The EM60 Trivial Enquiry Bureau (#3, August 2020)

Another chance to look at what you have been searching for on East of the M60’s – plus our ‘very’ human powered responses

“How did I get here?” Yes, David Byrne could have been talking about East of the M60 had it existed in 1980. We probably would have pulled Xanadu to pieces after seeing it at the Stalybridge Palace. Or we would have been telling folk about this great musician who appeared on Piccadilly Radio’s Nightbeat programme. In our last look back in November 2018, Cob Coaling and East of the M60 topped our ten search strings.

‘Busy Bus’ App to Help With Journey Planning

Stagecoach Greater Manchester introduces new app to ensure safe social distancing

• Data and artificial intelligence to help with social distancing;
• Traffic light indicator enables passengers to consider alternative, quieter routes.

The Stagecoach Group is launching a new smartphone “Busy Bus” indicator app. This will help customers plan their journeys as service frequencies increase across the country.

How to Convert Your Graphics from Pixels to Imperial Measurements

Revealed: Your Recommended Social Media Image Sizes in Feet and Inches

Besides death and taxes, there is another certainty to the list for anyone with a social media account or three. That social media channels reserve the right to change recommended resolution sizes where they see fit. As devices add more bells and whistles, their power to handle bigger, higher resolution graphics improve. Faster connection speeds also gives us carte blanche to use glossier, sharper images.

Be Nice Bus Stands Against Online Bullying

Anti-bullying bus launched by Stagecoach and The Diana Award

• UK educational bus touring UK schools to deliver ‘be nice online’ message;
• Thousands of school pupils invited to sign ‘Be Nice’ pledge following on-bus workshops.

The #BeNiceBus, driven by Ferne McCann and donated by Stagecoach.

A ground-breaking anti-bullying bus tour designed to encourage thousands of young people to be nicer online is due to arrive in Manchester. Stagecoach has teamed up with The Diana Award charity to launch the UK’s first and only #BeNiceBus. The Diana Award runs the leading Anti-Bullying Campaign in the UK and Ireland giving young people the skills, confidence and training to tackle all forms of bullying as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

Moovit’s Big Bang Update

Moovit 5.0 sees radical change in design

Improved Features: though the latest changes wouldn’t offer you any insurance against Pacer units on the Rose Hill Marple service, there are marked improvements to the apps aesthetics and heuristics. Image by Mikey, 2012 (Creative Commons License – Some Rights Reserved).

Moovit 5.0 has been given a complete redesign. Its recent developments have been based on fully understanding its users and their needs. These have been from primary research and user input over the four years since the app’s existence. The new version restructures the incredible amount of data transport available so that users get the information they need at a glance.

Moovit Goes to the Polls: Special Upgrade for 07 May

Intelligent public transport app gets voters to their nearest polling stations in time

Voting in the Dukinfield Ward? The 346 bus is every 10 minutes from Ashton-under-Lyne to Hyde for Dukinfield Library. Alight at Morrisons or Jeffreys Drive (both First Greater Manchester and Stagecoach Manchester up to 1920; former till well past the polling station’s closing time at 2200, though hourly after 1930).

Manchester, 1830 hours: best hot foot it out from work as meeting overran. Realised that I forgot to vote this morning and on doing so, could have got the 221 from Boyd’s Walk after calling in the library. In a right pickle now there’s no buses after 1812 from Piccadilly Gardens to The Albion Hotel. Then I check my smartphone: I find a sound connection with the tram from Piccadilly Gardens to Ashton-under-Lyne. It connects with MCT Travel’s 1925 journey to Dukinfield on the 41. Yours truly is chuffed: two ballot papers and a pint of Robbies’ finest afterwards. Triple yay!

Coming Soon: Free Internet Access on Pacer Units

East of the A627 World Exclusive: Ageing DMUs set for online revolution

A still from the Northern On-Line tutorial video (available in VHS, Betamax and V2000).

On the same day the Department for Transport announced the launch of free WiFi on most trains south of Colchester (and odd ones in Wales), East of the A627 can reveal the latest breakthrough in rail travel affecting Northern English passengers. Northern Rail – the Cinderella franchise of Cinderella franchisees – will be getting a piece of the online action pretty soon.

Have Smartphone, Will Travel: 21st Century Journey Planning

Planning bus, train and tram journeys online

If like myself you live in an urban part of the United Kingdom, you may be semi-familiar with the public transport network. Today, with internet access more commonplace, there is little or no excuse to consider making part of, or the whole of your journey on public transport. In some cases, you can plan the next leg of your journey using your bus or train’s on-board WiFi connection.