Excess information

I presume that TfL has an obligation to cater for the hard of hearing.

And for somebody that does not use the tube network that often, like myself, information like that is useful

The issue I have with this is not that the message exists, but that it is displayed at the wrong times. "Stand back, train approaching" is only useful when the train is imminently due into the platform (less than 1 minute away) but has not arrived yet. Instead I've seen it shown when a train isn't approaching, for three minutes before a train shows, for the entire duration a train is in the platform, when the train is in or even leaving the platform. Incorrect information can be worse than no information at all.

You're right, there are two sides to the argument and the occasional service update or mentioning that lift is out-of-service can come in useful for many. However I do often wonder whether too much information pollution is a bad thing, be it the cluttered tube map (as Max Roberts among others have commentated on numerous times) or simply the barrage of announcements us customers are subjected to. It just makes people switch off, which can have detrimental impacts should there be a real need for an emergency message.

Why can't people plan their journeys in advance any more? For example, the "this station has step-free access message" is completely irrelevant as surely if you require step-free access you'd have checked up on it in advance rather than spontaneously appreciating this fact on approach to the station you wish to interchange/exit.

How on Earth did we survive in the days before DMIs? I use Barons Court most days and we all seem to survive without the presence of DMIs so why can't DLR customers? In terms of the DLR message that the initial poster in this thread called attention to - "Stand back - train approaching" - I think this is common sense. One should stand behind the yellow line at ALL times, not just when the train is approaching. One audio announcement would come in handy for those who are visually impaired, but the on-screen ones do seem a tad unnecessary, particularly if it's blocking out more crucial messages. Furthermore, as Chris M has mentioned above, a lot of the 'train approaching' announcements seem to be ill-timed. Using the Piccadilly line as an example, Southgate (westbound) gives far too much notice, whereas Finsbury Park (eastbound) will often announce that the train is now approaching when the train is already halfway along the platform!

I think that nails the problem. The present approach seems to be: we are living in a 24/7 etc society; there's a constant media bombardment associated with that(which presumes everyone actively likes living in it and must be kept up to date with all information available all the time)which our 'customers' must therefore feel worried about when we can't keep them up to speed with our travel information.

And once, as you say, they start thinking about people & human factors, the sooner they will realise that there are plenty of different types of passengers, too, who need different types of information at different times in different places, and that these needs are what they should address, and then realise they actually can satisfy what the vast majority of the different categories want across a wide range of information sites and modes, without the present tendency towards one size fits all.

I might be missing your point, but if someone can read the display, aren't they likely to be able to anticipate the approach of, and see the train when it arrives?

If it is shown at the right time I can help people at the front end of the platform when the platform is crowded.

If the travelling public weren't assumed to have half (or less) the brainpower they actually possess by some of the dopier planners in transport ivory towers we most probably wouldn't be deluged by the ridiculous number of announcements. You're absolutely correct in what you say. I travel infrequently on the tube nowadays, perhaps two or three times per year but it's getting more and more irritating to the point where I barely notice what's being said, just a monotonous drone in the background. Accordingly, I'm likely to ignore anything important being said.

I give few instructions to my 18 month old grandson as it doesn't take the brain of Britain to work out that a constant flow of discourse is likely to achieve the toddler version of "shut up Grandpop" in response. He doesn't seem to need the nannying so prevalent on our transport systems and listens when I actually have something useful to impart.

It is of course indicative of the fear of litigation felt by organisations nowadays that partly leads them to present this information umpteen times per minute so that in the event of a tragedy they've got their arses covered.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but there is a flaw here:
If you're blind, you can't see the train coming, but then you can't see the board either. If you're deaf you can still see it coming. Right?

This past Tuesday I was making my way to Heathrow, while changing at Mile End an announcement was made about a service disruption somewhere. I was unable to hear it because at the same time the train was also doing it's thing about "this is a..." and "mind the..." so I finished up not hearing any information from train or platform. Surely it could be possible to override all announcements when the need arises to convey important messages, but I suppose those in the ivory towers think all the messages are important By the way I made it to the airport with no delays, but still have no idea what or where the delay was.