Forum Topic

How many rings to stop a bus?

If you are travelling on a bus, and wish to get off, you ring the bell.That results in a loud D~I~N~G and several displays lighting up with BUS STOPPING. There is obviously no need for more than one person to ring for each stop.But in practice the bell gets rung many times for most stops.e.g. if three people end up getting off, there are anything from one to FOUR+ rings.Why?I wondered if it was because many travellers wear headphones and are so self-absorbed that they just ring and don't bother looking to see if the bus is already stopping.Observation shows that sometimes that may be the case but very often not.I find it mildly irritating but my heart goes out to the poor bloody bus driver.Would be genuinely interested to learn why this happens.Mark

Mark Vale ● 4252d20 Comments

The E3 franchise has recently changed hands so maybe the new owners just got the cheapest drivers they could find. The new buses are not as comfortable either.

Susan Kelly ● 4248d

Unfortunately I don't think we really appreciate how good and cautious some/most? of them are until we get one who isn't.

Philippa Bond ● 4249d

However many times the stop-bell sounds doesn't bother me much. We're full of praise for the well trained bus drivers of London busses - they're mostly considerate and cautious - I believe that comes with good training and experience - a splendid transport service.

Gerry Tan ● 4249d

That is horrific.  I hope that it does not stop him from trying to use buses.Regarding the original question - is this because we used not to have so much information available on the bus?As a child I was petrified of travelling on them because I didn't use them regularly enough and invariably did not know the route and had to make sure I asked the driver to tell me where my stop was.  This has been made a lot easier now - but I suppose it also means that people don't need to talk to each other!At least several bell rings should give the impression that there is more than one person aiming to get off at a stop.With an aging population we need to watch that the less mobile are not being frightened out of using this service.  The British are very good at just voting with their feet.  That's us and we need to be more vociferous. We can't all afford taxis and we shouldn't have to.

Philippa Bond ● 4249d

Thomas Barry replied to my postI posted as follows"Which is handy I suppose for anyone who regularly forgets what bus they've just boarded and are incapable of reading the digital display"to which Thomas Barry replied -" What, like blind or partially sighted people?  How awful that we might seek to adapt the environment to help them."What makes you think blind or partially sightedpeople are likely to forget what bus they've justboarded ? More especially on sections of routes which are only served by one bus ? And wherepresumably they'll have asked the routeon boarding ? Do you think there should alsobe loudspeakers fitted on all lamposts so asto confirm the location every two minutesfor any  blind person who might happen to be passing ? In any case, as you seem so intent on taking up arms on behalf of people who don't actually need it, with your patronising attitude in this casetowards the mental capacities of the blindand partially sighted,  you appear to have overlooked the fact that such messages are of little use to those blind and partially people from ethnic minorities who don't happen to speak English. michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 4249d

They were too busy exclaiming in horror at this attempt to crush the poor man between the doors, Gerry.

Susan Kelly ● 4249d

You probably scared the heebeegeebies out of most of the other passengers Susan.

Gerry Tan ● 4250d

"...and embarrass them into stopping."Tony, one has to be bold to do that - I'm too scared.Another thing that irritates me is the person sitting next to you, who begins to eat an evil smelling hamburger or similar noxious foodstuff. Yuk!

Gerry Tan ● 4250d

I agree, Keith. Far more worried about the E3 driver trying to close the exit doors this morning while we were still getting off, almost trapping a man on crutches! Must have thought he wasn't crocked up enough. I bellowed 'DRIVER!!!' at him in my most menacing tones.

Susan Kelly ● 4250d

I have recently had cause to use the tube for a number of weeks after many years being thankfully free of them.Being older and bolder I will now quite deliberately target people with their feet on the seat (as well as a number of other minor but selfish / irritating behaviours) by sitting right next to them and embarrass them into stopping.

Tony Colliver ● 4250d

Or, you could teach your child that it is inappropriate to do this just for your own amusement - just as I was in the 60's by my mum and we did with our own kids in the 90's.It's selfish.Granted, it hardly ranks as the most serious of offences but that is not the point.

Tony Colliver ● 4250d

I can't help thinking 'Does it really matter how many rings?' It's hardly a burning question of the day...

Keith Iddon ● 4250d

"Which is handy I suppose for anyone who regularly forgets what bus they've just boarded and are incapable of reading the digital display"What, like blind or partially sighted people?  How awful that we might seek to adapt the environment to help them.

Thomas Barry ● 4250d

Some passengers still put their feet on the seats - most irritating.

Gerry Tan ● 4250d

'People now ring the bell too early, often as the bus just pulls away from a stop.'And this is a problem why? On the E3, which is the only bus I use regularly, the stops are quite close together.

Susan Kelly ● 4250d

I suspect posters wouldn't make much difference as it's more down to social attitudes rather than education.A very active poster campaign to deter passengers putting their feet up on seats on busses, tubes and trains has had little effect.On the 65, the buttons are poorly positioned in just the place that a passenger would hold on, which I think results in a lot of unnecessary/accidental rings.

Mark Vale ● 4250d

It's high time TfL put up posters again on buses for the protocol of ringing the bell. And while they are at it.... queuing!It seems that the clearly marked button with the words "Push Once" are two words too many for too many!Ringing the bell has got very errant with people ringing up to a dozen times for one stop.Not helped by those with headphones on, oblivious to almost everything going on around them.Buses even have a sign that says 'Bus Stopping' for those unable to hear in one form or another.For drivers it is both infuriating and risks putting passengers in danger by distracting concentration.It is appalling that parents think it is OK for their child to keep ringing the bell.  One ring, is enough.A driver is well within his or her rights to stop the bus and order the child and it's responsible adult off the bus.Parents ought to be teaching their children the correct drill, just like kerb drill and toilet training.People now ring the bell too early, often as the bus just pulls away from a stop. Others ring way too late.It should be half way between the previous stop and the desired stop.Again the bus onboard display helps.The protocol is one ring to stop the bus at the ext stop.4 consecutive rings to stop the bus in an emergency.When buses had conductors, there was a clear set of ' bell codes' to ensure that the driver knew what was going on.A conductor would soon have a word if children messed about with the bell.One advantage that I wish they retained is the upper deck had a buzzer and the lower a bell. Very useful in that the driver knows that a passenger is upstairs and can allow time for them to alight.  A problem that does persist nowadays.Some buses still have a bell rather than the infernal beeper which causes problems to hearing aid users.The bell somehow is less irritating and much easier on the driver.

Anthony Waller ● 4251d

I haven't given much thought to bus stopping bells - I kinda take 'em for granted. But we do like the London bus service - we'd like to see more bus transport and less cars.

Gerry Tan ● 4251d

Mark Vale wrote" I find it mildly irritating"Strange. Last time I was on a bus I don't remember hearing the bell. All I remember is being reminded at ear piercing volume every minute or so that I was on an E3 bus headingfor Greenford. Which is handy I suppose foranyone who regularly forgets what bus they've just boarded and are incapable of reading thedigital display. And are very hard of hearinginto the bargain.> but my heart goes out to the poor bloody bus > driver.My heart goes out to anyone forced to use busesunder such conditions on a regular basis i.e. more than once or twice a year.Which is more than enough for me, I'm sorry to say.Its exactly the same as the constant announcements on tube trains. Just because they "can" do itand it doesn't cost them anything, they seem to think it represents "added value". When in fact in the vast majority of cases - given theplethora of visual information which is available- its simply an annoyance which makes using public transport even more unpleasant than it might otherwise be.  michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 4251d

If you are travelling with a young child, pressing the button is the highlight of the bus trip so you will allow your child to press regardless of how many times it has rung.Same goes for Pelican crossings, lifts, door opening buttons...

Kim Rugg ● 4252d