Onboard announcements on buses set to become standard?

[Roilshead]

I find the Transdev ones useful, but the gimmicky local accent ones on the 60 annoying - not because of the accent, but because they're rambling so go on much longer than they need to.

I traveled on a 60 from Leeds to Bingley a fortnight ago, and we got "local vocal" (wasn't he the Chairman of the Yorkshire Dialect society?) to welcome us on-board, but from then on all the stops were announced in standard pronunciation.

Didn't BBC Look North's Harry Gration provide the voice for the stop announcements on the 36? Whatever, I've recently seen an advertisement on the Transdev website for Lancashire residents to come forwards and enter a competition to be the voice of one of the Transdev routes. I don't have a problem with local accents, but I did think the locally-voiced announcements on the 60 verged on parody; I find it odd when I visit Belfast that the announcements on Translink Metro are voiced in a plummy English accent, and not in the local dialect . . . and Eia St is pronounced "igher" not "eeiaah".

I use public transport a lot, but infrequently on the same route, and I find next-stop announcements really useful - particularly at this time of year when it can be dark, and difficult to see where one is, before the evening peak. And they don't annoy me on my regular route either - as a previous poster pointed out, buses aren't exactly a quiet environment free from irritation anyway. And as for announcing only major stops, that's a fat of lot of use if you don't know how the stop you want relates to the major stops being announced.

 

[richw]

All of the first kernow announcements are locally recorded in a local accent. Something like 10000 stops were recorded!

 

[Statto]

TFL announcements are the best, not too loud, even with google maps, i sometimes struggle to get off at the right stop in an unfamiliar area especially at night, so next stop announcements are useful, quite amusing on the West Croydon bound X26, going through Hatton Cross, the display switches to the next stop which is Teddington, around 30 minutes away.

 

[transmanche]

TfL has things about right IMO. Simple screens and simple announcements.

In all honesty, at this point I don't know of anyone in London that complains about announcements. TFL actually got a nice voice actress to record the announcements so they're hardly annoying to listen to.

TFL announcements are the best

I have to agree with all of these sentiments. As I was trundling around London today on a number of different buses it occurred to me just how good the iBus announcements are. Simple, clear and consistent.

And it's the consistency that really helps. On the routes I knew well, I just 'zoned out' and wasn't really aware of the announcements. But later, on a route I had never used before, I was listening intently to the announcements.

 

[Belperpete]

While the announcements are primarily there to assist people with disabilities, they're also beneficial to tourists, or even locals who are visiting a part of the city they're unfamiliar with.

As a fairly frequent visitor to foreign places, I find the announcements very helpful. In a packed bus or tram it can be difficult to see the displays, but you can hear the announcements. Even on routes that you are reasonably familiar with, standing in the middle of a rush-hour packed vehicle with steamed-up windows at night, it can often be difficult telling where you are, and trying to use an iphone app in such circumstances can be difficult.

Announcements on buses are hardly a new invention. While there may be some places out in the boonies that don't currently have announcements (and unfortunately where I live comes into that category), I cannot recall any reasonably-sized town and city that I have visited recently where the buses and trams don't have them. For goodness sake, even the Isle of Man has had them on their buses for years, and that is hardly the most forward-thinking place in the world.

On a more prosaic note, Manx tradition has it that being discourteous to the fairies when you pass over their Fairie Bridge outside Douglas is to invite sure retribution from the fairies. So IoM Transport have programmed their buses to say "Hello fairies" when passing over it.

 

[Belperpete]

Similarly I think its rather poor that none of the bus stops at a major location such as the University of Birmingham (and also the Queen Elizabeth Hospital) don't have any information screens and a number of very heavily used and busy stops don't even have a shelter.

There is little point in having screens at bus stops unless at least a majority of the services have trackers.

The information shown on the screens at the bus stops in London I find are generally good, but elsewhere markedly less so. I gave up with the screen in the stop outside the Royal Derby Hospital, for example, as it was next to useless. Buses would be shown as arriving in a couple of minutes, then just disappear off the screen, or the minutes to arrive would get steadily longer and longer as though the bus were reversing back away from the stop! And those at the stops outside Leeds station are even worse. The screen might say something like there is a bus due in 5 minutes and another in 15 minutes, but you can still be standing there nearly half an hour later still waiting.

 

[jon0844]

It would be good if some screens made it clear that the time was a timetabled time, or a real time based on GPS tracking. The former bus may never turn up, whereas the second should (unless something major happens and it gets diverted).

Around here, Herts County Council will show the due time in minutes - but not the timetabled time. If there's disruption, you have no way of knowing what bus it is that's late and it's important because on some routes the same number may terminate early or go via another route (e.g. during school hours). The destination shown on the screen is often misleading as if someone just copied and pasted so every service looks the same.

Providing information is vital, as is providing accurate information! We are quite fortunate that on the railway, you usually have the stopping pattern clearly shown and the booked time AND estimated times shown.

 

[ag51ruk]

It would be good if some screens made it clear that the time was a timetabled time, or a real time based on GPS tracking. The former bus may never turn up, whereas the second should (unless something major happens and it gets diverted).

The screens mentioned by the previous poster in Derby do this, although it may not be clear that they are - real time info is shown as number of minutes until bus arrives e.g. '5 mins' and timetable info is shown as the time. The stop at the Royal Derby Hospital shows both, with Trent Barton real time data and Arriva timetable data. If buses are running early, the real time data is adjusted to show the timetabled departure time (on the assumption that the driver will wait until then before leaving).

I find the systems in use in Derby to generally be reliable, unless there is very heavy traffic (e.g. the Royal Derby service startes there but the outbound buses from the city can get caught in bad traffic, so the algorithm that calculates the estimated time will do some odd things at times)

 

[Bletchleyite]

The standard is to show a time (e.g. 10:30) for non-realtime and a number of minutes for realtime. MK Council solved this one by putting posters in stops explaining this.

 

[jon0844]

The standard is to show a time (e.g. 10:30) for non-realtime and a number of minutes for realtime. MK Council solved this one by putting posters in stops explaining this.

That's how HCC does it too, but it has some issues at certain stops if you're after a particular bus and don't know if the 15 minute one is the one you want.

Plus of course timetabled services disappearing from the screen once the time has passed. Oh and if a bus goes early (rare these days fortunately) it will still be on the display.

 

[Statto]

All services, serving the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University Of Birmingham have trackers, all operated by National Express West Midlands. Just the stops themselves don't have any displays.

Given some of the traffic issues around the QE[as reported on the West Midlands bus forum], bus stop displays around there would be useless

 

[OptareTempoSR]

So we very often hear about excessive automated announcements onboard trains and at railway stations but i notice not much is said about buses despite bus announcements becoming more and more excessive.

Some examples of just a few of them are below as follows.

-

Brighton & Hove:

On all Brighton & Hove buses this announcement plays on the approach to every single bus stop. They installed this almost ten years ago but it seems so excessive. It plays on all routes and on approach to all bus stops.

"The next stop is [stop name]. Please watch out for cyclists when you alight from the bus."

I understand that this is partly due to the fact that about ten years ago the council started converting lots of bus stops in to islands so that the cycle lane goes around the bus stop and you have to cross the cycle lane to get from the bus to the pavement. But it really still seems excessive to have this announcement play on approach to every single bus stop.

-

Compass Bus:

A couple of years ago Compass Bus fitted automated announcements to their four E200 MMC buses for the 37 37A 37B 37C routes but unfortunately these are far too excessive. There is three announcements for every stop which seems far too much when only on is really needed.

"The next stop is [stop name]."

"We are now approaching [stop name]."

"This stop is [stop name]."

I am not sure that passengers need to be reminded of their stop three times which are all normally in the space of less than sixty seconds.

But the most ridiculous thing about their announcements is not just that there are three per stop but also that whenever the bus stops anywhere other than a bus stop then this announcement plays:

"The bus driver will open the doors once the bus has reached the bus stop and it is safe to do so."

This announcement plays every single time that the bus stops at a traffic light or in a traffic jam or anywhere else other than at a bus stop. From what i can understand it works with sensors and gps so it detects whenever the bus has stopped at anywhere other than a bus stop and plays this announcement. But it does still seem rather excessive to need to play this announcement constantly every time the bus comes to a stop at traffic lights etc.

-

TFL:

I am sure many people remember when TFL installed this ridiculous announcement on their bus for a trial.

"Please hold on. The bus is about to move."

This played at every single bus stop usually after the bus had already started moving. Unlike the others luckily this was only a trial and TFL removed this nonsense after a few weeks. Other than this i think TFL have got their bus announcements just right and seem to play the right announcements without all this unnecessary added nonsense that other bus companies play.

-

Personally i think that all that is needed is one next stop announcement on approach to every stop with none of this other added nonsense.

So i am interested if anyone has any other examples of excessive unnecessary automated announcements on buses around the UK? Do any of your local companies have any excessive ones? What do others think of other such announcements? I would be interested to hear your views?

 

[JL1]

Be nice if announcements did become standard as it'll help people with disabilties

 

[computerSaysNo]

I feel like Lothian have the balance about right overall; after leaving/passing each stop you hear "Next stop: [next bus stop]", with the occasional "This is a service [number], to [destination]". Very occasionally there's an automated "You must wear a face covering when travelling with us, unless exempt" announcement, which I don't mind given it isn't played often, but it annoys me when the end of it is cut off for the "Next stop: ..." announcement.

 

[MCR247]

I appreciate that the majority of this thread is a few years old but I have to say it was truly awful to read. I hope no one personally involved happens to come across this. I’m grateful for the posters who showed some care and reason.

 

[Bus9120UK]

I feel like Lothian have the balance about right overall; after leaving/passing each stop you hear "Next stop: [next bus stop]", with the occasional "This is a service [number], to [destination]". Very occasionally there's an automated "You must wear a face covering when travelling with us, unless exempt" announcement, which I don't mind given it isn't played often, but it annoys me when the end of it is cut off for the "Next stop: ..." announcement.

Lately the Lothian "This is a service **" announcements have not been working properly, thus it only saying "This" and cutting out straight after.

 

[Lothiangem22]

Lately the Lothian "This is a service **" announcements have not been working properly, thus it only saying "This" and cutting out straight after.

It’s all to do with the movement of the bus…
There are certain stops usually before or after city centre where it announces the route number and destination - St Patrick square being one of them, exchange another.
• If the bus serves the stop, the announcement is triggered by the driver closing the doors.
• if the bus bypasses the stop without serving, then by the time the bus realises that particular stop is passed it quite often cuts out due to the next stop announcement being triggered by its position that takes priority.
You’ll notice that when the bus is given time to announce the route number the next stop announcement follows on, so it ends up announcing the next stop twice.
long story short, when “this is service…” is interrupted, it’s due to the stop announcement taking priority, not due to a fault in the system

 

[grangergranger]

First Bus"LeedsCity" and York P&R next stop announcements now become more prominent since this year

But in all honesty, it is very shabby.

Still Many common issues of which either the screen doesn't work {either being completely blank or frozen on a stop}, the announcement being too loud or too quiet, or stops being skipped.

And the voice is computer generated.

But I can say it's better than nothing.
-----

A noticeable problem is different operators running on the same route, but their the announcements of the stop names are different.

An example in Leeds is York Road. Run by First, Arriva and Transdev. All of which announce certain stop names differently.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Well, I certainly do hope that onboard announcements continue to be introduced on even more buses - they're a godsend if you aren't local to a specific area.

If there's one thing I absolutely despise, it's having to awkwardly sit there with a GPS map open on my phone in an unfamiliar area for the final few minutes of a journey so I know where I need to press the bell.

Just a bog-standard "Next stop: [stop name]" makes a world of difference. No need for all this "Please take care, blah, blah, blah" at every stop, which I consider overkill - and that's when it starts to get slightly irritating.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well, I certainly do hope that onboard announcements continue to be introduced on even more buses - they're a godsend if you aren't local to a specific area.

If there's one thing I absolutely despise, it's having to awkwardly sit there with a GPS map open on my phone in an unfamiliar area for the final few minutes of a journey so I know where I need to press the bell.

Just a bog-standard "Next stop: [stop name]" makes a world of difference. No need for all this "Please take care, blah, blah, blah" at every stop, which I consider overkill - and that's when it starts to get slightly irritating.

Completely agree they are a great idea (as are screens). But waffle does get very annoying[1]. I would say the German approach of "<bong> stop name" is the way to go, a bong allows you to tune in to it but isn't anywhere near as annoying as "the next stop is" over and over again. London has the route announcement right with "<number> to <destination>" - when it first came in it had "route" on the start and that grated too.

Also good to announce interchanges.

[1] There was one particular model of bus that had "bus stopping at next bus stop, please stand clear of doors" announced whenever someone pressed the bell - it was in London but I forget exactly what model. It was unbelievably annoying, and pointless as everyone knows that that whole sentence is summed up with nothing more than "ding".

 

[jamesst]

We must be behind the times In Merseyside, I cant remember ever getting a bus with automated announcements

 

[Aictos]

It's an excellent feature. One of the more awkward things about using buses is knowing where to get off in an unfamiliar area.

This technology has been in daily use abroad for years now, once again the UK is slow to adopt tried and proven technology yet again.

 

[lachlan]

We must be behind the times In Merseyside, I cant remember ever getting a bus with automated announcements

I don't think we have any in Aberdeen either. I think First tried it (on route 18/19?) but I don't think I've ever seen them functioning

 

[Deerfold]

A noticeable problem is different operators running on the same route, but their the announcements of the stop names are different.

An example in Leeds is York Road. Run by First, Arriva and Transdev. All of which announce certain stop names differently.

There's a lot of inconsistency on stop names. It's not unusual to have the name announced on board, the one labelled on the stop and the one in the timetable all to be different.

In London there was an 18-month project on the 19,000 or so stops to ensure they all had the same names in all systems (as well as enforcing some rules on stop names - there are now very few names after pubs as they have a habit of changing their names).

Incidentally, I've had a bus ticket issued a couple of years ago to a stop with the name of a pub which had been a curry restaurant for at least 10 years at the time.

 

[DB]

I disagree (obviously). Can we not put like some headphone jacks in somewhere and those who insist on listening to the onboard announcements can do so via their own head phones so we don't all have to listen to them (with braile of course so people know where they are). They are just constant as most stops in city centres then end up with 'exit here for' extensions and it's just never ending. Alternatively, isn't there schemes whereby if you turn hearing aids to certain positions, it tells you where you are. Sure there were some schemes in city centres for that. Just work that somehow with the next stop system.

And the next step willbe "safety" accouncements like on the trains - "mind the gap between the bus and the pavement", "keep your personal belongings with you", If you see something that doesn't look rigt...."

 

[py_megapixel]

And the next step willbe "safety" accouncements like on the trains - "mind the gap between the bus and the pavement", "keep your personal belongings with you", If you see something that doesn't look rigt...."

Go-Ahead Oxford already has that. I think they have announcements about the bus being fitted with CCTV, and also about wearing a face covering.

It's a terrible idea, but it isn't a fundemental issue with on-board announcements - it's an issue with badly set up ones.

 

[WAB]

There's a lot of inconsistency on stop names. It's not unusual to have the name announced on board, the one labelled on the stop and the one in the timetable all to be different.

In London there was an 18-month project on the 19,000 or so stops to ensure they all had the same names in all systems (as well as enforcing some rules on stop names - there are now very few names after pubs as they have a habit of changing their names).

Incidentally, I've had a bus ticket issued a couple of years ago to a stop with the name of a pub which had been a curry restaurant for at least 10 years at the time.

In Leeds, there are some stops which show different names on the shelter, on the flag, on the screens, on the announcements, on Google maps, and on timetables. WYMetro needs to have a blitz, especially where several bus stops have the same first part e.g. Headingley Lane / North Grange Road is announced as "Headingley Lane", which doesn't help when there are several consecutive stops with that same first part.

 

[LancasterRed]

The new bus services in Preston, the 74, 75 and 153, all have announcements installed. Likewise Lancaster has seen them rolled out on the 100.

 

[Adtrainsam]

Are there any significant areas where the provision of onboard announcements/screens is basically zero?

Round here in Essex, only the ridiculously overpriced X30 has these features, with no other buses having this equipment.

 

[py_megapixel]

Are there any significant areas where the provision of onboard announcements/screens is basically zero?

Round here in Essex, only the ridiculously overpriced X30 has these features, with no other buses having this equipment.

I think much of northern Gloucestershire is without them