Has anyone else heard these ? Got on tram today and the most annoying pre-recorded announcement ever greeted me :o

There is a weird noise [like a mobile phone going off] then an announcement by a non-professional speaker. It's really annoying. They could at least have gotten the driver that sounds like the snooker commentator to have done the announcements :P

Isn't that what supertram messages have always been ?

"ding dong hyd$¤*ark" or something vaguely comprehensible...

Oh no - they have always been by the driver - the new ones are recorded and annoying - even the school kids were complaining, and thats saying something !

The message goes 'bing bong. The Next stop by request will be 'x'' where x is the next stop. The voice gets on your nerves after a bit and as for the tone at the start - keep expecting them to say 'hi-de-hi campers !' :P

Would be cool if they had a nice female announcer like on the underground :thumbsup:

I recon it'd be nice if they kept it as it is and let people look at the dot matrix screens...

I was gonna post about this lol, I guy they used has such a broad yorkshire accent which is a good thing I suppose lol.

"Eeeebygum, next stop by request is t'cathedral"

Originally posted by rtapper
Oh no - they have always been by the driver - the new ones are recorded and annoying - even the school kids were complaining, and thats saying something !

The message goes 'bing bong. The Next stop by request will be 'x'' where x is the next stop. The voice gets on your nerves after a bit and as for the tone at the start - keep expecting them to say 'hi-de-hi campers !' :P

Would be cool if they had a nice female announcer like on the underground :thumbsup:

"Bing-beng-bong"
"The next post, by request, will be from Plain talker. Thank you!"

Actually there are three different "voices" used on the announcements. a lady's voice, and two men's.

Each voice is for a different route, the halfway/ malin bridge, blue route, the yellow, middlewood-meadowhell route, and the pink herdings park to cathedral/ meadowhell
Each voice is distinct, there are two yorkshire accents, the lady's and one of the chaps, and the other chap's voice has a bit of a west country "burr" to it.

it is good idea because it means the driver can get on with driving, and not have to muck about with announcements, it's quite clear and well pronounced, so that visually impaired passengers can hear it okay:- I like it.

PT

Our Rail ones are appalling it's practically and inaudible. But the DLR ones are crystal clear.
:thumbsup:

I haven't heard these yet and I now have to patrol on the trams in town. But straying away from the trams for a bit, Midland mainline have been training people up to announce the trains (being delayed) in the stations rather than have the old pre-recorded ones. It all goes around in one big circle, soon they will both swap back to what they had before.

Hmm, looks like I shall have to venture off the Blue route and onto the others to listen to the other announcements :P

Originally posted by duffman
But straying away from the trams for a bit, Midland mainline have been training people up to announce the trains (being delayed) in the stations rather than have the old pre-recorded ones. It all goes around in one big circle, soon they will both swap back to what they had before.

It's intersting to know that Midland Mainline is the most punctiual intercity Train Operating Company (TOC) in the country.

That means MM's trains are more punctual than Great Western, West Coast, Great North Eastern, Cross Country...

Since yesterday, the trams have began using automated announcements to say which stop is next, what do you think of them???

Merged this with dinp's poll :thumbsup:

I suppose the 'artificial' voice becomes annoying over time but at least it's now accurate and audible. Let's spare a moment for the people who don't know where they are going. It must be an improvement?

Originally posted by amhudson119
Our Rail ones are appalling it's practically and inaudible. But the DLR ones are crystal clear.
:thumbsup:

DLR? David Lee Roth does the announcments for the tram now?
Wow. He's got a fantastic voice.

Bright lights,
City lights,
I'm talking 'bout the
Hole in the Road!

:thumbsup:

Originally posted by tslogf74
I suppose the 'artificial' voice becomes annoying over time but at least it's now accurate and audible. Let's spare a moment for the people who don't know where they are going. It must be an improvement?

Good point. Proper announcments must be really helpful for non-locals. They might annoy us after a while, but for visitors, it must be nice to have access to a transport system that is easy to navigate.

Just a few questions about the Supertram announcements.

How is it done? What triggers the announcement?

I believe with the dot-matrix signs they are triggered by the opening and closing of any of the doors. This lets the tram know it has been at a stop and should update the sign to the next one. But what happens if a tram goes straight past a stop? Does the display (and now the announcement ) have to be 'skipped forwards' manually?

I know there is a system in place at the depot where a computer knows where all the trams are at any given time. Is it this which sends a radio signal back to the tram to tell trigger the update, rather than the doors doing it? I have my doubts about this as I arrived at Fitzallan Square once on a tram with displays which said it was just arriving at Meadowhall! OOPS!

When the system was first launched, all the drivers were taught to make the announcements properly. They managed this for quite a while. What has happened recently that they can not do this any more? Is it just new lazy drivers?

Finally, if you think driving a tram is difficult, I have news.... It's not! They are actually the easiest vehicle around to drive. certainly easier than those little car things people persist in blocking the city streets with! ;)

Originally posted by Plain Talker
and the other chap's voice has a bit of a west country "burr" to it.


ooooh arrrrrgh "Next stop cricket inn road"