Are too loud and too many PRM alarms and announcements making travellers uptight.....

[Peter Sarf]

Good grief, that really is bad. I don't know how the poor drivers put up with that rubbish I really don't, bad enough for the long suffering pax as well of course.

My spotify subscription and decent earphones are always with me when out and about on public transport!

On my first journey there were a few passengers looking around at each other in disbelief. TBH a lot of passengers seemed oblivious - and that, I fear, says a lot about how much point there is in any announcements. I try to switch off my brain so that I do not hear the loud door beeps and on single deck buses the rather piercing window rattles as they resonate with the engine.

 

[robbeech]

You've given me a good chuckle with your very matter of fact announcements. Reminds me of the time I was flying with Iberia from Madrid to Malaga and the captain's announcements were very matter of fact. Upon taxing to the runway he simply said "Take off is imminent" and before landing he said "landing is imminent" no pleasantries at all. Quite unnerving if you missed the first part and just heard "imminent!" Glad I'm not a nervous flyer!

Apologies if this has been covered I sadly don’t currently have the time to read the whole topic but felt I should add this point here.

This is a crucial point that you may have said partially in jest but it goes a long way to working out how to improve announcements. For reference I agree there is a problem with announcements and when I have a little more time I will go into detail about why I think it is from my point of view with my experience in all things audible.

‘Bong’ Beeston

as an example is not a good announcement on arrival at Beeston. We have to focus our hearing at a given source and our brains can take a few milliseconds to ‘latch onto’ the thing we are listening to. With a higher noise floor (busy train, lots of people, poor quality PA system and so on) it can increase this time further. A couple of what might be called throw away words infront can help massively in this case.
‘Bong’ this is Beeston would normally be sufficient.
Of course, you can argue that you’d get away with ‘Coatbridge Sunnyside’ as you’d be tuned in by Sunnyside but there has to be a standard.

 

[Matt_pool]

Northern are very consistent with their announcements at my local station.

A couple of minutes before the train is due you will hear:

"The next train to depart from platform 2 is the xx:12 to Liverpool Lime Street. This train has 2 carriages."

10 seconds later:

"We are sorry but the xx:12 is currently running 4 minutes late. See it, say it, sorted!".

Then it turns up 8 minutes late and it's a Pacer on it's last legs!

I was on Northern 156 yesterday and that stupid alarm that goes off when the doors close sounded like an air raid siren!

And whenever the train pulls into Lime Street the conductor always announces "We are now approaching Liverpool Lime Street where this train terminates. Please don't forget to take all of your bags and personal belongings with you".

Really, I thought you were going to carry on through the buffers to Queen Square bus station. And if you must know, I was actually going to leave my bag on the train and collect it later after I've done my shopping. While we're at it, can you look after my granny and my iPhone too? I'll only be a couple of hours!

 

[Allwinter_Kit]

'Please take all your belongings with you' is such a pointless announcement I wish they'd give it up.

It's just background noise that most people tune out. I'm yet to see any body suddenly rush back and grab an umbrella/suitcase/small child from the overhead rack upon hearing it...

 

[mpthomson]

'Please take all your belongings with you' is such a pointless announcement I wish they'd give it up.

It's just background noise that most people tune out. I'm yet to see any body suddenly rush back and grab an umbrella/suitcase/small child from the overhead rack upon hearing it...

It's a reminder that's sensible at the moment due to the security threat. Last thing that anyone needs on a railway (or anywhere) is all the embuggerance that an abandoned case would cause in terms of response in a busy terminal station.

 

[NSE]

As someone who has negotiated many world Metro systems (most recently Tokyo and Seoul) where the only the English announcements are ‘This Station is’ and ‘Change for X Line’, I agree.

I feel sorry for the foreign travelers listening out for the next station and all they can hear is ‘see it, say it and sort it blah blah blah’. My own personal hate though is ‘due to today’s inclement weather’. Inclement?! I don’t know anyone that uses that word. What’s wrong with ‘poor’ or ‘bad’.

 

[goblinuser]

The tone of voice, speed, and accent has a huge influence on how annoying an announcement is.
For example, I often hear people complaining about excessive announcements. But the woman who does the Southeastern announcements speaks so calmly that I enjoy listening to the personal belongings reminders and the list of each and every station.
The same cannot be said for the woman who does the London Buses audio announcements, which are very annoying.

 

[Dougal2345]

There's an announcement on the GWR 158s, played when the train has just stopped, that goes something like "Please do not board or alight from this train, when the doors are closing".

The problem is that it starts with a prohibition, and takes a long time to get to the 'doors are closing' bit... so passengers departing the train tend to stop and look anxious as they hear "Please do not board or alight from this train!", wondering what kind of emergency is happening...

 

[PHILIPE]

Although off topic, automated messages and announcements are not confined to the Rail industry. If you require to call our Out Of Hours Doctor service, you have to listen to 5 minutes of automated waffle before getting anywhere. "Ifxxxx If xxxxx and on and on.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Slightly off-topic, but one never knows whether it might become relevant if railway companies start doing it. On London buses we are now regaled at each stop with an announcement: 'Please hold on, the bus is about to move.' I know that in the old days the conductor would call out 'Hold tight!' when he or she rang the bell, but each time I've been on a bus when this new call has been broadcast, it's been after the bus has already started moving forward, which makes it rather redundant.

 

[robbeech]

Incorrect timing of automated announcements is a little annoying. It would be somewhat folly to expect it to be perfect but on some services it is very poor. Your example of a vehicle beginning to move before an announcement stating this is all too common.
‘This is xxxxx’ I have heard more than once as you leave said station.
‘We will shortly be arrive at yyyyy’ With the doors already open.
This is not really related to the world famous ‘the next station is Hendon’ for every station on the line as that is clearly a fault with the system.

 

[Lockwood]

Although off topic, automated messages and announcements are not confined to the Rail industry. If you require to call our Out Of Hours Doctor service, you have to listen to 5 minutes of automated waffle before getting anywhere. "Ifxxxx If xxxxx and on and on.

Call the AA. Listen to a huge lecture on why you should get their app.

 

[js1000]

The sound level of the opening/closing door alarms on some trains now are ridiculous. OTT and excessive. If I was blind they'd give me a fright - rather than actually helping me be aware of the door opening/closing.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Slightly off-topic, but one never knows whether it might become relevant if railway companies start doing it. On London buses we are now regaled at each stop with an announcement: 'Please hold on, the bus is about to move.' I know that in the old days the conductor would call out 'Hold tight!' when he or she rang the bell, but each time I've been on a bus when this new call has been broadcast, it's been after the bus has already started moving forward, which makes it rather redundant.

Yep, I mentioned those pesky bus announcements up thread yesterday (post 146, first one on 15/01/2018). Fairly sure they usually come just after the bus has completed the change into second gear from first !. Very rarely before the bus has moved !.

 

[Chris M]

As for the bus announcements, it seems it's played a set amount of time after the route and destination. Most of the time this means that it plays when the bus is moving, but I've also heard it when the bus has moved and is now sitting at a red light and wont be moving for 2 minutes, and even when people are still boarding (3 times yesterday - once where the driver was waiting for an infirm gentleman to make it from the front door to his seat, once when a buggy was being manhandled onto the bus and once when there was simply a lot of people boarding).
Sometimes the announcement runs into the name of the next stop so you get things like "Please hold on the bus is about to move Canary Wharf Station"

 

[Domh245]

Please hold on the bus is about to move Canary Wharf Station

I'd wager that it'd take more than one bus to move Canary Wharf Station (either in passenger numbers of physically relocating it!)

 

[Lockwood]

Challenge accepted

 

[al78]

It's a reminder that's sensible at the moment due to the security threat. Last thing that anyone needs on a railway (or anywhere) is all the embuggerance that an abandoned case would cause in terms of response in a busy terminal station.

If someone has left their belongings, is it more likely than not that it is down to carelessness, rather than deliberately leaving it there? Do announcements help to combat carelessness at all?

 

[GW43125]

Call the AA. Listen to a huge lecture on why you should get their app.

I see your AA call system, and raise you a Pendolino toilet...

 

[TUC]

Good grief, that really is bad. I don't know how the poor drivers put up with that rubbish I really don't, bad enough for the long suffering pax as well of course.

My spotify subscription and decent earphones are always with me when out and about on public transport!

What is needed on all buses is not 'about to move' announcements but rather announcements of the next stop on each occasion. London and a few other places have them, but that should be required everyehere to support independance and accessibility.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I'd wager that it'd take more than one bus to move Canary Wharf Station (either in passenger numbers of physically relocating it!)

Noooo, you cannot do that - its incitement (well excitement then !).

As for the bus announcements, it seems it's played a set amount of time after the route and destination. Most of the time this means that it plays when the bus is moving, but I've also heard it when the bus has moved and is now sitting at a red light and wont be moving for 2 minutes, and even when people are still boarding (3 times yesterday - once where the driver was waiting for an infirm gentleman to make it from the front door to his seat, once when a buggy was being manhandled onto the bus and once when there was simply a lot of people boarding).
Sometimes the announcement runs into the name of the next stop so you get things like "Please hold on the bus is about to move Canary Wharf Station"

Had a good/bad example this morning. I noticed the doors still open as the please hold on announcement played. The announcement was immediately followed by the one along the lines of "the bus will wait here for a while to regulate the service" !.

Apparently its been rolled out across the whole of London btw !.

 

[BluePenguin]

I saw on the news the other day that currently the delayed timing of the bus announcements is because they rely on the current stop the bus is at. They are going to change this so that the announcement only starts to play when the doors close but a few seconds before the wheels start to turn. I am pleased that TfL are actually taking onboard feedback people have given them unlike many of the TOCs that run the trains.

Here is a clip if anyone wants to watch it for themselves:

 

[lammergeier]

I saw on the news the other day that currently the delayed timing of the bus announcements is because they rely on the current stop the bus is at. They are going to change this so that the announcement only starts to play when the doors close but a few seconds before the wheels start to turn. I am pleased that TfL are actually taking onboard feedback people have given them unlike many of the TOCs that run the trains.

Here is a clip if anyone wants to watch it for themselves:

Do people really need to be told that a bus is about to move? I can't understand why one would need to be told that a bus was about to move, it's sort of the whole point of getting on a bus isn't it? Who comes up with this drivel?

 

[CentralTrainer]

Do people really need to be told that a bus is about to move? I can't understand why one would need to be told that a bus was about to move, it's sort of the whole point of getting on a bus isn't it? Who comes up with this drivel?

I witnessed a pensioner go arse over head the other day due to a bus they had just gotten on moving away without warning before they had managed to sit down properly. With a warning message they might have had time to grab a hold of one of the poles on board to steady themselves as they took a seat.

 

[BluePenguin]

Do people really need to be told that a bus is about to move? I can't understand why one would need to be told that a bus was about to move, it's sort of the whole point of getting on a bus isn't it? Who comes up with this drivel?

Of course they don't! But with so many accidents happening, the powers that be decided that they needed to state the obvious at every stop. The drivel probably was thought up by staff in a nursery. They must think that people are stupid.

What next? The wheels on the bus go round and round all day long, which means it might get very bumpy so make sure to duck a little to avoid banging your head?

 

[lammergeier]

I witnessed a pensioner go arse over head the other day due to a bus they had just gotten on moving away without warning before they had managed to sit down properly. With a warning message they might have had time to grab a hold of one of the poles on board to steady themselves as they took a seat.

Yes of course, an auto-announcement repeated relentlessly is just what's required. Or perhaps the driver should have waited until the elderly person had sat down?

 

[Via Bank]

I witnessed a pensioner go arse over head the other day due to a bus they had just gotten on moving away without warning before they had managed to sit down properly. With a warning message they might have had time to grab a hold of one of the poles on board to steady themselves as they took a seat.

I feel like a more reliable way of stopping the pensioner going arse over head might have been if the driver had waited for them to sit down before starting.

If you must use a warning message, make it brief. “Please hold on, the bus is about to move” is unnecessarily wordy. All you need is “please hold tight” or similar. And it had better play when the bus is actually about to move, rather than twenty seconds after stopping, or after the bus has actually started moving. Maybe wiring it up so it plays when the driver closes the doors is a good shout.

There’s a reason “Mind the Gap” is seen as a cute foible of London’s underground network, rather than an irritating annoyance. It’s brief, it gets to the point.

One of the reasons for iBus’s success has been its clarity of messaging: no unnecessary ‘the next stop is,’ no ‘we will be running via X, Y, Z.’ It’s short and sweet. “139 to Waterloo.” “Bishopsgate.” “Aldwych, Somerset House—alight here for King’s College.”

This has gradually been polluted over the years, including with the “caution: there is a cycle lane behind this bus stop, use the crossing point” (which is solely there to appease St. Thomas’s Hospital.) And now it’s getting worse. The encouragement will be for passengers to turn their music up, and tune out the announcements - which means they’re more likely to miss “the destination of the bus has changed,” or “this is an emergency, please leave the bus.”

 

[capoldi]

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere, but at Birmingham New Street the other day, all announcements were preceded by an odd guitar riff...not a patch on some of Europe's more groovy offerings (I'm looking at you France and Denmark) but actually a really good way of getting people to pay attention

 

[Tom B]

When the Boris buses were introduced, they played a series of 'information' announcements regarding remembering to touch in, not getting run over etc. These were done every (say) 10th stop, so there was no exposure to irritating noise, yet a passenger would still hear the reminder from time to time.

I still don't understand why railway staff get confused about passengers ignoring announcements - given that they broadcast so many useless ones, it is surely no surprise that people will naturally tune out!

 

[itsthechoochoo]

If you travel in a designated quiet carriage, then you should be entitled to hear no announcements whatsoever. The passengers respect the wishes of the train operator to keep quiet (well most of them do) so why can't their staff do the same? Just switch off the speakers.

 

[PHILIPE]

If you travel in a designated quiet carriage, then you should be entitled to hear no announcements whatsoever. The passengers respect the wishes of the train operator to keep quiet (well most of them do) so why can't their staff do the same? Just switch off the speakers.

So, if there is announcement announcing some late journey arrangements saying passengers for xxx should alight at xxx instead, you run the risk of getting overcarried.