I'm not saying it's a bad idea to travel with me

[lovingboth]

The announcements and posters at DLR stations today said something along the lines of "services will be suspended between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/Canary Wharf stations on Saturday & Sunday and between Stratford and Canary Wharf stations on Sunday".

[Poll #1147174]

What is the clear implication of that statement? It is that there is a service between Stratford and Canary Wharf on Saturday!

On arrival at Canary Wharf this afternoon, this proved not to be the case.

Between Poplar and Stratford, yes, but there was no service between Canary Wharf and Poplar and even the replacement bus service didn't go there (some of them went to Blackwall, where you had to catch a train to Poplar and then change!)

After we boarded the replacement bus, the DLR staff at the bus stop asked the driver if he knew where he was going. Ho ho, we thought.

It became slightly less amusing when a long conversation followed, featuring what to do at a roundabout under a dual carriageway.

But eventually we were off. After a while, we arrived at a roundabout under a dual carriageway.

The driver drove all the way around it, 360 degrees. He then went around again. He then took what turned out to be the wrong exit and thus started an unscheduled tour of East London...

The end result was that my journey was much delayed because of the utterly misleading announcements and the incompetence of the driver of the replacement bus service.

I ended up missing what I'd gone for, having a much needed toilet break and returning immediately thereafter.

I'll be submitting a claim for the tickets and I trust it will not be declined because 'it was due to the engineering work'.

Comments

[barakta]

i know you need to go through Poplar to get to Canary Wharf from Stratford. i read that announcement recently and thought it was badly and confusingly worded and put the DLr into "lets not bother" category for the whole weekend. I would technically interpret that announcement to mean that there was a service between Stratford and Poplar on Saturday but knowing DLR not place any bets on it.

If in any doubt, interpret for worst case scenario, especially where public transport is concerned.

[barakta]

Could you have walked from Canary Wharf to Poplar and got the DLR to Stratford from there? Sounds like it'd have been quicker and less evil than the replacement buses.

Gah, and good luck sporking them for your tickets and time wasted.

[aster13.livejournal.com]

Gnnnnn!

[djm4]

No more than I'd expect there to be a service between Lewisham and Poplar. But then I know the DLR system topology. A simple map makes all the difference in these cases.

[lovingboth]

Hmm, but normally there is a service between Canary Wharf and Stratford, via Poplar, and often isn't one between Lewisham and Stratford (some of the time there is, other times, you need to change at... Canary Wharf).

Yep, if they'd had the map displayed, I wouldn't have bothered starting the journey. The announcements meant I thought there was work at, say, Limehouse not affecting the junction between Canary Wharf and Poplar.

[lovingboth]

As it turns out, that would have been quicker, but I've no idea about how easy it the route would have been without a map.

[a-musing-amazon.livejournal.com]

The current Real-Time Map (on Sunday) is now showing no service between Devons Road to Straford and All Saints to Canary Wharf, but is showing normal operations between Devons Road to All Saints.

The current message there is:
DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY: On Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 March, services are suspended between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/Canary Wharf. Additionally, services are also suspended between Canary Wharf and Stratford with buses operating on Sunday only.

which implies (if the Stratford to Canary Wharf service was suspended on Saturday) that there was no replacement bus service either on Saturday (so no wonder they got lost).

Sounds like DLR are completely confused.

[barakta]

Me neither to be honest. I think you'd be relying on "Oh look, big pointy building, head for that which only works from Poplar to CW". Geographically it's almost no distance at all as the DLR does a bit of a wind-around thing.

I'd probably have sodded it for the Jubilee line but that'd have cost you more in tickets as I bet they didn't allow DLR-Jubilee travel options like the ought to have done.

[barakta]

Oh and Lewisham station seems to have the /worst/ announcements, rudest staff (when there are any) and most confusing signs that I have ever seen. I was better off logging into IRC via cunning WAP gateway and asking humans that I trust to find me travel info as the announcements were rubbish, signs confusing and staff rude, inaudible, unhelpful and confusing...

It's now one step below Crewe in my places not to travel to or from!

Canary Wharf to Poplar

[kake]

I did it once - and I did have a map, because I always have a map - and it was a little bit confusing because the A-Z doesn't show the part where Upper Bank Street leads on to Aspen Way very clearly, so it wasn't obvious that I actually could get through on foot. (In fact Streetmap is even worse, because that part's obscured by a large grey POPLAR label...)

Edited to add: I'm basically saying that although the route is really simple, it requires faith the first time :)

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

That was my reading, too. I wouldn't have expected a decent service on any of the rest of the network either (e.g. Canning Town to Beckton), since I'd expect their scheduling and rolling stock locations to be all up the spout as a result.

It is a confusingly-worded announcement, even if you have the map in front of you.

[djm4]

Yes. The addition of: 'On Saturday, trains to and from Stratford will start from/terminate at Poplar' would have made things a little clearer for those who don't know the network. Otherwise, the Sunday announcement looks like the textbook case of an 'exception that proves the rule', whereas in fact it's nothing of the sort.

[lovingboth]

There was a DLR service from Popular to Stratford, and thus no 'replacement bus service'.