Real Time Information

Real time information is ever growing and developing, giving us access to all types of new services, such as train information, flight times, bus and parcel tracking, weather updates and road traffic updates. This allows us to plan our day just by looking on the internet.

Railway Services

                On the internet, you can check railway timetables as well as finding out if there are any cancellations or delays, so you can plan your journey completely. Southeastern railway even have their own twitter account, to alert customers when there is a sudden delay in services.

                This is very useful when planning your journey anywhere as it means that you won’t get to the train station only to find out that all the trains are delayed or cancelled.

                However, there is no guarantee that all this information that you are receiving is necessarily right, as train times are changed quite a lot due to various things that may or may not delay them. It is also not that easy to find out what is going on with the exact train that you want, as there are so many that arrive within minutes of each other.

                Personally, I get the train to school every day, so I find the live twitter feed very useful, as it allows me to check that my train is running on time, and if it is not, then I can make alternative arrangements to get to school on time.

Bus tracking

Bus tracking is a fairly recent development in the real time information world, as it allows us to find out exactly where a bus is, and how long it will be until it reaches a certain stop. This is accessed through a website called http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/11560.aspx

                This is a useful website because, like the railway service, it allows you to plan your journey according to when the bus will arrive. The website explains how you can receive updates via text and ‘mobile friendly websites’, making it even easier to track the bus.

                However, the websites also explains how the service can go wrong. For example, it explains that if the bus is in an area with poor signal, then the estimated times will not be accurate. It also says that if a bus goes off route at all, it will disappear from the map completely. If a bus is delayed for any reason at all, then the website will stop counting down minutes, and instead just show a ‘Delayed’ notice.

                Personally, I have not used this service before as I normally use trains instead of buses, but from looking at the website for bus tracking, I found a similar service for trains: http://traintimes.org.uk/map/#bhm

Weather

There are many ways to find out the daily weather forecast, as live weather updates are regularly broadcasted on radio, TV, and in newspapers. There are now also thousands of apps available to download on mobile devices and tablets. Essentially, there is no difficulty in finding out the weather forecast whatsoever.

                As well as the ease of being able to find out the weather forecast, they have now extended the services to include a wider range of places and an hourly forecast. This means that you can find out what the weather will be like during the day and exactly what time it will rain etc.

                However, the weather forecast is not always necessarily right, and there is no guarantee that it will be.  A lot of different forecasts predict different things for the same day, so they are by no means accurate.

                Personally, I check the weather forecast on my phone every day, so that I can plan what I need to wear and what I can do that day. Normally I find that it is mostly accurate, apart from a few exceptions.

GPS

GPS stands for Global Positioning System, which is a space-based satellite navigation system which transmits time and location information about anywhere on earth. GPS is used for military purposes, as well as by civil and commercial users.

                Probably the most common use of GPS is in Satellite Navigation Systems in cars. These allow you to enter the name or address of a place you want to go, and it will find out where you are and give you directions to get to your destination. This can be very useful for travelling long distances, as it gives you the option to pick from the shortest route, the longest route or sometimes a route that avoids motorways. Most Sat Navs give you an estimated arrival time, as well as alerting you when there are speed cameras etc.

                As useful as they are, there are some limitations when it comes to GPS in cars. For example, as it gives you directions in terms of roads, if a road is closed or a new one is built, it will not show up on the Sat Nav. However, for this reason you are able to update your Sat Nav so that it is up-to-date with any road changes etc.

                Personally, I use a SatNav quite regularly, as I often drive across the country to visit my sister at university, and as I am not familiar with that part of the country, the SatNav is very helpful. I also use GPS on social networking sites, as it can let people know where I am posting from, or on Facebook you can ‘check in’ to a place, which tells people where you are and what you are doing.

Parcel Tracking

                Another helpful use of real time technology is parcel tracking. This allows you to find out where a parcel that you have either sent or bought is. Many transactional websites provide this service, so that you have security in knowing when it is expected to arrive or if there are any delays. The Royal Mail also allows you to track parcels, on the website http://www.royalmail.com/track-trace  ,you have to enter a 13 character reference, which is given to you when you send the parcel. It also gives you the option to check whether a parcel you’ve sent has been signed for, and who by.

                Parcel tracking also as certain limitations, as it is not exactly real time; it only gets updated when a message is sent at each stage of delivery. For example, when the postman picks it up and takes it to the sorting office etc. In some cases as well, you have to pay for the extra service of tracking your parcel.

                Personally, I have never used a parcel tracking service as I do not often buy things online or send parcels to anyone else, but if I did, I think I would use a parcel tracking service as I think it would reassure me about the delivery status of my parcel.