Google Maps adds all UK public transport timetables Google Maps' UK edition now incorporates data on every train, bus, tram and ferry across England, Scotland and Wales. The Chocolate Factory is using Traveline's data to power its service, so now has access to the schedules of 1,500 operators, 1,700 routes and 330,000 bus stops, train stations and other transport hubs. …
I think you'll find my early play of the DLR rendered Tudor Court Rules obsolete (as they should be - but I'd rather not get into the politics of what should be an enjoyable game). As it looks like we're playing the National Variant, I think Robin's move stands. Although, as I'm sure you're aware, if we're not back in London in 6 turns, the whole game might be forfeit. And that's not good for any of us.
Let's play nice people.
@Phear46 - The improvisational game 'Mornington Crescent' was an integral part of a brilliant Radio 4 show callled 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue', originally hosted, superbly, by Humphrey Lyttelton. London Tube stations and other landmarks are the key features of the game, the goal of which is to 'arrive' at Mornington Crescent tube station via subtle and esoteric means. It was, is, and continues (I think), to be hilarious in every respect.
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It's simple:
"Britain" = Area covered by a wave of the hand over Map of Europe somewhere to the North-West of Belgium to distract the viewer while waver silently mouths the word "England".
"England" = 1. A small village in Shropshire where they still play cricket on a village green every Sunday. 2. Any number of sports teams drawn largely from places that don't actually exist, they being north of London, yet not in Scotland.
"London" = Ornate tax-haven for Russian oligarchs. When lit professionally, it looks a bit like Cardiff.
"Wales" = Rugged outcrop west of London. Locals friendly despite epidemic of nasal catarrh.
"Scotland" = Oilfield and country-sports resort off the northern coast of London. Invented everything important. Except whisky. They print their own special money to make sure none of it ever leaves the country.
"Northern Ireland" = Not actually part of Britain, except when it is. Populated by two factions, both of whom want to live in different countries, but who are afraid to leave in case the other changes its mind and stays. Sometimes mistakenly called "Ireland", which more correctly refers to "Ireland, the Republic of": a rustic revenue transit-point for American corporations, also vehemently not part of Britain, despite all cultural, sporting, commercial, legal and societal signs to the contrary.
Use of adjectives:
"British" = Scottish or Welsh or Northern Irish person who has just succeeded at something on the world stage; or English person who has spectacularly failed to do same.
"English" = English person who has just succeeded at something on the world stage.
"Scottish", "Welsh" = Scottish or Welsh person who has spectacularly failed and/or disgraced themselves on the world stage.
"Irish" = Warning: unless you've got documentary proof that you are talking about a citizen of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland, this word is best avoided, unless you actually intend to start a heated and pointless argument that will rage for days.
Note, none of these should be confused with the special noun, "Briton". This is reserved solely to describe a holder of a passport issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who has just come to a very sticky end very far from home.
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... and it's really true that not a lot of people know that.
During lulls in pub conversations, I've won several pints in bets with British mates by challenging them to correctly name the country printed on the front of their passports. Without exception, all of my non-techie mates fail miserably and have to stump up a pint. More surprisingly, a fair number of the nerds also fail.
As you can tell, I scintillate during boozing seshes.
"The name is "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", though I don't remember Northern Ireland being a separate kingdom in the past,"
That's because you are reading it as two Kingdoms, Great Britain and Northern Island, United together.
It's actually The United Kingdom of Great Britain + a bit offshore called Northern Island.
If you turn on the radio or TV, or maybe a computer which has an internet connection you might come across the odd article or news item related to Ye Olde Kingdom of Scotlande and how it might want to not be United any more with Ye Olde Kingdom of Englande. That might help explain the "United Kingdom" bit of the name.
..and it immediately shows up a flaw in our local bus services. Ask it to get me from Brackley to Brindleyplace in Birmingham for 8am and it says I have to leave at 20:10 the day before. The earliest it can get me here via public transport on the same day is 0930. This is because there's no early morning or late night bus service to Banbury after the council withdrew subsidies last year. Guess I'll have to stick to driving to the station :-/
Other than that I like the (perhaps pointless) way that it shows you the actual route you'll be taking (it even shows the train route, lol) but it'd be really nice if it gave the cost. Proper links to book tickets for the journeys might be good as well.
So thumbs up to Google. Thumbs down to my local bus services.
If they started running a direct Brackley to Banbury bus I might actually use it, but given it travels via every village on the way and takes 50mins (rather than 15 by car) there is no point. Ironic that HS2 (may) pass the outskirts of Brackley but will be completely useless to all of us commuting to London or Birmingham.
What we really need is the A422 dualling between Brackley and Banbury. That would finally bypass Farthinghoe (aka. 'Pothole Central') and would probably alleviate some of the traffic problems on J10 of the M40. And if it helps garner support I'd suggest dualling it in the other direction to Milton Keynes as well.
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"Its failing is trusting a 11's predicted arrival time."
I just tested it on Newcastle to South Shields. Apparently my best bet is to take the "subway". I'm not sure that the Tyneside Metro will take so long to get there that I need to buy a sandwich to sustain me on the journey.
I wonder if that's Google calling the Metro a "subway" or the source data? Either way, it's an error. In the UK, a subway is a pedestrian passage under a road or a particular sandwich retailer on the high street. It definitely ain’t a light railway, 99% of which is above ground.
..but it will it tell us the trains are still on running time despite not having them for 3 days the last heavy snowfall?
Certainly the rail companies were unable to do this. Simply due to the fact they were reaching that last point of the auto update system but getting no further and going back, so to the crappy automated system, they looked like they were all ok, in fact many were running 20 minutes ahead.
Google might not but try http://realtimetrains.co.uk - does a pretty good job of taking National Rail feeds, assembling them into something meaningful and (IME) accurate predictions for arrivals - and it does normally pick up on cancellations, even part way through a journey.
Useful extra is that it also confirms platforms for large stations long before the departure board will (well, at Euston it works).
[mobile apps are available for iPhone and Android]
No connection to the company other than a satisfied user.
..but it will it tell us the trains are still on running time despite not having them for 3 days the last heavy snowfall?
Or just a permanent note on Crosscountry trains arriving at New St from the north '(all times are approximate)'. I'm glad I switched to Chiltern to go back. It might be a bit late sometimes getting in but since it sits there for 10 minutes before 'turning round' it doesn't matter to me. It almost always leaves on time :)
...will it magically reduce the 3 -4 hours round trip it takes via public transport down to the 1 hour by car (which would be better if the $%^&*() buses didn't stop every 10m and reduce the price by about 75%?
Yet they still bloody bang on about how great public transport it. Try living NOT in a city.
Yep. I just checked my option for going to work via public transport. 37 miles to coventry. By car its about an hour. By public transport (3 buses and 2 trains plus some walking) an amazing 3 and a bit hours! In fact it takes just 3 minutes longer to cycle according to Google. I also bet that public transport jaunt would cost significantly more than the 6 Quid's worth of diesel each way I spend now.
I also bet that public transport jaunt would cost significantly more than the 6 Quid's worth of diesel each way I spend now.
That at least doesn't seem to apply for me. It's slightly cheaper to drive from home to Birmingham but only if you look at the obvious costs (petrol and parking). Factor in wear and tear and the train is cheaper even though I'm paying to park at the station. Plus considerably less hassle especially the return journey and only 15 minutes longer(*) and I can read for an hour. Mind you if I couldn't walk from the station to my office it'd be another matter.
(*)And in the evening train is probably quicker. I've not yet tried driving back from B'ham but I doubt it's going to be smooth sailing. When co-workers tell you it's best to head north to the M6 you know it's not going to be good :(
Nokia Who?
Probably the same Nokia app that used to tell me the best route from North Wales to Dumfries and Galloway was via the Mersey Tunnel.
It also used to tell me that the shortest route was via a ferry to Northern Ireland. I suppose in terms of reducing fuel costs it was. I always thought it amusing though the way it said 'At the dock, follow the ferry...'
Google also has ferry problems, it only knows some of them. Ask it for Bruges to Hull and it still takes you either via the channel tunnel, or Hook of Holland-Harwich, despite there being a very good Zeebrugge-Hull service.
The one that amuses me is Expedia, where the list of nearest alternative airports to Glasgow includes Belfast City...
Google has always had some transit information but this is a fully comprehensive and redesigned interface.
It has more complete information than Nokia including domestic ferries however Nokia includes live timetabling information which Google currently doesn't (only timetabled).
The BBC story on it has a lot more details and compares it to the competition.
QEII hospital in Welwyn Garden City (AL7 4HQ) is a pleasant brisk 20 minute walk from the train station eg starting the journey from SG6 3DD by rail. Traveline lets you tune the walking time parameters so that it gives the correct pedestrian alternative to a bus on that final leg of the journey.
The Google Maps Directions does not give the option of walking from the station on the final leg if you select "Public Transport".
If you select "Walk" then it thinks you want to walk the whole way - over 5 hours! If you select "Cycle" it again assumes you only want to do that - rather than sensibly hop on a train for most of the distance. You apparently cannot combine transport icons to indicate preferences.
Works fine for me, showing a combination of walking, buses and trains depending on how long it takes
Same here. The only combination not supported seems to be car and train. But the directions I got from my house to Brindleyplace include a reasonable set of walking instructions. It only offers the shortest route though and a 'better' route is through Paradise Forum since it's almost entirely pedestrianised all the way.
I've occasionally used the transit system in LA (which isn't all that bad) with the help of Google. Until today, Google Maps only really got the trains here in Manc, so this is a welcome (big) improvement. As others have said, Here Transit does this already (and thanks to work, I also carry a Windows Phone).
Would almost be useful if google maps didn't make up bus stops! A quick check near me and I can see 2 bus stops on google (with an unmarked comment for each) that don't exist. It's like someone has assumed bus stops always come in pairs and so they've put a stop on the opposite side of the road to a real one. No buses travel in the direction of these unmarked stops! The ones that are real do seem to hold information but whether it's correct is a matter of trial and error!
I believe that the Traveline bus stop data (on which presumably Google Maps have based their data) comes from NaPTAN (the National Public Transport Access Node dataset - http://www.dft.gov.uk/naptan/ ), so that should be kosher. Can you give some concrete examples of these fictitious stops? I'm not saying that they don't exist (or, uh, don't not exist), but I'd be curious to see where they are (or rather, aren't).
Traveline East Anglia does show the 173 bus using that stop going North.
http://www.travelineeastanglia.co.uk/
This may be incorrect but you can't blame Google for using data from the service providers if their own data is incorrect.
It's not as though Google is going to check every single bus stop personally to check they are correct?
But having said that, traveline-cymru.info seems to include all the public transport timetables already. It works out your journey and even includes the 2 minutes to walk from the bus stop to the train station. It also includes google maps, train fares, option to buy ticket etc.
I think they should sue Google!
You might want to reread "is using Traveline's data to power its service"
I think I'll still be using Traveline directly though, it's a hell of a lot more configurable. And believable, Google have a quite shocking history of not correcting errors in their maps.
Etymology: < Latin ēventus event n. + -ate suffix1; compare actuate.
First used in U.S., and still regarded as an Americanism, though it has been employed by good writers in England.
1. intr. To have a (specified) event or issue; to turn out (well or ill); to issue, result in.
1789 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) I. 313, I am sure it is wrong, and cannot eventuate well.
1836 M. Scott Cruise Midge~ xx. 364 The squib had eventuated, as the Yankees say..in a zigzag, or cracker.
1855 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity VI. xiv. iii. 474 The schoolmen could not but eventuate in William of Ockham.
1873 S. Smiles Huguenots in France (1881) ii. ii. 361 He heard..the discussions which eventuated in Acts of Parliament.
1877 A. J. Ross Mem. A. Ewing xxxi. 536 The crisis had eventuated favourably.
I could've sworn your comment stated "doesn't seem to exist in any dictionary, at least not a modern UK English dictionary". The qualifier seemingly sting that you only had access to a UK English Dictionary. If you knew it already existed in non-UK English dictionaries then the initial part of the sentence would be redundant?
However I think you'll find many suffixes not mentioned in a UK English dictionary and eventuates exists quite readily in the Oxford Dictionaries Online in UK English. Type eventuate and the different forms are shown, namely:
eventuate
eventuate in
eventuated
eventuated in
eventuates
eventuates in
They will not show separate definitions for all of these they just link through to the primary form - eventuate.
Waste of time for Sheffield's bus service, there's a timetable, it changes occasionally after they've "established passenger patterns", but the end result is the same; stand at the bus stop and hope.
The trams generally run to time, but rather cleverly don't go where most of the people live and are only useful to students as they pass the university and Meadowhall if you want all the shops that the city centre doesn't have (so everything aside from John Lewis). As for calling it South Yorkshire Supertram, that's only because Sheffield is in South Yorkshire, it doesn't mean the tram goes outside the boundaries of Sheffield.
"don't go where most of the people live"
That may be 'partly' true for the Hillsborough and Meadowhell routes but it's certainly not correct for the Halfway route which is very heavily used by those on the South side of the city.
Also, if you think the bus services in Sheffield are bad try living in South Devon which has similar problems but costs a helluva lot more to go anywhere.
Whilst the Traveline data is good for routes, it sucks monkey nuts at interconnects. I just calculated a route from a Midland Metro stop just outside Wolverhampton to Birmingham Airport. Now, there are two real public transport options for this route (excluding buses)...
1) Take the Midland Metro to Birmingham City Centre, walk across town to New Street, then take the train to the Airport.
2) Take the Midland Metro to Wolverhampton, walk to the train station, take the train to the Airport.
For the latter, it tells me to take the Metro into Wolverhampton, wait 10mins for a bus, spend 15mins doing a tour of Wolverhampton shitty centre, then walk from the bus stop to the train station, before continuing the journey on a proper train.
Now, anyone that knows Wolverhampton will tell you the walk from the Metro to the train station is 5-10mins, depending on how briskly you're perambulating.
I guess that leaves me with two suppositions - a) their interconnection data is crap, or b) their data takes account of local crime stats and is keen for you to avoid roaming the streets.
Google Maps updated. Check.
It isn't quite working here yet, and I have just used the bus service it doesn't know about. I can see the bus stop sign through the window.
Google Earth on my PC does show all the bus stops.
And, serious caution, there are timetable changes coming into effect this weekend.
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