Timetables turned

As a resident I use the buses round Edinburgh a lot and I often chat to fellow passengers. Recently a recurring topic of conversation has been the bus information screens which are found at many bus stops around Edinburgh. The screens used to carry information about the actual whereabouts of buses in terms of minutes from that stop. Thus if a bus had been delayed you could see how long you have to wait for it, or if a bus was running to time you could see that fact confirmed on the screen. The information service was called the bus tracker and it worked well.

However, it has been replaced by a new service which does not provide such useful information. It merely shows you the bus timetable and lists the buses which are supposed to arrive at that bus stop. Buses rise to the top of the screen as their supposed time of arrival approaches. Once the set time of arrival has passed, that bus disappears off the screen – even though the actual bus may just be a few minutes behind schedule and will turn up very soon.

The new system looks very shiny and hi-tech, but it is not half as good as the old bus tracker. Chatting to fellow passengers, everyone says that the old bus tracker provided useful information whereas the new system is more of a source of misinformation. No doubt the new system has cost a fortune to install, but since it is less efficient than the old bus tracker which it has replaced, it is clearly nothing more than a costly mistake. Bring back the old bus tracker!

Les Reid Edinburgh