General moan about the shite that is the TFL journey planner!

[ConsistentlyElectrifiedElves]

Tell me I'm not alone in my annoyance with this website?!

Last week it abandoned me on the wrong side of the river because a pier I wanted to use was closed, but the journey planner didn't acknowledge it.

Then, why when you choose your start and end point to be tube stations, does it tell you there's X minutes of walking involved?

Example - choose HotH tube station start and Aldgate tube station. Apparently it'll take 4 minutes to transfer from HotH tube station to HotH tube station, then 3 minutes to walk from Aldgate station to Aldgate station.

Or is this some sort of estimated time to figure out which way is the way out/in to the station?

Plus, half the time the first option it gives me is a really indirect route using busses, when there's a perfectly acceptable (quicker) tube station available.

The pier example last week also suggested I walk from one tube station to a bus stop, then get on a bus to the pier, even though the walk was in the opposite direction to the pier and just walking to the pier would have been quicker.

Honestly - it drives me mad!

I can't stand it! It's so awkward if you put in your departure place and destination and then when you want to change the times it won't easily let you.

Plus it seems to come up with cycling and walking options first. Just realise that I want to use tube or bus first.

I don't use it anymore - have you tried citymapper? (it's good for other cities too, not just London)

Use Citymapper, it’s much better than tfl! 😄

I'm very glad I've read this. Trying to plan my way around London for a trip in September and I found the same issues. Telling me to get several buses and a tube and then scroll right to the bottom to see the tube on its own is an option (plus all the random extra walking). It seems to contradict the tube map from what I can work out so I won't use the journey planner after all.

I just use Google maps, I don't find Citymapper and better or easier

Nobody uses TFL anymore! Citymapperall all the way.

I agree - I used it for a trip to London recently and most of the time it gave me routes involving two or three buses or bus, tube, bus when there was actually a direct bus from a to b.
Good to know about citymapper, I will use that in future.

It's rubbish.

CM is better. Google Maps is fine but doesn't update when there are planned engineering works.

Another app is Moovit though I don't use that myself,

I'm glad I posted - hadn't heard of CityMapper! Thank you!

I tend to figure out the journey myself using Google maps but often just want to know how long the tube part of my journey should be. Will definitely try CityMapper next time.

It reminds me of the old Olympics journey planner they brought in in 2012.

I had tickets to the archery at Lords and live on the Chiltern line, so knew to just get the train in to Marylebone and walk. If we could get a fast train, we're in Marylebone in less than 30 minutes, then a walk per google is 25 mins, so in reality about 20.

The quickest journey per the Olympics journey planner was 3 hours and involved a coach! 😂

I wonder how many people that didn't travel to London regularly got caught out with very long winded routes due to that thing.

Yeah it is rubbish it told me to get off a stop earlier than I needed to, not a massive deal but just why?! Bit confusing why it would say to get off the stop before the actual stop. I didn't like citymapper personally either

I hardly ever use it any more as it never gives the most direct route. I’m another Citymapper convert.

Citymapper or Google both fine. TfL only offers limited choices of routes, whereas Citymapper will give you loads, so you can decide to pick the one that suits your particular preference (less walking, more walking, avoids the bus full of school kids, takes you past Lidl so you can grab some shopping etc). I do still try it every now and then because it looks beautiful, but it's just such a PITA to use.