By Ryan Whelan
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that public facing technology, particularly where the London transport system is concerned, constantly fails us? Yesterday, figures were revealed highlighting that one in five pedestrian crossings at junctions in London do not give people enough time to cross the road. I mean, how pathetic is that?
Ever travelled on the London Tube? Ever wondered why you have just watched five minutes pass on the platform display clock, but the countdown timer (right above it) has continued to maintain that the tube is due in one minute? Maybe I am looking at this in the wrong way, but I am sure a countdown timer is supposed to do just that – count down!
I visited Barcelona in February for the Mobile World Congress and found its transport system a doddle. Much cleaner and far more efficient than ours. Its countdown timer (now make sure you are sitting down for this Londoners?) actually counts down by the second, as it uses a real time system unlike our own, which is based upon travelling time from the last destination. In fact each tube/train usually arrived 30 seconds ahead of schedule. Impressive, huh?
It still amazes me that TfL recently shelved plans to trial mobile phone use on London's tube network due to high costs, apparently none of the three proposals that were received were "commercially credible". This is despite Richard Parry, London Underground's strategy and service development director, being quoted as saying: "We recognise that there is now growing demand for mobile coverage to be extended to deep-level sections of the Tube." I thought London was supposed to be an innovative city, but we fall behind almost every other European city in these stakes, even Glasgow.
Other public technology failings include the famous Oyster Card meltdown and the report that claimed the lack of a digital radio network hampered the efforts of emergency service rescue teams during the 7th July 2005 London bombings. This list goes on...
However, I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised that initiatives which are used to generate an exceptional amount of Government revenue are fully operational and advancing at an impressive rate. Take for instance the mass of speed cameras that will be deployed to monitor drivers’ average speeds on hundreds of our roads later this year, making it impossible to elude detection as the digital cameras will cover every entry and exit point. How about the ‘Gatso 2’ scheme that intends to detect all untaxed, uninsured or stolen cars on our roads? I’m not advocating breaking the law, but isn’t it a bit fishy that these revenue generating initiatives never seem to have any negative technology issues or prohibitive costs associated with them? The same applies to the raft of technology behind the Congestion Charge.
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