Tebb – ALTERNATIVE TIMETABLE FORMATS 1977

Description

This 1977 TRRL working paper by R.G.P. Tebb reviews and classifies public-transport timetable formats to inform experiments on comprehensibility. Citing studies that roughly 49% of users—particularly older people and those unfamiliar with 24-hour time—struggle with conventional timetables, it identifies four principal elements: heading, list of principal points en route, matrix of times, and notes. The paper details common heading contents, route-list conventions (branches, connection indicators), wide variation in time displays and typefaces (24-hour vs am/pm), orientation options (vertical, reflected, diagonal), and six main British layout styles. It surveys unconventional formats (Departure time, Grampian, Dutch), noting each format’s advantages and limitations, and discusses page/type sizes and colour use. Tebb recommends testing features such as clock style, orientation, layout, display/type size, unconventional formats, and colour when preparing experimental timetables. The report also compiles extensive timetable extracts and layout examples for UK and some European bus and train routes, showing service patterns, frequencies, fare stages, interchange notes, operators, and various presentation styles.