How to read a bus timetable - weekday, Saturday and holiday schedules, and how to check them

Reading a timetable starts with which day's schedule you are looking at

When you look at a bus timetable, the first thing to check is not a departure time at all: it is which day of the week the column in front of you applies to. Bus timetables are usually split into three kinds, weekday, Saturday, and Sunday and holiday, and at one and the same stop both the number of trips and the times can differ greatly from one to another. Skip that check, look only at the weekday column, and you may find yourself waiting at the stop on a Sunday for a bus that never comes at the time you expected.

Reading the timetable itself is not difficult. The basic form has the hours running down the page and, alongside each one, the minutes within that hour, so if the 8 o'clock row reads 05 21 37 52, it means buses depart at 8:05, 8:21, 8:37 and 8:52. On top of that basic form come two things worth reading closely: the type of schedule, and the notes. Let us take them in turn.

Weekday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday - how the three schedules differ

A plan of bus operations is called a schedule. Because people move about differently from one day of the week to another, bus operators prepare a separate schedule for each. What each one tends to look like is as follows.

What deserves attention is that the way the days are divided up varies from route to route. Some routes lump Saturdays together with Sundays and holidays into a single weekend and holiday schedule, while others keep all three types properly separate. There are also finer rules that differ by operator and by route, such as routes where the number of trips changes only during long school vacations, even on weekdays. Start by checking whether the headings on the timetable columns list Saturday and holiday separately or roll them into one.

Which schedule applies on public holidays, at Obon and over the New Year

The case people find most confusing is a public holiday that falls on a weekday. On a typical bus timetable, public holidays run on the Sunday and holiday schedule regardless of the day of the week. If a public holiday falls on a Wednesday, for example, that day runs not on the weekday schedule but on the Sunday and holiday schedule. If you always take a Wednesday bus to work or to a hospital appointment, do bear in mind that the number of trips and the times change on public holidays alone.

The other thing to watch for is Obon, the mid-August holiday season, and the New Year period. Even on days that are ordinary weekdays as far as the calendar is concerned, services during these periods may run on the Sunday and holiday schedule or on a special schedule. Which schedule covers which dates differs by operator and by route, and can change from year to year, so if you are relying on a bus for something important at these times of year, the sure approach is to check the schedule for the day in advance in the operator's official announcements. For Toei buses, notices and timetables can be checked on the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation's official site.

Notes that are easy to miss - the symbols and small print hold what matters

Beside the figures on a timetable you will sometimes find small symbols and notes. Read past them and you risk the situation where the bus came exactly on time but did not go where you were going. Common notes include the following.

• Trips with a different destination: even on the same route, some trips end at a stop partway along, or carry on to a different terminus. Where a time carries a symbol, check the explanation below the table for the destination.
• Trips taking a different path: some trips change the roads they use partway and therefore do not serve certain stops.
• Trips tied to entering or leaving the garage: near a depot or garage, there may be trips that start from a stop partway along the line, or that terminate partway along it.
• Different boarding points: in front of a large station, the boarding point can differ from trip to trip even on the same route.

Remember, too, that the times printed on a timetable are the scheduled departure times from that stop. Delays caused by road conditions are nothing unusual, so waiting with a margin of a few minutes is the basic assumption. For a full explanation of why buses do not arrive on time, see our article on why buses run late.

Schedule revisions - a timetable does not stay the same

One more thing worth knowing when you read a timetable is the schedule revision. Bus schedules are reviewed periodically in line with how much they are used, road conditions, crew rosters and so on, and each time that happens the times, the number of trips and the mix of destinations change. How often and when revisions come varies from route to route: some change within a few months, while others keep the same schedule for years.

What to be careful about here is reusing old times you noted down. A photo you once took of the timetable at a stop, or a printed list of times stuck to the refrigerator door, stops being reliable as soon as there is a schedule revision. Timetables posted at stops usually carry a reference date showing when the schedule was last revised, so when you make a note of the times, record that reference date along with them. Later on it gives you a clue as to whether your note is still valid.

Even on a route you ride almost daily, it is reassuring to get into the habit of checking the posted timetable or the operator's official announcements a few times a year to see whether the times have changed.

Take extra care with the first and last buses

Misreading a timetable hurts most with the first bus of the morning and the last bus at night. On the Sunday and holiday schedule the first bus is often later and the last bus earlier than on weekdays, so if you go to the stop late in the evening with your weekday instincts intact, you may find that the last trip of the day has already gone.

On days when you plan to use the last bus in particular, it is reassuring to note down not only the time of the trip you intend to catch but also the time of the trip before it. That way, if it looks as though you might miss yours, you have time to think of an alternative. How to look up the first and last buses, and what to watch out for, are set out in our article on first and last buses.

A little care before you board prevents almost every mistake

To sum up, checking a bus timetable in the following order will head off almost any misreading.

1. Confirm which schedule today falls under, weekday, Saturday, or Sunday and holiday (taking particular care with public holidays, Obon and the New Year period).
2. In the matching column, read the departure times for the period you want to travel in.
3. Look at the symbols beside the times and the notes below the table, and check whether there are any exceptions as to destination, path or boarding point.

On top of that, being at the stop five minutes before departure removes any worry about a clock that is off or a bus that leaves early. Once you are comfortable reading timetables, do also have a look at our guide to riding Toei buses, which sets out how the journey goes on the day.