[Sussex] A Quality product from Microsoft

[Steve Dobson]

Mark

On Mon, Jan 24, 2005 at 09:06:34PM +0000, Mark Harrison (Groups) wrote:
> There are numerous train journeys in the UK where the _fastest_ route is 
> to travel AWAY from your destination on a stopping service to a larger 
> station, and then catch a fast train whizzing through waving at the 
> people you left on the platform :-)

And on the roads too.  A few years back when there were road-works on the
M27/M25 interchange if you wanted to travel anti-clockwise on the M25
it was quicker (because of queueing traffic) to first travel clockwise to
the next junction and do a u-turn.
 
> Out of interest, has anyone checked the ferry timetables? As far as I 
> can work out, by using internal Norwegian ferries, you actually have to 
> use _three_ of them, and travel across two intervening islands.

Well map24.com (which someone suggested) has a route with three ferries
that doesn't leave Norway and follows the cost.  But there must be a better
way than using ferries, at lease on of which takes nearly three hours to
do 13 miles.
 
> Hopefully, however, the Norwegians have been travel planning than the 
> UK, so this isn't stupid. There are numerous outlying islands in the UK, 
> however, where travel to the mainland happens, say, once a week.
> 
> Out of interest, which route planner do you use? I'm looking for a FLOSS 
> one, but haven't really found anything.

I use an old system that has served me well over the years.  My brain and
a map!  Now my system isn't perfect, I don't have local knowledge of 
all parts of the route (unless I do that route often - in which case I
don't need a route planner).  I haven't yet found a system that can do a
better job.  Because all planner system don't seam to have any local
knowledge (like the fact that road through towns are slow).

The first computer route planner I used found three route from my home
to my destination, and all three versions only differed in my route out
of Eastbourne - non of which was the best!

If I'm travelling a long distance I am going to use motorways as much
as possible, mostly because they reduce the chances of me getting lost
- but I will use other major routes if I have learnt that the motorway
isn't the best - the A1(M) is a good example of this: for traveling to
the North-east it is shorter and even though there are a few roundabouts,
it (at least when I was travelling that way often) had less road-works
and less traffic than the M1 so your average speed was quicker.

For shorter routes (two hours or less) and ones that I do often I will
take the time and explore.  A good example is the route from my home 
to my parents' (Eastbourne to Ashford).  MapPoint routed me the A28
route.  Yes I have used this, but the A28 is a slow road - it travels
via a number of villages with many traffic lights, roundabouts and other
devices to reduce your average speed (even in the dead of night when 
you are the only thing on the road).

Map24 did much better - it used a more southernly route via Hastings.
But it routed me along the Hasting sea-front.  This is a very slow
road.  Lots of lights and lots of traffic.

So when it comes to planning a route I am going to choose roads depending
upon a number of factors:

   1: The time of day I'm travelling
   2: The class of the road (A-roads are generally faster than C-roads)
   3: The roads route (roads through towns and villages are slower than
      roads that bypass them).
   4: Previous experience - the number one factor.

Those of you that know me know that I love my technology.  But I don't 
believe in technology for technology's sake.  For one off tasks
(and route planning is, by definition, a one of task) I still believe in
my own abilities.  I'm not saying that technology can't play a part,
checking the AA/RAC's sites for road works would be one example, but
developing the skill to read a map is far better.  If you come up with
something unexpected on route, with the map by your side you can plan
your way out of it, rather than sticking to a script given to you.  If
all you have is the script, how do you cope when things go wrong?

Steve