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So, some time ago, I said I would discuss timetables. All the timetables on these pages are most highly recommended – I like books where they are comprehensive, easy to use, readily available, and frequently updated, however leaflets can also have these qualities. Some of these I use more than others in areas where I rarely tread, but I’ve tried to choose my favourites, and this list is guaranteed to be sponsor free!
Train Timetables
Well, the new First Great Western timetable book brought this about, when I went to buy one a few weeks ago. In the Summer timetable, they changed from 1/3 A4 booklets (and some additional summaries) to 40 mostly small (A7 or 1/3 A4) leaflets and booklets, coupled with an additional information booklet. However, a complete timetable was also advertised on request via the website, so I asked for one. It was a rather nice A5 book, 450-odd pages, with a cover price of £2.50 (but initially free of charge). Following a good take-up, there is a book for the Winter, this time sold for £3.00, but only available from main ticket offices. So, I went to London Paddington to get one, and I’m fairly impressed. There is now 424 pages, with bus connections and named trains still included. The map has been expanded, and is now a fold-out from the back cover, as well as sectional maps for each group of routes. It is a very useful publication, and additionally the first public timetable that I’ve seen with headcodes (4-character alphanumeric train reference numbers). Again, if you can get to a FGW ticket office, buy one!
In addition to this, there are other timetables that I really like. South West Trains is similar in size to that of FGW, now 268 pages of timetables for services out of London Waterloo and beyond, including Island Line trains on the Isle of Wight, bus and ferry connections. This one is £4.00 plus £1.00 postage, and can be had from South West Trains main ticket offices, or by phone from Telesales.
With train timetables, there is at least one book with everything in it, for the whole of Great Britain (not Northern Ireland). Well, it was to be available online only. The Summer 2007 edition was to be the last paper one done by Network Rail, but now there are two. Middleton Press said they’d be doing Train Times, with lighter paper and two pages reduced to fit onto one, and then The Stationery Office started their publications. The latter is the one I usually buy from TSO, the current one costing £16 plus postage each.
Looking outside from the UK, the Thomas Cook timetable series covers Europe (monthly) and Overseas (bi-monthly). The European one covers trains, the Overseas includes other forms of surface transport where needed, plus monthly Supplement features on different subjects, like Visas and Rail Passes. These are available from the company and their shops. There is also a twice-yearly Independent Travellers Edition – which is slightly more expensive, but does include the information from the year’s worth of Supplement features.
Tram Timetable
Trams are not that common in the UK, but there is a timetable book for London Tramlink (Croydon area). The book may be just over a year old now, but it’s quite a nice one. The guide includes details of all services, with full matrix timetables.
Bus Timetables in books, by county
When I moved to Hertfordshire, I was rather lucky with regards to public transport publicity. Herts County Council and the operators formed the Intalink Partnership ten years ago, and they produce a series of seven area books – (1 - purple) Watford, Bushey and Rickmansworth, (2 – orange) Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamstead and Tring, (3 - turquoise) Harpenden, St Albans and Borehamwood, (4 - brown) Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Potters Bar, (5 - pink) Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock, (6 - green) Hertford, the Lea Valley and Cuffley, and (7 - blue) Bishop’s Stortford, Buntingford and Royston. These books have an average of 200-250 pages each, and cover bus and train services in full matrix format with the exception of the Metropolitan Line, which is a summary, with an area map and local town plans. These books are backed up with a website (updated very frequently, sometimes several times a day!), a Network Map issued twice a year, an Intachange magazine with news and service changes six times a year, and route leaflets for subsidised services. The latter include a route map for each service, with every bus stop marked out. Oh, and all of these are totally free.
Next to Herts is Essex. They changed from a series of booklets over the last few years, have evolved into one Bus Timetables for Essex book. The timetable is now a 528 page A4 book, with matrix format timetables for every bus (not trains, but there is a train map) for every service in Essex. Parts of Essex have been put into unitary authorities, so Thurrock is not included, but Southend-on-Sea is. The booklet includes lots of useful information, town plans, and an A4 map with most of the main interurban routes on it. The book is added to with a twice-yearly map, a monthly newsletter (by email or post) called Bus Passenger News, and leaflets for subsidised services. The book is available from local outlets for £1, or add £2.50 postage and get a copy by mail from County Hall.
Milton Keynes Council have also recently reissued their timetable book in a new format. The 25th October 2009 to April 2010 book is now one A5 260-page book, including all city and rural services amongst the information. There is a map available separately, but the map is also included in the book, in an “atlas” style. Updates and books are issued on specified dates, to reflect service changes. Individual books are free, but the council will also post you everything issued over three years, for only £5.
Bedfordshire County Council was recently split (aside from Luton, which was split off quite some time ago) into Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough Councils. There are now a series of timetable books covering the rural areas of Central Beds, and a single book for Bedford Borough. These are all a similar format, with books covering Biggleswade and Sandy, Dunstable and South East Bedfordshire, Leighton Buzzard Linslade and Woburn, Shefford, and finally, Ampthill & Flitwick, from Central Bedfordshire. A map was also produced in the last days of Bedfordshire CC, and is still available.
Brighton’s Bus Times book has been frequently mentioned elsewhere, but is well worth a mention in this list. The book is done twice a year, by Brighton & Hove Buses, but it does include a timetable for every bus service in the city, together with a comprehensive map. The map was recently revised to be colour-coded and losing the stops, but is still easy to use. A Pocket Bus Times is a series of maps on a folded A2 sheet, and the “times past each hour” for most bus services.
When Tayside Regional Council was split into three (Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross), two of these were quick to improve on what the regional council did. Dundee City Council has veered towards gadgets and realtime information, but the other two in more rural areas retain paper. Perth & Kinross Council produce a series of five main Local Public Transport Guides, covering (green) Auchterarder & Crieff, (lilac) Blairgowrie, (orange) Carse & Scone, (light yellow) Highland Perthshire & Stanley, and (pink) Kinross-shire and Bridge of Earn. These cover all the rural areas outwith Perth City, which is covered with Stagecoach’s Perth City booklet, and a council produced leaflet for the Park & Ride. The booklets contain full timetables for each routes, and a mini-map organised by the tables in each book, to avoid overcluttering. The booklets are also updated with inserts as required. Addiitonal publications include a map of the county, a guide to days out by public transport, a series of walks between bus routes, and the occasional colour leaflet for improvements to supported services.
Peterborough City Council did do a superb loose-leaf file of timetables, but the updates were sporadic. These have now stopped, thus rendering the work done almost terminal.
Bus Timetables in leaflets, by county
Further to the Perth & Kinross Council entry for their books and maps, Angus Council produce a series of thirty numbered leaflets for the majority of routes in Angus – a few are now produced by Stagecoach. These are numbered, contain very comprehensive passenger information, and usually include town bus maps, of the majority of bus services in an urban area. The timetable leaflets are also sold to the public in a ring binder, and a mailing list service is available to the public. The latter sees timetable leaflets sent out to you regularly, with regular checklists. The council also produces a Map (15th edition now!) and a book of ideas for Days Out by bus and train.
Lancashire County Council have a similar output. Numbered leaflets are either produced by the council or some of the operators, some with route maps, and are joined by nine area maps. There is a mailing list service, which includes a monthly mailout and checklist, as well as a Bus Service Changes list monthly.
Similarly, GMPTE (Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive) do a series of leaflets for most routes, with a small number by the operator. These include route maps for every service, and are joined by a set of 12 additional maps, and a Manchester City Centre map.
Finally, a new and recent recommendation. Centro/Network West Midlands are currently working area-by-area to introduce a new series of timetable leaflets, showing not just subsidised services, but all in a particular area. (Until these are all done, the operators do their own publicity in some areas). These are joined by a series of maps for each local area, and three city centre guides for Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Bus Timetables by operator
Uno produce an A5 48 page timetable book, covering most of their services. The company is owned and operated by the University of Hertfordshire, and they are very pro-active in encouraging staff and students to take the bus. The timetable includes a network map, with additional local insets for certain locations and services. Here, simplicity is good. It’s free, and you’ll see them on the buses, as well as at local outlets. Leaflets by the council cover the Welwyn Garden City weekly shopper buses, St Albans city routes, and a leaflet is produced by the operator for the Inter-Campus shuttle.
Finally, as I prepared to write this, the Wootten's Tiger Line Network Guide from 4th January 2010 has arrived. This is a new one for 2010, and I know I’ve got a soft spot for this operator (ex Strathtay rebodied Tigers anyone?), but I genuinely like this publication – it’s only 16 pages of 1/3 A4 size, but includes timetables and maps for every route, ticket information, and is also backed up with a new website.
Overseas
I don’t have a lot of overseas stuff, but one that is noteworthy is the Sound Transit “transit guide” in Seattle, USA. The book is slightly bigger than 8 inches by 5, but squeezes it all into 152 pages, with a fold-out back page route map.
