If Peter Taylor thinks a dial-up, on-demand mini bus service and a travel app telling users the best way to get from A to B will avert Watford’s looming chronic congestion crisis he is living in cloud cuckoo land.
The answer to everything these days seems to be ‘go online’. But for something as vital as travel, online isn’t the answer. Mobile phones often fail when batteries go flat or there is no network coverage or the network fails.
Small mobile phone screens aren’t always appropriate to read and decipher intricate maps, particularly for senior users with failing eyesight.
For years there was a large touch screen by Charter Place by Interlink which did just that - compute the best route from A to B.
Today I almost missed the 352 bus to Chipperfield, because nowhere to be seen in the brave new world of Watford’s revamped high street was there a board to be seen to show which bus stop amongst the myriads of terminals in the town centre the bus departed from.
Where are the display boards, Peter? Where is the route information?
Where are the bus timetables?
Its a maze for anyone from Watford, so for visitors it must be virtually impossible to navigate their way to and from town.
So never mind the clever apps which may not work under many conditions and not everyone is internet conversant in 2019, so the idea of an app which, whilst useful, cannot be the only way to rely on public transport.
Dave Degen
Whippendell Road, Watford
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