Destination, please, in bold letters on bus

Comment by JOAN MONAHAN, a regular bus user of Ponsonby

Buses! At times they infuriate me. Of course a city must not look old fashioned. In with the new, out with the old.

However, when this modernisation occurred there were problems, probably caused by car-driving decision makers.

Many times I have seen the rear end of a bus pulling into a nearby stop. Where is it heading? Westmere or some other useless suburb?

Worrying that it could be mine, the vital one that will save tedious wait, I try to run, shopping parcels swinging against me; shoulder bag slipping; snail-paced pedestrians blocking my path.

Stress mounts. I swallow swear words. Unspoken curses surge within. I gain ground, give a final spurt and the bus moves off, discharging into my face a polluting, noisy, superior fart.

In the good old days of trams the driver and conductor altered the destination at both ends. On some the signs were angled and I could read them from either side as well as from the back and front.

Voila! No matter where I stood, the route was obvious.

Today's buses have evolved in a technological age but without any rear signs. Surely if a rocket can be propelled into space a suburb's name could be projected onto a rear screen. At the worst, the driver could change it mechanically. Potential passengers - or are we now consumers or clients of transport providers? - would know which bus they had just missed.

Instead of displaying this useful information, Stagecoach spends energy painting giant heads or chic babes onto its backsides. They seem to laugh at my struggles.

One, an enormous denture, labelled "Terror", looks about to annihilate anyone who approaches.

A recent one displays two large dials. I have yet to get close enough to see whether they provide weather information, announce the time and date of Armageddon or the All Blacks' next match. Please, just tell me where you are going.

I've noticed high up on the rear end of some buses a smallish panel of glass. Until recently these were blank. But things are changing.

Stagecoach bosses have received my telepathically transmitted spleenish messages, and now their newest buses have electronically filled that empty space with a number.

I give them six out of 10. It's fine if you know where 015 goes, but to someone ignorant of the number game, that bus could be rumbling off to Sandringham or Pt Chevalier. Why not have a space large enough for the name as well?

Signage is improving. Some have also placed the destination above the entrance. No need now to rush in front of the bus and risk being knocked down in order to find 015's destination.

But some bus companies still enjoy keeping people guessing.

Praising trams is looking backwards. One must be forward thinking. Plans are under way for a type of bus that will be more environmentally friendly (like trams were), but in order to replenish their new energy source they will need to stop and refuel frequently.

This may slow down the trip but here's hoping that one of these stations is right outside my favourite store.

Herald Feature: Getting Auckland moving

Related links

* Is there something you want to get off your chest; something that needs to be said but no one is saying it? We'll give you 600 words to make your point. It should be witty and stylish, not crude or abusive.
Email the Herald News Desk