West Yorkshire Metro to move to a 'digital first' information strategy

[Andyh82]

West Yorkshire Combined Authority have announced that they are proposing to move to a 'digital first' information strategy, this includes stopping producing printed bus timetables and passing this requirement either to the operator, or to an on demand service for the non-digital savvy customer only.

https://www.wymetro.com/corporate/n...ople-s-requirements-by-putting-digital-first/

Bus information strategy to reflect people’s requirements by putting digital first
7 March 2019

Next week’s meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee is being asked approve wider engagement on a new Bus Information Strategy.

Usage data shows that increasingly the first place people go for up-to-date bus service information is online. Over 650,000 timetables are downloaded every month and real-time bus information is accessed over 4.6 million times each month via the website and Apps.

Customer-driven

The new draft strategy says that the way people are accessing travel information should be reflected by putting ‘Digital First’. Online information, it says, should always be live, customer-driven, network-wide and inclusive. At the same time it must be cost-effective for local Council Tax-payers.

The way people want to find information and pay for travel is changing, the Transport Committee report says. More people than ever are using smartphones to access information on the Combined Authority’s Metro travel information website at www.wymetro.com. A recent survey in West Yorkshire, the report says, shows all respondents aged between 16 and 44 had access to a mobile phone. About 95% had internet access via a mobile phone.

Dynamic

The new draft Bus Information Strategy builds upon this and aims to ensure that these popular, self-serve options for customers are dynamic and ‘always live. This will help, make public transport the easy and obvious choice for existing and new users.

The draft proposes the current large-scale production of printed information, including pocket timetables that often go unused, will be phased out. Printed information will, however, still be available on demand for the shrinking number of people using it.

Webchat and the enhanced, mobile-responsive, Metro website, are among the improvements in information provision made over recent years, the report says. Others include an online journey planner and timetables and real-time bus information for all West Yorkshire services through the yournextbus service.

Social media channels

Social media channels such as @MetroTravelNews on Twitterand the West Yorkshire Metro Facebook page have also been successful in providing passengers with updated information. And at-stop screens and QR codes and NFC tags linking to exclusive live information for all the county’s 14,000 stops and shelters have been used over two million times.

Cllr Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee said: “Providing accurate, up-to-date information in the form that people want to use it will be essential to us achieving our aim of a 25% increase in bus use across West Yorkshire over the next 10 years.

“Increasingly we are seeing people using the digital options to plan their journeys, stay updated and pay for their travel and the new draft of the Bus Information Strategy reflects this.

“However, it is important that we continue to make printed information available while there are still people who want it in that format, while at the same time ensuring we are achieving cost effectiveness for Council Tax payers.”

The report to next Friday’s meeting also says the provision of information needs to be designed to meet the needs of young people, identified by the new West Yorkshire Bus Alliance as a key growth market.

More attractive to young people

Cllr Groves added: “One of the key objectives of the new West Yorkshire Bus Alliance, which the Combined Authority is forming with the bus companies, must be to make services more attractive to young people.

“As well as ensuring buses are affordable and reliable, this means making them easy to use and understand by providing the information required in the forms that young people want to access it.”

At next Friday’s meeting, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee members are being asked to endorse the Bus Information Strategy’s key objectives and agree wider engagement with stakeholders.

The Transport Committee meeting takes place at 11am on Friday 15 March, at Wellington House in Leeds and everyone is welcome.

The link to the full paper which will be discussed by the WYCA Transport Committee on the 15th March is here https://westyorkshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s11120/Item 6 Bus Information Strategy.pdf

Which suggests

The Combined Authority has set its Budget and Business Plan for 2019/20 which incorporates the following actions in support of the emerging Bus Information Strategy. Work will start on these at the same time as engagement on the wider Strategy:

Digital – consider linking to customers on wymetro.com to third party journey planner tools (eg Traveline or Google) rather than the current bespoke tool.

On the Network – adopt a new approach to signposting people to bus services initially in Leeds funded though Connecting Leeds but extended to other towns and cities. Tailor the provision of information provided at bus stops to customer need.

Face-to-face – refurbishment of Travel Centres to adopt the self-service approach used in retail banking

Print – develop printed timetable provision to replace current booklets. Responsibility for printed material promoting bus services, including timetables will be with the bus operator. The Combined Authority will remain responsible for network wide printed information.

Although Metro's timetables are pretty basic, they are very comprehensive. I don't trust the operators to do such a comprehensive job

 

[yorksrob]

The rot started when they got rid of the WY Metro pocket rail timetable. I was hoping they might reverse that decision, however it seems that they are continuing down this road.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

When the MetroTrain rail timetables were abolished, I did say to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in person at their Leeds offices that since the rail timetables are now being printed by the rail operators themselves could the bus timetables go the same way apart from those routes that are fully funded by WYCA in conjunction with either the metropolitain borough council or the parish councl such as the Holme Valley minibus services which would still get the Metro style timetable.

Some operators in West Yorkshire (such as South Pennine Community Transport, Transdev, Connextions, Stagecoach and even First for their X26 / X27) already do provide their own timetable leaflets. Its just some of the independants that'll need some assisitance to help get them doing their own too. Unlike Transport Executive in South Yorkshire who were in effect bankrupt, Metro meanwhile still have some cash to do a proper phaseout and the operators have to do it themselves.

From what I've read in the link above. I could imagine seeing either this style:
https://www.firstgroup.com/uploads/maps/8%2C9 Leaflet_WEB.pdf

This style:
https://www.firstgroup.com/uploads/maps/Keynsham_32pp_DL_Booklet_WEB.pdf

...or even this style on the timetables racks in West Yorkshire for the First operated routes:
https://www.firstgroup.com/uploads/maps/91 92.pdf

 

[Andyh82]

Only Transdev officially do their own leaflets, any others you may see are either because they are a service from another county (such as the x10, x62, x52 etc) or just a short lived promotional leaflet. Literally every single service bar Transdev services has a Metro leaflet.

It’s the availability that would worry me. Would operators own leaflets be distributed to the far reaches of their operations or just in their main base. Will there be one print run that runs out ages before the next change. Big companies like Arriva have already dropped printed leaflets in some areas, Would small companies like Stotts, TJ Walsh, TLC Travel realistically start to do their own leaflets.

 

[Bungle965]

TLC Travel realistically start to do their own leaflets

TLC don't even have a website so I would not trust them to start doing their own leaflets.
Sam

 

[Mal]

The problem I see is that by relying on the bus companies providing their own time-tables, it put extra resources and costs onto the operators. Some years ago, PTEs and quite a few areas produced comprehensive maps of all services in a given area. These were invaluable and could encourage a casual traveller to have a day out in their area, thereby bringing in revenue to that area. Additionally, if there are no roadside time-tables 'because it's all online' (nice cop-out!) then this further discourages prospective passenger from using a bus service?

 

[Mal]

TLC don't even have a website so I would not trust them to start doing their own leaflets.
Sam

This is something else. Every bus company which operates public services should at the very least have an up to date website showing all their services. If you want to sell a product, you must be prepared to publicise it and if a bus company doesn't publish its own time-tables then it should not be surprised if and when that service gets cut back or withdrawn.

 

[Andyh82]

This is something else. Every bus company which operates public services should at the very least have an up to date website showing all their services. If you want to sell a product, you must be prepared to publicise it and if a bus company doesn't publish its own time-tables then it should not be surprised if and when that service gets cut back or withdrawn.

TLC only operate tenders though, and the info would be on Metro's website

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Would small companies like Stotts, TJ Walsh, TLC Travel realistically start to do their own leaflets.

All depends on if Metro were willing to help them create their own to get them going, more than likely though I'd expect them providing some form of PDF timetable on the operators own website (apart from TLC who really need to get theirs up and running) which can then be sent to the printers to get a few thousand printed and then printed off by the operator themselves when the previous print run starts to run low.

I've seen some operators in North Yorkshire have some printouts from GetDown to supply to the customer, in West Yorkshire's case any printout from there will be most of the Dalesbus routes, the X84 (no idea if the X85 is on there), the 412 and what other routes that run cross boundary in the event of a low print run.

When Sweyne Coaches were running services between Goole and Scunthorpe they use to a large print run, then once the run was running low the timetables were then photocopied until the next print run usually a year or so later.

 

[Deerfold]

Bother,

I was hoping this wouldn't happen. Having grown up in West Yorkshire, but having sampled many bus services elsewhere the Metro timetables are some of the best I've come across that cover an entire county. The one big advantage they have over pretty much every other timetable is that they list all the roads a route goes along - with many operators it can be tricky to work out exactly where a bus goes, especially if you don't know the area well. Transdev ones for their main routes are great as they show a map with every stop on. However for their minor routes their timetables are very basic and they're often poor at answering questions. They've recently added lots of school services to http://www.keighleybus.co.uk/times - however some of these are open to the public and some aren't and there's no easy way to tell which is which. The 440, 941 and 943 are on the same downloadable pdf. Of these, only the 440 is open to the public (or so I'm told by Transdev)!

West Yorkshire roadside timetables have been going downhill for some time. About a year ago they replaced the timetables on my road 7 times before managing to put up ones that were correct (including showing both old and new times for routes and showing times for the wrong direction for some routes).
They've recently taken off any indication of how long it takes to get anywhere and they only list times at that stop. If a route is a circular (which includes some not advertised as a circular) it will happily list destinations that could be reached far more quickly by getting a bus from the opposite side of the road or by walking in the opposite direction.
The latest times at the stop nearest my house include buses to Keighley - however it'll take you 50 minutes to get there compared with 5 by crossing the road and getting any bus. The 903 from Airedale hospital lists 2 buses an hour with an average of 2 letter codes for each trip. It is impossible to tell from the bus stop timetable which ones go to Silsden and which to Keighley as they're all listed as going to both (and if you get the wrong one it will return to the same stop before going to the right one). Some of them warn that they terminate early at Steeton and Silsden rail station - however they don't mention that they go to the centre of Silsden and only do this on the way back. I spend a lot of time complaining to Metro about roadside timetables. My longest complaint currently outstanding is from October last year in Keighley bus station - it's still wrong.

If paper timetables get worse, I suspect some routes will lose patronage from people who simply can't work out what's going on.

 

[Andyh82]

That’s because the extensive roadside displays at almost every single bus stop is computer generated. Although some are a bit awkward sometimes they are a better provision than many places

In terms of roadside displays they say “Information at stops will be made available appropriate to the level of service operating. An approach will be explored to reduce the frequency of posting”


Regarding paper timetables, there are many ways they could have reduced cost within the current framework that they have never explored. If the timetable has only a very minor change involving one journey, print a single sheet amendment rather than a whole new book. Often Mon to Fri and Sat times are almost exactly the same, so rather than print one timetable with a code above a few journeys, they will print both days separately doubling the number of pages needed.

 

[175mph]

A bedbug I have in particular about some roadside timetables is in Hessle, East Yorkshire. On Boothferry Road, the roadside timetables don't mention the Stagecoach 350 and Humber Flyer routes that serve Hessle, the only 350 journeys mentioned are the East Yorkshire ones.

 

[Megafuss]

I can understand from a financial sense why WYCA are doing this - it does cost quite a bit to do publicity whenever a service change occurs, even just for one minor service change. Company I used to work for estimated it would cost around £3-5k per service per service per change (man hours of creating and then fitting timetable displays and leaflets + printing costs) so it all mounts up over a year.

However, the rail industry has no problem pumping out hundreds of thousands of paper timetables ever year without a hint of them being removed - even GTR in the middle of the timetable chaos printed timetable books.

Personally, I just can't imagine a bus service without a timetable leaflet of some sort.

 

[rg177]

Hopefully they don't do the completely bonkers thing that Northumberland County Council have been doing.

At minor bus stops (often in rural areas), they've been printing all the information onto a sheet that fits in the panel, as one would expect.

Except the actual timetable is a QR code.

Brilliant in rural Northumberland with a lot of older folk. If you're going to print them in the first place, at least go the extra step and put the times on as well.

 

[yorksrob]

I can understand from a financial sense why WYCA are doing this - it does cost quite a bit to do publicity whenever a service change occurs, even just for one minor service change. Company I used to work for estimated it would cost around £3-5k per service per service per change (man hours of creating and then fitting timetable displays and leaflets + printing costs) so it all mounts up over a year.

However, the rail industry has no problem pumping out hundreds of thousands of paper timetables ever year without a hint of them being removed - even GTR in the middle of the timetable chaos printed timetable books.

Personally, I just can't imagine a bus service without a timetable leaflet of some sort.

And even those that replaced the West Yorkshire Metro timetable were less comprehensive and complete, sometimes missing out rival companies trains.

 

[Deerfold]

And even those that replaced the West Yorkshire Metro timetable were less comprehensive and complete, sometimes missing out rival companies trains.

And less widely distributed. Originally Keighley station only had Northern timetables for trains that went through Keighley. I think they now have the Ilkley timetables as well. They used to have all the West Yorkshire timetables - or if not, the combined booklet.

 

[Andyh82]

It wouldn’t have been so bad if Northern had tried to replicate the MetroTrain leaflets, keeping the colouring and the line names, and ensured that each former Metro timetable had a 1 to 1 match with a Northern one, but they didn’t and as said some services are spread across several leaflets.

The poor distribution is what I expect will happen with Bus timetables as well. For example would Arriva ensure that their timetables are always available in Halifax, Bradford, Huddersfield for the relevant services or just ensure that their own office in Dewsbury is fully stocked.

 

[yorksrob]

And less widely distributed. Originally Keighley station only had Northern timetables for trains that went through Keighley. I think they now have the Ilkley timetables as well. They used to have all the West Yorkshire timetables - or if not, the combined booklet.

Those were the days !

 

[Statto]

Merseytravel have stopped issuing paper timetables for the St Helens area couple of years ago, timetables are now digital, a few authorities including Merseytravel have stopped issuing paper maps, but still put out digital maps, i find digital maps/timetables clunky & awkward very much prefer paper maps, there's quite a few people can't/refuse to use digital maps/timetables.

 

[Deerfold]

It wouldn’t have been so bad if Northern had tried to replicate the MetroTrain leaflets, keeping the colouring and the line names, and ensured that each former Metro timetable had a 1 to 1 match with a Northern one, but they didn’t and as said some services are spread across several leaflets.

Indeed - so we have the MetroMap (which is disappearing at many stations) showing different lines to those in Northern's timetables.

 

[Tetchytyke]

That’s because the extensive roadside displays at almost every single bus stop is computer generated. Although some are a bit awkward sometimes they are a better provision than many places

WYPTE roadside timetables are TERRIBLE. Compare them to the ones Nexus generate in the north east, and weep. The computer generation is no excuse for the crappy way the information is presented.

As for printed timetables, if they can be obtained on demand from WYPTE I don't see the issue. I genuinely can't remember the last time I used one. The information is presented much better online, including the real time tracking.

The problem I see is that by relying on the bus companies providing their own time-tables, it put extra resources and costs onto the operators.

The operators are commercial entities who keep the revenue they make. Why should West Yorkshire's taxpayers pay to do their PR for them?

If commercial operators don't see the value of printing timetables then perhaps the value has gone.

The one big advantage they have over pretty much every other timetable is that they list all the roads a route goes along

The online PDFs still do. I'm assuming the change is that they won't print the PDFs, not that the PDFs will disappear. Might be wrong though.

 

[Deerfold]

The online PDFs still do. I'm assuming the change is that they won't print the PDFs, not that the PDFs will disappear. Might be wrong though.

They haven't shown this information online for some years on most routes. The online timetables used to be copies of the printed ones.

https://www.wymetro.com/buses/timetables/903

 

[Tetchytyke]

The online timetables used to be copies of the printed ones.

I can't see them doing away with the PDFs. Preparing the PDF doesn't cost the money; it's the printing and distribution that does.

If you download the timetable all that information is still there: https://www.wymetro.com/buses/timetables/903/pdf

ETA: the online timetable does too if you click the route tab: https://www.wymetro.com/buses/timetables/576

 

[Deerfold]

I can't see them doing away with the PDFs. Preparing the PDF doesn't cost the money; it's the printing and distribution that does.

If you download the timetable all that information is still there: https://www.wymetro.com/buses/timetables/903/pdf

ETA: the online timetable does too if you click the route tab: https://www.wymetro.com/buses/timetables/576

Do you know, all this time I didn't think you could get that online - I've even asked Metro on twitter if they could provide it and been told only that they'd submit my request - thanks.

 

[njamescouk]

degrading the service to save money whilst pretending this is what people want. they've learnt this trick from the banks.

 

[lyndhurst25]

A retrograde step. I certainly hope that they continue to produce the West Yorkshire area bus maps but I imagine that they are quite expensive to print, so we'll probably end up with either PDFs or nothing at all.

You'd have thought that, having all the information to hand, that Metro would be the ideal organisation to get bus (and train) timetables printed. That way you get a standard, hopefully high quality, format with all bus operators included. They'd also get the economy of scale in producing and distributing the timetables. Now each separate bus company has to employ someone to design, complile, arrange printing and distribution - very inefficient. Deerfold's example above of Keighley Bus 440 is an example of what you get if you leave it up to the bus companies: exactly which days of the week does it run on??? And the Google route map doesn't work either.

A compromise solution, for commercial bus routes, would be Metro continuing to produce the timetables, but the bus companies paying more towards the costs. As a sweetener Metro could allow the bus companies space on the timetables to advertise their own tickets, etc.

When we had the combined West Yorkshire rail timetable book it was a simple task of picking one up from my local rail station, bus station or public library every 6 months and that was sorted. Now with the "replacement" Northern leaflets, which aren't widely available away from the stations served, it can take me weeks to get hold of the full set. I've taken to carrying a scrap of paper in my wallet so I can cross of the route numbers as I collect them, otherwise I end up collecting duplicates as I can't remember which ones I've already got! Planning a Day Rover trip on the hoof is nowhere near as easy as it used to be.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Metro continuing to produce the timetables, but the bus companies paying more towards the costs.

Bus operators won't pay the costs.

And if they won't, why should the taxpayer?

 

[lyndhurst25]

Bus operators won't pay the costs.

So you're predicting that once Metro stop printing bus timetables, that the bus operators won't step in to fill the gap with their own efforts? Or can the bus operators produce printed timetables more cheaply than Metro did, or for less than Metro would charge them to do so on their behalf?

And if they won't, why should the taxpayer?

To encourage the use of public transport for environmental reasons?

 

[Tetchytyke]

So you're predicting that once Metro stop printing bus timetables, that the bus operators won't step in to fill the gap with their own efforts?

Yes. That is exactly what will happen.

To encourage the use of public transport for environmental reasons?

How does a printed timetable available in a travel centre five miles away help with that?

Printed timetables are, let's be honest, now only used by enthusiasts who want to collect a full set or want a day out bashing bus or train routes.

Take the countywide rail timetable; if all you ever do is go from Bingley to Leeds for shopping, as most do, then why do you need the timetable for Huddersfield to Sheffield trains?

 

[NorthernSpirit]

A retrograde step. I certainly hope that they continue to produce the West Yorkshire area bus maps but I imagine that they are quite expensive to print, so we'll probably end up with either PDFs or nothing at all.

You'd have thought that, having all the information to hand, that Metro would be the ideal organisation to get bus (and train) timetables printed. That way you get a standard, hopefully high quality, format with all bus operators included. They'd also get the economy of scale in producing and distributing the timetables. Now each separate bus company has to employ someone to design, complile, arrange printing and distribution - very inefficient.

SYPTE still produces area maps for the enire lot of South Yorkshire, but operators print the timetables - so the same could well apply in West Yorkshire. As for each company having to employ someone to design the replacements, I won't say no to having a bash at designing something that is easy to read and understand even of it means using codes MF SSH FO (Monday to Friday), (Saturday's and School Holidays), Friday Only.)

Printed timetables are, let's be honest, now only used by enthusiasts who want to collect a full set or want a day out bashing bus or train routes.

My parents reply on a printed timetable if they're going out and about for the day.