[access-uk] Bus Info by Text Message
- From: Christopher Maule-Oatway <c.maule@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:50:24 +0100
Hello,
In a recent thread on talking bus stops, somebody mentioned that many stops
now have a unique code which can be used to get bus times sent to a mobile
phone as a text message.
Well, the good news is that these codes are available on Traveline
websites, and, what's more, the sites are accessible <smile>! Each region
or area has its own website - for instance, the one I use, which is
www.travelineeastanglia.org.uk
covers Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. There is a national Traveline
website,
www.traveline.org.uk
which has links to the regional sites. Entering Traveline into your
favourite search engine will give you the same results.
Once on the required homepage, look for the link "Text to your Mobile", or
some such phrase. Clicking on this link will take you to the page where
you can start searching for a bus stop.
On the East Anglia site there are three searches to go through: first
choose the county, next the town and finally the road. Each search
category appears in a separate listbox, and, having made a selection, you
have to click on a Search button to get to the next category.
If a road has more than one bus stop, the stops are listed in alphabetical
order of stop name/location. The location descriptions are helpful,
especially on town centre streets with many bus stops - for example, "Op WH
Smiths" or "OS Baker's Oven".
As you move up or down the list of stops, the unique code, which is called
the SMS code, for the highlighted or selected stop is displayed outside the
listbox. No doubt each screen reader has its own method of handling this
situation.
On the web page is the five-digit phone number where you have to send the
SMS code as a text message. A few moments later, you should receive a text
message giving you the time, number and final destination of the next three
buses expected at the stop. This is, of course, taken from the timetable,
so you are not told if a bus is running late!
The SMS codes that I have come across are all 8-letter codes, some areas
use numeric codes.
I have used this system whilst waiting at bus stops and have found it most
helpful. When the bus arrives, I now know how late it is running
<grin>! It is not an ideal solution to the inaccessibility of timetable
information on bus stops, but is about half-way there, I think.
Cheers,
Christopher
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