So many announcements, so few people taking them on board

[Lewisham2221]

Do they win? If so, how come the councils don't make any effort to clear the pavements? Perhaps paying out the occasional lawsuit is cheaper than doing so? But this just shows how ridiculous the world has become. Even a small child understands that ice is slippery.

My local council makes some attempt at gritting some of the City Centre pavements/pedestrianised areas. However, I'm sure I heard that by attempting to clear the pavements you become responsible if somebody does still fall, but if you leave them alone it's an act of nature/god and therefore you are not liable. That could just be an urban myth though.

I've fairly recently noticed some workplace car parks featuring small, automated, signs at the entrance which illuminate to indicate when the car park may be icy. Surely anybody who has already driven from their home to their workplace car park should already be well aware of the road/weather conditions??

 

[BayPaul]

I would love to see some coordinated passenger action against ridiculous announcements. If thousands of passengers agreed that every time they heard "if you see something that doesn't look right text btp..." they would send a friendly text pointing out the nearest minor fault on the train they are in "Hi BTP, there's chewing gum on the seat next to mine, it doesn't look right so I'm texting like the announcement suggested" then they might just turn it off when their system self destructs.

 

[Buzby]

I recall a car owner sued the Council after driving through a Ford and wrecking his engine - his argument was the Council should have closed the road due to the night of the water level. The Council defended on the basis that a ‘reasonable person’ would have found an alternative route.

The court agreed.

 

[jrh2254]

Personally I think people take notice of human announcements, but the automated stuff, most people just zone out as its so darn reptitive and monotonous.

Agree, but I always find that when the human announcements start I am in a carriage where the audio is poor!

 

[Highview]

TfL uses mystery shoppers to assess announcements on the Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line trains. It's a major project which sees hundreds of train journeys assessed each month.

 

[Dr_Paul]

I would love to see some coordinated passenger action against ridiculous announcements. If thousands of passengers agreed that every time they heard "if you see something that doesn't look right text btp..." they would send a friendly text pointing out the nearest minor fault on the train they are in "Hi BTP, there's chewing gum on the seat next to mine, it doesn't look right so I'm texting like the announcement suggested" then they might just turn it off when their system self destructs.

Yes, indeed. Just after having been subjected for what must have been the tenth time to that 'Sorted' announcement on my way up to Waterloo, I saw something that certainly didn't look right -- a couple of 455s on a Reading service. Just as well that I don't have a mobile telephone...

 

[185]

I've heard this too, but I still don't think it's needed

The large amount of passengers overcarried from two towns either side of your own, (when left solely to the automated announcements) speaks for itself.

This also causes passcoms / door egresses to be pulled often causing the door to break and ultimately the train to fail. The train is then either cancelled, or run so late that the intermediate stops end up cancelled - I think the residents of three towns in Staffordshire, including your own will disagree with you on this one. Like it or not, the people running that business specify a manual announcement should also be made by the guard, as mentioned earlier on in the thread.

 

[Dr_Paul]

For a few months a couple of years back, bus passengers in London were entertained (if that's the right word) by an automated message advising them to hold on tight as the bus is ready to move off, which usually came over the tannoy when the bus was already accelerating away from the stop.

 

[al78]

My local council makes some attempt at gritting some of the City Centre pavements/pedestrianised areas. However, I'm sure I heard that by attempting to clear the pavements you become responsible if somebody does still fall, but if you leave them alone it's an act of nature/god and therefore you are not liable. That could just be an urban myth though.

It is an urban myth. You won't be sued for clearing snow or attempting to deice the pavement outside your house unless it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt you did it in a way that increased the risk to pedestrians.

Clearing your path or driveway - the snow code

Clearing snow and ice from the pavement outside your home or public spaces can help prevent slips and falls. Here's some handy advice issued by the Department for Transport.

www.metoffice.gov.uk

People have a responsibility to themselves to be careful when walking on snow and ice.

 

[Russel]

The large amount of passengers overcarried from two towns either side of your own, (when left solely to the automated announcements) speaks for itself.

This also causes passcoms / door egresses to be pulled often causing the door to break and ultimately the train to fail. The train is then either cancelled, or run so late that the intermediate stops end up cancelled - I think the residents of three towns in Staffordshire, including your own will disagree with you on this one. Like it or not, the people running that business specify a manual announcement should also be made by the guard, as mentioned earlier on in the thread.

How many were overcarried because they had headphones on or had their face buried in their mobile phones so wouldn't have been paying attention to any announcements anyway?

 

[SCDR_WMR]

How many were overcarried because they had headphones on or had their face buried in their mobile phones so wouldn't have been paying attention to any announcements anyway?

A similar number to those who stand at the doorways in coach 5, or state they weren't listening to the announcement.

 

[moonarrow458]

It's really high time the ORR ran a human factors based investigation into the safety case and effectiveness of announcements on the UK rail network (including TfL routes). I would argue the frequency of announcements do indeed reduce the safety and usability of the network.
TfL in particular are appalling on stations, with continuous drivel playing over the PA at the vast majority of stations on the tube and Overground network for no reason other than the fact that they can, it appears to me.

The Victoria line can be particularly frustrating on weekends where they insist on announcing the ovrground service is part suspended at Euston, Highbury & Islington, Seven Sisters, Walthamstow Central, with seperste announcements fpr each and then repeated at each station.

Meanwhile the Bakerloo lines 72 stock has the opposite issue where very often the announcements are so faint or muffled by the speakers that you cannot hear or understand what is being said. This applies to both manual announcements by the driver and the regular automatic ones. Which is actually a bit disconcerting in the event of an emergency occuring with the train stopped in a tunnel and passengers nit being able to hear or understand the announcenents. That i imagine could make for quite a dangerous situation (think passengers self-detraining due to lack of audible information after an extended period of time etc). So if anything its more surprsing the ORR havent investigated TFL for that. One would hope the issues with the bakerloo lines PA system are being adressed with the current refurbishment programme.

It's actually worse in Europe, certainly on the international trains, because all announcements have to be delivered in two or three languages. At least we don't have that pandering here....

Having travelled on a regional DB service in germany with a series of connections to get from Saarbrucken to Frankfurt Hahn airport in time for a flight it was very disconcerting and worrying when we were stopped for nearly 45 minutes and the only announcements were made in German, with my very limited german proficiency not being adequate for the situation. As such i was incredibly stressed as it was the first leg of multiple and i didnt want to miss the flight, i was lucky enough to locate the guard (thankfully there was one) and she was happy to explain the situation in English and my onward travel options as the train was being terminated early, but i certainly would have appreciated an announcenent in English as well, not just german. Id hardly call it pandering but rather sensible customer service, not all passengers will be familiar with the native language, certainly not tourists, and in countries like Switzerland or Belgium where there are several native languages not all people will necessarily know for example french and thus announcements in for example german/dutch are neccessary.

 

[Bikeman78]

I recall a car owner sued the Council after driving through a Ford and wrecking his engine - his argument was the Council should have closed the road due to the night of the water level. The Council defended on the basis that a ‘reasonable person’ would have found an alternative route.

The court agreed.

It wasn't Rufford ford by any chance? For anyone unfamiliar, look it up on Youtube. Hours of entertainment. No doubt these are the type of idiots that crash their car when it's cold.

 

[Buzby]

I believe it was - but the gender of the driver escaped me…..

 

[TUC]

It's equally some of the signs in stations that are unnecessary. When I see signs such as 'hold the handrail', I think 'why do you think this staircase was built to be 15 feet wide? There wouldn't have been much point if everyone holds the handrail'.

 

[Russel]

It's equally some of the signs in stations that are unnecessary. When I see signs such as 'hold the handrail', I think 'why do you this staircase was built to be 15 feet wide? There wouldn't have been much point if everyone holds the handrail'.

Same goes for the "During todays wet weather..." announcements, I've just walked to the station in the rain, I'm not sure how I managed it without someone with a megaphone following me, reminding me to take extra care...

 

[Fermiboson]

Was just at Sheffield station, where an announcement about a TPE cancellation of some sort (the announcement was manual, so I assume it was about disruption of some sort, although to be honest all I heard was TPE) was entirely covered up by a minute-long diatribe about see it say it sorted, wet weather, and CCTVs in continuum. A lot of confused and concerned passengers at platform 2 resulted. Still not sure if anyone has bothered to properly inform said passengers of any goings-on.

 

[Taunton]

SWR are particularly bad at this. Some years ago (it might actually have been SWT) I listened and noted that the automated announcements never stopped at all from before the doors closed at Waterloo until after we had left Vauxhall. It was literally continuous.

So of course our minds tune them out.

Once on SWR having got as far as Woking trying to get further westwards, some disorganisation meant no services were operating, and a large crowd developed from various Portsmouth line trains. Suddenly there was a serious-sounding PA, boomed out in basso profundo voice..

"May I have your attention please, this is an important announcement ...".

The platform went quiet to listen.

"... Please keep your luggage with you at all times".

Meanwhile, trains on the Windsor Lines do not quite fit certain stations. Instead of telling everyone for these minor stations to travel in the first seven cars, there is a lengthy string about which stations passengers should be in the first seven cars, which stations should be in the first eight cars, and which stations should be in the first nine cars.

I think someone may have fallen on the new footbridge at Slough station. There are now multiple recorded announcements at top and bottom of each set of stairs to "take care and hold the handrail at ALL times". These seem to have been a sales success for the vendor of motion-activation, as they are triggered by anyone near these stairs, and are loud enough for each, triggered at different times, to completely overwrite one another into a babble from different directions. The handrail issue must be particularly important, because a cleaner has also been engaged, seemingly full time, to go up and down the stairs, cleaning and polishing the handrails. Of course, with them being there constantly polishing, it is now impossible to go down the stairs without letting go to go around them ...

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Meanwhile, trains on the Windsor Lines do not quite fit certain stations. Instead of telling everyone for these minor stations to travel in the first seven cars, there is a lengthy string about which stations passengers should be in the first seven cars, which stations should be in the first eight cars, and which stations should be in the first nine cars.

There is an incorrect announcement that plays once per hour at Blackburn, Accrington, ect through to Wigan Wallgate, it announces Pemberton, Orrel, Upholland and Rainford as being too short for the platforms (despite 4 cars fitting in Pemberton most of the time) but ignoring the fact that all of the time the back two cars are locked out and someone going to Headbolt Lane wouldn't be allowed in there beyond Wigan.

 

[nanstallon]

I long for the good old days when you could settle into your seat and enjoy the journey, even have a conversation with a fellow passenger. Nowadays, that is impossible with the constant barrage of loudspeaker crap.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I long for the good old days when you could settle into your seat and enjoy the journey, even have a conversation with a fellow passenger. Nowadays, that is impossible with the constant barrage of loudspeaker crap.

How loud are the announcements where you are?
People almost always are talking over the announcements, makes it very annoying when I'm trying to listen to a manual announcement, which are usually quieter than the automatic ones.

 

[Bikeman78]

It's equally some of the signs in stations that are unnecessary. When I see signs such as 'hold the handrail', I think 'why do you this staircase was built to be 15 feet wide? There wouldn't have been much point if everyone holds the handrail'.

That's a good point. The new stairways at Reading at the south end of the footbridge are very wide. You could probably have four abreast and the two people in the middle will be nowhere near a handrail. I whizz up and down stairs two at a time. I have done since I was a teenager; it's never done me any harm. Some people are just accident prone. I know someone that has twice broken her ankle walking in her garden!

 

[johnnychips]

Was just at Sheffield station, where an announcement about a TPE cancellation of some sort (the announcement was manual, so I assume it was about disruption of some sort, although to be honest all I heard was TPE) was entirely covered up by a minute-long diatribe about see it say it sorted, wet weather, and CCTVs in continuum. A lot of confused and concerned passengers at platform 2 resulted. Still not sure if anyone has bothered to properly inform said passengers of any goings-on.

You were very privileged. I have been using the station for about four years, and have only ever heard one manual announcement at the height of the floods about two years ago. Sorry you couldn’t hear it properly.

Seriously, the floods caused problems for about three days, and the auto announcement was just coming out with a lot of contradictory or irrelevant rubbish. This was in contrast to Doncaster, where the manual announcer gave clear information and advice. Of course, he’s been replaced now.

 

[renegademaster]

Probally be an unpopular opinion but 61016 annoucments should stay , even if toned down a bit. Good to keep the awareness up and theirs always tourists and first time public transport users

 

[Taunton]

The way in which obscure departments of Health & Safety, Security, and such like have been allowed to penetrate passenger information systems does need to be controlled by the operational side of the railway. Here on the DLR the platform train indicators, showing the next three trains, now have lines two and three grabbed much of the time by a scrolling string of autobabble about wet weather, 61016, and other trivia. If these organisations want to do notices they can put up their own displays, rather than remove useful passenger information.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Probally be an unpopular opinion but 61016 annoucments should stay , even if toned down a bit. Good to keep the awareness up and theirs always tourists and first time public transport users

In fairness, I'd say that's who the vast majority of announcements are aimed at - 1st time users, or certainly non-regular travellers.

Of course those who use the same trains every day will ask what is the point as they know the line(s) and likely any specifically mandated manual announcements. They just need to suck it up for those that DON'T know.

 

[talldave]

Probally be an unpopular opinion but 61016 annoucments should stay , even if toned down a bit. Good to keep the awareness up and theirs always tourists and first time public transport users

Well do it without the childish catchphrase then! We're grown ups who don't need patronising drivel 24/7.

One day I might find out what impersonal belongings are; better still, leave some on a train!

 

[renegademaster]

Well do it without the childish catchphrase then! We're grown ups who don't need patronising drivel 24/7.

One day I might find out what impersonal belongings are; better still, leave some on a train!

The fact "see it , say it , sorted" is such a hated phrase has proved that its done what DfT intend it to do, get stuck in people's heads. Catchphrases are a well proven marketing technique

 

[thelongestroad]

Nothing more annoying that the announcements at platform 13/14 at Piccadilly.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Victoria District and Circle line announcements are a stuff of legend. Literally every second of silence is filled with a random assortment of announcements declaring the station is officially step free, inclement weather, we want everyone travelling with us to feel safe, the next District Line train to... rinse and repeat.

What's happening at platforms 5/6 at Clapham Junction? That platform has always attracted a rather heavy staff presence even when I was going that way to school in the 2000s, but lately there seems to be some kind of agency present - about 3 members of staff in high-vis jackets patrolling the platform. One with a loudspeaker constantly telling people to stand behind the yellow line. Constantly. Then pleading with people not to approach the arriving train before it makes a full stop at the platform. Erm...