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Lancashire bus stations’ electronic display boards to be switched off

4:33pm Thursday 17th November 2011 in Lancaster news Photograph of the Author By Peter Magill, Chief reporter

‘PENNY PINCHING’: The decision to get rid of electronic information boards has sparked a row ‘PENNY PINCHING’: The decision to get rid of electronic information boards has sparked a row

A DECISION to axe electronic display boards at five Lancashire bus stations has been condemned as ‘risible’.

County public transport chiefs plan to save £47,000 by switching off computerised timetables at Burnley, Nelson, Chorley, Lancaster and Skelmersdale interchanges from December 1.

But county councillor George Adam, who represents Nelson South, said the cutback would severely hamper partially-sighted and elderly passengers.

And passengers claimed one of the alternatives, printed timetables posted on gates, were often out-of-date.

Coun Adam said: “The county council is just going to cause a lot of people inconvenience for what is only a comparatively small saving.

"It is just risible. And it is just sad for me with Nelson, that we are running down a bus station that is only three years old.

“The signs are especially useful for people who are partially-sighted because of their size.

"And each of them has a clock so you know what times the buses are running to.”

John Miller, 53, from Colne, said: “Each time I’ve looked at the timetables on the bus station gates, they bear no resemblance to reality.

"And the bus station staff are just as fed up about it.”

Andrew Varley, county council information and travel manager, said the decision had been taken as part of plans to save the authority £179million over the next three years.

He said: “As part of the proposals, the decision was taken to withdraw funding for the information display systems at those bus stations which are managed by the county council.

“We will continue to provide information about buses on posters at the stations, and timetables will still be available on our website and the Traveline website, via SMS and mobile internet or by calling Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 from 8am to 8pm.”

Comments(43)

happycyclist says...
4:57pm Thu 17 Nov 11

LOL! and LOL! again.

FFS!

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1riversider says...
5:03pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Pathetic. Get rid of one "manager" from HR and/or Diversity and save more than this. Oh, sorry, it's beyond their intelligence to get rid of "non jobs."

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Michael@ClitheroeSince58 says...
5:13pm Thu 17 Nov 11

I can't believe this for real, the worlds gone totally mad!

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Just Dennis says...
5:21pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Descent into The Third World continues

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happycyclist says...
5:28pm Thu 17 Nov 11

What next, switch all their computers off and hand out pencils to all LCC staff?

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anonther says...
5:32pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Yet are about to invest millions in the Pennine Reach scheme to give, in part, state of the art traffic information systems about the bus system.

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Choleyite says...
5:41pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Lancashire
A place where everyone matters apart from bus passengers :-(

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blylad says...
5:41pm Thu 17 Nov 11

These bus stations' have automatic does too, surely they use electricity also, not to mention the lights! Get rid of the doors and the lighting and we can have cold, dimly lit, wind tunnel bus stations' again! Lancashire County Council, thank you for the minimal savings in pointless areas, I'm sure I'll see the rebate in my next council tax statement! Jobsworths!!

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happycyclist says...
5:42pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Choleyite wrote:
Lancashire
A place where everyone matters apart from bus passengers :-(
Very good.

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xrayspex77 says...
5:44pm Thu 17 Nov 11

At least it won't affect Blackburn Boulevard though they'll probably take the bulb out of the station clock!

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Seneca says...
5:52pm Thu 17 Nov 11

xrayspex77 wrote:
At least it won't affect Blackburn Boulevard though they'll probably take the bulb out of the station clock!
Are they still planning to move buses to ewood, miles away from the railway station?

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Michael@ClitheroeSince58 says...
7:26pm Thu 17 Nov 11

blylad wrote:
These bus stations' have automatic does too, surely they use electricity also, not to mention the lights! Get rid of the doors and the lighting and we can have cold, dimly lit, wind tunnel bus stations' again! Lancashire County Council, thank you for the minimal savings in pointless areas, I'm sure I'll see the rebate in my next council tax statement! Jobsworths!!
why not remove the doors and windows from the buses as well lol and why not just run one bus a day we can all sit on the roof etc

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ToffeeGuy says...
7:34pm Thu 17 Nov 11

I don't know why this costs £47,000?

In my experience they weren't accurate anyway in that they didn't show 'real time' information e.g. if a bus was late.

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soup123 says...
7:40pm Thu 17 Nov 11

I'm sure these boards can't cost £47,000?!
.
It's a poor move in my view. I'm not a regular bus user, but whenever I do these boards were not only easy to have a glance at to see if your bus was due any time soon, but also what stand it was leaving. Not only that but the timetables stuck up next to the bus stands make very little sense.
.
Bad move.

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Wishingwell says...
7:41pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Sounds to me like they have been told to save money so they have chosen the highest public impact saving instead of a Scroaty manegment position.

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Noiticer says...
7:57pm Thu 17 Nov 11

What does this say about transport policy in this country. If it wasn't so lamentable it would be a joke. And David Cameron said he would have the greenest government ever.
This move is deplorable and an utter disgrace and Tory councillors should hang their heads in shame!

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DaveBurnley says...
8:49pm Thu 17 Nov 11

They could always put blackboards up and chalk messages on them.

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Will - Ash says...
9:19pm Thu 17 Nov 11

There is another way we could look at this... things must be in such a bad way financially if we need to save just £5,000 from this.

I'd rather they did this than cut more services for the disabled!

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martino says...
9:44pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Sometimes when one actually sees the finances it looks pretty bleak ... but this IS like going back to the stone age.

Surely they could get these sponsored if they can't fund them. What kind of conservatives are they if they can't work with business to solve a problem like that to everyone's benefit?

I'm sure they'll still be charging people when their wheelie bin is nicked as well.

But its easy to complain when you don't have to make the decisions. Maybe people of a higher quality need to step up for election and stop this kind of lunacy.

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frank says...
10:28pm Thu 17 Nov 11

the ones on ainsworth street were never accurate anyway, the clocks were out by several minutes, telling you that you'd missed a bus which had still to arrive.
pretty pointless having them if no one sets them up correctly.

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Livesey rover says...
10:38pm Thu 17 Nov 11

The greenest government ever lol! I'll stick to my push bike! (spend the money you save on sorting out the potholes and the sunken grate covers please).

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happycyclist says...
10:52pm Thu 17 Nov 11

martino wrote:
Sometimes when one actually sees the finances it looks pretty bleak ... but this IS like going back to the stone age.

Surely they could get these sponsored if they can't fund them. What kind of conservatives are they if they can't work with business to solve a problem like that to everyone's benefit?

I'm sure they'll still be charging people when their wheelie bin is nicked as well.

But its easy to complain when you don't have to make the decisions. Maybe people of a higher quality need to step up for election and stop this kind of lunacy.
Good comment

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Armchair Warrior says...
11:03pm Thu 17 Nov 11

Don't fret folks about electronic displays at the Burnley bus station, Mystic Meg will be there all next week giving her preditions on bus departure times together with the stands they depart from.

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Lifeinthemix says...
11:39pm Thu 17 Nov 11

i know...ban the tv, think of the co2 saving not to mention the cessation of the mind control....

then ban breathing out (co2)...to save the rich, erm i mean planet....

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nil bye mouth says...
12:25am Fri 18 Nov 11

The golden age of cheap travel/gas/electrici
ty and petrol is well and truly over we had better get used to it it is here to stay the chinese /indians and the brazilians want a slice of the western pie and there is only so much to go round .we are a small island and things can only get worse.

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Darwenbert says...
6:21am Fri 18 Nov 11

thats nothing.. wait till next month there switching the signs of on the front of the buses..then you can ride around all day not knowing were you are going or what time you will get there. it cracks me up lol.

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speedswift says...
7:29am Fri 18 Nov 11

More stress on passengers, Drivers and managers! "Lancashire, a place where the public no longer matters!"
I thought there was a governmental policy to encourage travel by Public Transport??????

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Jack Herer says...
9:08am Fri 18 Nov 11

Trying to save £179 million? So they cut back on the info boards for 5 bus stations.

As someone has already said - why not just get rid of one manager? Literally no-one would notice the difference.

The shocking truth is they could get rid of at least 100 managers and no-one would notice the difference.

Of course they won't though. However unnecessary their jobs, they will always stick together to keep them. Meanwhile we still pay stupidly high council taxes and real services we actually need get cut instead.

It's a constant cycle of shame kept going in large part by the unions.

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St.R says...
10:06am Fri 18 Nov 11

I am one of those partially sighted people that this will most affect.
The timetables they print are not only mostly out of date, but impossible for me to read, they are so tiny. The electronic board is essential for me, can't believe normal people are again suffering because of some idiots.

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nelsonborn&bred says...
10:59am Fri 18 Nov 11

i don't catch the bus that often but when i do these signs are really useful as for the printed timetables if you want to catch a bus from Nelson to Accrington you now get 2 time tables instead of 1 surely this is just a waste of money ? & if you ask in the bus station when the next bus is they just give you the time tables .SO THATS 2 WAYS THEY COULD SAVE MONEY "GO BACK TO ONE TIME TABLE PER ROUTE INSTEAD OF THE 10 PLUS CURRENTLY AND SACK THE USELESS INFORMATIO PEOPLE IN THE BUS STATIONS" and thats before i start on the stupid managers who come up with all this crap £179 million saved no problem !

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Izanears says...
11:23am Fri 18 Nov 11

Once again we have an example of a scheme which opens with a fanfare of trumpets and then shuts down.
Does no councillor or planner these days ever look ahead. With lots of other fiascos like this,e.g. there was one in Blackburn recently where some garden had to be demolished only days after it was built, all those in charge seem to be interested in is spin and getting their names in the paper.

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Burnleyboy38 says...
12:04pm Fri 18 Nov 11

Choleyite wrote:
Lancashire
A place where everyone matters apart from bus passengers :-(
dont u mean NOTHING Matters !!

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Lifeinthemix says...
12:38pm Fri 18 Nov 11

what matters is satisfying the stakeholders, as previously said (now removed), the lights cost £3.50, the remainder goes as kickbacks to Capita, and having looked at the Greek situation, they now want the £3.50....

we must die for the stakeholder community, see Balfour Beaty for your euthanasia shots

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Lifeinthemix says...
12:56pm Fri 18 Nov 11

and look what they did in 1916

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=WGoedwgFS
bs&feature=related

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DG6985 says...
4:22pm Fri 18 Nov 11

How about just switching them off in the late evening when its less busy?

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Lifeinthemix says...
4:26pm Fri 18 Nov 11

DG6985 wrote:
How about just switching them off in the late evening when its less busy?
good god man ...don't act their script or you make it real.....


will they ever understand.....

i doubt it....

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=66hhEzArc
-A

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Legal Beagle says...
6:06pm Fri 18 Nov 11

“We will continue to provide information about buses on posters at the stations, and timetables will still be available on our website and the Traveline website, via SMS and mobile internet or by calling Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 from 8am to 8pm."

So says Mr Andrew Varley, presumably a pimply 21 year old who assumes that elderly people are as dumb as him, glued to Facebook or their mobiles every living moment.

But never mind, they're just grumbly crumblies anyway, they have no place in happy, shiny Andyworld!

Stupidity and ignorance seem to be the only qualifications needed for a job at t'Council.

And no doubt the £47k will go towards subsidising his job, so that's all right then.

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hunter3062 says...
10:08pm Fri 18 Nov 11

so the same old sh** from the same old whingers,not long ago they were whining about the rise of bus fares bleating about not using public transport because it was slow and dirty and overpriced,if thats the case why bleat on about bus sinage you wont be using the bus station will you? the same pathetic morons who whine about the asians yet fill their bellys in the takeaways after a skin full.and dont say you dont and why because there are no english takeaways open after 6pm.and as for you mr LCC green energy its promoted yet you dont use it apart from the odd bus stop. the message is LCC the futures bright the futures green,the big green energy solar panel.

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ROBERTSLUMDWELLER123 says...
6:33pm Sat 19 Nov 11

these are the people who want the rail line extending to Skipton?? probably have to push the train from Nelson/Skipton and save a few bob,,

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ROBERTSLUMDWELLER123 says...
6:34pm Sat 19 Nov 11

these are the people who want the rail line extending to Skipton?? probably have to push the train from Nelson/Skipton and save a few bob,,

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Viglen says...
1:59pm Sun 20 Nov 11

The Sun said the last person to leave should turn off the lights if Neil Kinnock won the 1987 general election............
.....Well with the lights on the motorway now off and now this................
.perhaps people should be careful who they vote for......discuss!!!!
!!!

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DJ_Jaybee says...
12:28am Tue 22 Nov 11

You go to other countries and they have electronic displays everywhere for passenger and shopper information.

Brands and companies use these to advertise on too in-between guide and travel information - so to say they have to get switched off to save money is numpty - they should be generating income!!!

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burnleylad says...
6:42pm Thu 1 Dec 11

The electronic timetables at Burnley Bus Station were still on this morning.

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