Chesterfield upload

I had reason to visit the StagecoachBus.com website the other day, specifically to look for bus times for Services 43/44, operating between Chesterfield and Sheffield by Stagecoach. The StagecoachBus.com website is pretty easy to navigate and within seconds I located the timetable I needed.

I prefer to view the actual timetable online than see a computer generated bespoke timetable for the parameters I choose. Many train operators' websites build you a bespoke timetable for a specific journey and while this has many merits, isn't really for me. Luckily bus companies tend not to do this - though there may be merit in offering both types.

Expecting to find the Stagecoach-standard corporate timetable design, I was initially shocked to view the following:

Click to enlarge

Perhaps due to a printing problem or a tight deadline, Stagecoach in Chesterfield has uploaded the actual vehicle registration for the service in question. This is far clearer than the official timetable, with the company's corporate image on display. In fact, it's not dissimilar to the timetables produced by the excellent Derbyshire County Council.

It just shows how simple a timetable can look if it is produced in a certain way. It looks to have been produced on Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet and manages to communicate very clearly the times of services between Chesterfield and Sheffield.

Trouble is, it's a 5-page document and isn't exactly handy for printing out and taking with you, though it probably costs less to print out than the full-colour version when it is eventually uploaded - which is probably what will happen eventually (probably sooner if someone reads this blog entry). It is also missing a route map and contact details, plus sample fares and has no ticketing promotions detailed. Breaking with tradition even more, absolutely nowhere in the 5-page pdf is the word Stagecoach mentioned.

You may spot that the timetable denotes the evening journeys that wont operate on Christmas and New Years Eves - information which certainly isn't shown as standard on other operators' timetables nationally so this offers more information than would otherwise be available to the public.

I hope they don't feel the need to replace it just yet.

Service 43/44 pdf (while it is available)