Bus app

Theo

I already have that one, but I was looking for an app, which allowed the planning of a route city to city, rather than just within a city.

Google maps…

Tim

No, just one which works out local city to city routes, via local bus services...

It seems that every city area, has it's own system, and the only way is to download the local app for that one area, despite there being local buses that run from one area to another.

I was seeking an app which enabled the planning of a complete route, end to end, without having to resort to multiple apps.

Don't be stupid.

The google maps app will do Manchester to Great Yarmouth on National Express via London

I have no idea whether that's a better journey than via Northampton (probably, because it suggests Northampton to Great Yarmouth via London anyway)

Yes, but if Harry really want to use bus, and not coach, google does not seems to allow the extra filtering.

Next you will be wanting a single parking app which works, reliably, pretty much anywhere in the country.

Clickety Clack into Google....... Tada!

Are you thinking about cross-country journeys such as described in Bus Pass Britain (ISBN 9781841623764) or Bus Pass Britain Rides Again (9781841624655)? Most of the journeys in those books are actually single bus routes rather than linked and so far I haven't come across any books or web sites that do the linking for me but I'd like know if anybody else has.

There's the Moovit app but it won't let me use it on the PC without my turning off ad blocking and I don't have an up-to-date-enough mobile phone to use it on that. There's Rome2Rio too which is quite good and fairly accurate but I struggle to make it insist on bus-only journeys rather than a hybrid approach and on the now rare occasions I want to bus long-distance, I usually sweat over a computer screen and scribble the routes down on a piece of paper.

Nick

Don't you just love 'news articles' that start with:

"You should soon be able to pay for parking across the UK"

Where "soon" is doing an awful lot of work in that sentence.

However, I was more intrigued by this:

"The system is being developed and run by parking trade body the British Parking Association (BPA), though parking payment apps JustPark, PayByPhone and RingGo have all been involved in the process."

So the people who earn money from the existing apps, are involved in a development which will put them out of business? I wonder what "involved" means here?

Also the phrase "provided operators sign up to it"

I read it that the BPA is providing a common framework, and existing apps, or new apps can sign-up to use it, so eventually the number of parking apps will shrink to a handful through survival of the fittest?

So far, I've got exactly zero parking apps installed.

I made the mistake of installing Moovit on my phone, but it was awful - huge numbers of pop-up ads that made it almost impossible to use, so I uninstalled it again. I have been using UK BusChecker but the latest version also imposes full-screen video ads that I find very objectionable, and it also doesn't have up-to-date bus info for my area. The timeliness of information is easy to check as the local bus company has changed the number of a local service twice in two months, just to be helpful.

That is exactly what I am attempting to do, I have had a free bus pass for a while now, and just trying to make good use of it, deliberately going on the back road, to see the countryside.

We did Leeds to Whitby, Whitby to Scarborough, Scarborough to Leeds, on three buses, last week and quite enjoyed it, not having to drive.

Thanks for that, Clive. Now I know not to accede to Moovit's request to remove the ad blocker.

Nick

That's a superb route Harry - or it certainly was last time I tried it. It doesn't leave much time to enjoy either Whitby or Scarborough though. Or at least not for me since I actually start from Huddersfield. Leeds - Whitby only or Leeds - Scarborough only leaves me a bit more time to enjoy the coast.

Due to Huddersfield railway station being closed for much of the time recently due to the Trans Pennine Rail Upgrade, I'm trying to find the best bus route between Huddersfield and Glossop for visiting family there. There's a bus I've already used between Holmfirth and Glossop but it only runs a few times in the middle of the day one day per week so I'm planning to soon try Huddersfield - Oldham - Ashton - Glossop and see how that works out. That's available all week round.

All the best with your bus-hopping, Harry!

Nick

The Monday to Friday start time of the ENBP varies with which authority issues it, most seem to start at 9.30 but some are 9 . The missis and I if we do a similar jaunt down into the scenic parts of Dorset don’t mind paying the £3.00 each maximum bus fair to get us well into the County . At the end of the day it can still work out cheaper than parking the car. The end of the day can catch people out , if you are fortunate enough to be able to use a route that runs late into the night then to use the bus pass you must catch a service before 23.00. We can get a bus to within 3 miles of home from a station 10 miles at 00.30 which means a day out in London and catching the last train back is possible leaving the car in a friends place so no parking charges. Weekends the bus pass can be used but weekdays have to pay the £3.00. Still cheaper than a days parking at the station but I have seen a someone else embarrassed to find their pass was not valid and moaning at the bus driver. Its actually got easier lately as the station forecourt (Salisbury) has been remodelled which now allows the bus to start from it rather than a brisk 10min walk to the street stop it previously started or terminated at. GH