Trent Barton (what, them, again?) has steadfastly refused to show its times in the 24 hour clock. The introduction of the 99P timetable bucks that trend. This is probably one of the ways of trying to distance Wellglade’s two distinct operations.
This week we asked whether anyone had noticed a mainstream Trent Barton timetable was in the 24-hour clock. No one responded. The answer is the printed material for Trent Barton’s Red Arrow, between Derby & Nottingham. Look at the web page, though, and you’ll see the usual 12-hour presentation. Online, night services are shown separately from the main Mondays to Saturdays timetable.
All of Wellglade’s Kinchbus timetables are in the 12-hour format, save for its round the clock Skylink. The Red Arrow also operates weekends into the early hours. It strikes me that Wellglade/Trent Barton has concluded that the 12 hour clock is all very well, till you hit the problem of buses running at 2.45 a.m. and 2.45 p.m. on the same timetable. Here, there’s only one solution. Barry Doe would be proud of them.
Are there any other *printed* Wellglade timetables in the 24-hour format?
Thus far, this week's two main posts (here and here) on Premiere and Trent Barton have between them raised 51 comments (as at 0759 today)
Saturday, 9 October 2010
24 Hour Presentation
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6 comments:
Thus far, this week's two main posts (here and here) on Premiere and Trent Barton have between them raised 51 comments (as at 0759 today)
And nothing about Dorset where we all started!
I don't understand why anyone would choose 12-hour presentation over 24-hour.
Maybe customers prefer it. Just a hunch. Or do they go to the pub at 2200, have tea at 1830 and watch Corrie at 1930?
Do they watch Corrie at 1930? No, it's 7.30. But what is different about the bus is that is the need to differentiate properly between a bus at 7.30 and 7.30. Corrie doesn't come on at both 7.30's.
Anonymous said...
"I don't understand why anyone would choose 12-hour presentation over 24-hour."
The problem used to be that there was a limited level of understanding of the 24 hour clock among bus users. Perhaps ironically, the level of understanding was higher among people generally, but bus users, as a subset of the population as a whole, were found to have more difficulties understanding the 24 hour clock. The research I am thinking of was several years ago, so the result might be different today.
However, while bus operators, their staff, and other people interested in their operations, will all no doubt have a good grasp of the 24 hour clock, the public timetables are principally intended for their passengers (and potential passengers), so need to be prepared in accordance with their needs.
How many bus users complain about 24-hour times being used ? Not many I guess. I think most have grasped the idea by now. It is used nearly everywhere else, including on the railways,which many bus users also use.
The ironic thing is that the tickets issued to those in the 12-hour area always show 24-hour clock times on them don't they !
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