeling requirements permit the Nutrition Facts to state that there are 0 grams of sugar per serving“ - https://www.tictacusa.com/en/faq

You could easily notice this same thing in the early days of trans fat removal from product: it was common to see labels and nutrition panels touting "0g trans fats" but have partially hydrogenated oils pretty high up the ingredients list: again mostly on the back of a small serving size. I suppose it's still around in some product categories.

I don't recall ever seeing Tic Tacs actually claim "sugar free," though. "Zero grams" is allowed and most people read it the same way, while "sugar free" actually has some more requirements to be able to use.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#34

Post by tialaramex »

The buses and underground in central London do have real timetables by the way, but they're primarily for the operators.

If you drive buses or trains you want to know when your service is supposed to start and how long it's supposed to take to get where it's going. But for passengers this is a metro service (except for the first and last services on routes which shut overnight) so they don't care if this is an 1105 running two minutes early or an 1100 running three minutes late.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#35

Post by benj111 »

ben_w wrote: post #15
NullPrefix wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If I recall correctly, calorie values on nutrition boxes are the same, at least in the US: a 100 calorie snack bag will have at least 100 calories, because the FDA mandates that the seller should be at minimum providing what it claims. Check out our new BigMac Zero. At least zero calories.

You jest, but TicTacs are allowed to be labelled “sugar free” despite being 91.3% sugar because, to quote, “the amount of sugar per serving (1 mint) is less than 0.5 grams, FDA labeling requirements permit the Nutrition Facts to state that there are 0 grams of sugar per serving“ - https://www.tictacusa.com/en/faq

So Nutrition facts can round to the nearest gram despite allowing servings to be less than a gram? What a well thought out policy.

Ps I thought the US used imperial measures, why are grams getting used?

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#36

Post by chrisseaton »

jnty wrote: post #6

On trains and planes, my main critieria is that I arrive by the stated arrival time and therefore am pretty unfussed by stories about padding time etc - that's more of a long term structural concern than something that will bother me on the day. I think operators have figured this is all most people really care about over time (perhaps excepting highly competitive routes.) You lose this ability to check timings with…

Right - the arrival time is a no-later-than and that’s all I need. People complain about leaving a gate in an aeroplane and then sitting on the apron for a bit - who cares if you’re on the ground or in the air or even going backwards - I just care about my arrival time and don’t mind what you do as long as you hit that.

I use a flight that’s regularly delayed by half an hour but still gets there half an hour early. Whatever - I make my connection every time.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#37

Post by tobylane »

jnty wrote: post #6

On trains and planes, my main critieria is that I arrive by the stated arrival time and therefore am pretty unfussed by stories about padding time etc - that's more of a long term structural concern than something that will bother me on the day. I think operators have figured this is all most people really care about over time (perhaps excepting highly competitive routes.) You lose this ability to check timings with…

https://citymapper.com/directions?endcoord=51.50343%2C-0.113...

I picked this route (between two major London stations) because there are several routes that use two tube lines. Next to the estimated time there's a faint yellow wifi-like symbol. If you click on any one of the options there's a yellow background section with the time to next three trains. The timings are based on both the timetable and the reality of a turn up and go service.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#38

Post by michjedi »

tobylane wrote: post #37
jnty wrote: post #6

On trains and planes, my main critieria is that I arrive by the stated arrival time and therefore am pretty unfussed by stories about padding time etc - that's more of a long term structural concern than something that will bother me on the day. I think operators have figured this is all most people really care about over time (perhaps excepting highly competitive routes.) You lose this ability to check timings with…

https://citymapper.com/directions?endcoord=51.50343%2C-0.113... I picked this route (between two major London stations) because there are several routes that use two tube lines. Next to the estimated time there's a faint yellow wifi-like symbol. If you click on any one of the options there's a yellow background section with the time to next three trains. The timings are based on both the timetable and the reality of…

CityMapper are doing a really great job. Have you been tempted by their new card?

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#39

Post by cosmodisk »

It'd be interesting to see how train companies perform. They publish stats based on destinations. I take train to work and so it happens that it also goes to the airport. If the train is delayed more 10 min, they'd cancel smaller stations and go right to the airport. I wonder how this gets reflected on their stats of which I'm very skeptical to start with.

Re: How well do London buses match the timetables?

#40

Post by bluGill »

chrisseaton wrote: post #36
jnty wrote: post #6

On trains and planes, my main critieria is that I arrive by the stated arrival time and therefore am pretty unfussed by stories about padding time etc - that's more of a long term structural concern than something that will bother me on the day. I think operators have figured this is all most people really care about over time (perhaps excepting highly competitive routes.) You lose this ability to check timings with…

Right - the arrival time is a no-later-than and that’s all I need. People complain about leaving a gate in an aeroplane and then sitting on the apron for a bit - who cares if you’re on the ground or in the air or even going backwards - I just care about my arrival time and don’t mind what you do as long as you hit that. I use a flight that’s regularly delayed by half an hour but still gets there half an hour early. W…

I also care about departure time. If I arrive with one minute to spare (counting security and check in) but the plane leaves 2 minutes early I don't get their on time through no fault of my own. If I'm even a second late I accept it is my fault.
Post reply on HN