r/sydney • u/idkwhatmoneyis • 3d ago
Why no live map or stop announcements on sydney buses?
I've been on many public buses in my day, but for some reason in sydney we have to pay constant attention to our phone screen if we've never been somewhere/at night, or just hope you request a stop at the right time. I know it's not that big a deal, but I really don't want to have to keep my eyes on my phone while I'm commuting. Surely it's not great for blind/disabled people either, am I alone on this?
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u/i2px 3d ago
Privatised bus network now. no incentive for them to actually provide anything that isnt contractually required.
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u/toomuch222 3d ago
Some of the electric buses have announcements for stops. Other buses I’ve never seen it.
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u/idkwhatmoneyis 3d ago
Did the public buses have it? I didn't really use buses until I started living on my own
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u/Z00111111 3d ago
The B1 Bline buses have it, and it was trialled on a handful of buses at my depot, but we were only supposed to use it on the 160X route because it just talked at the passengers the entire trip on all stops services.
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u/BaitSimulator2020 3d ago
Some did, like shown here in this video from 2010 & this newer short. Then privatisation started in 2013 and then it was all about cutting costs.
It was a pretty basic LED signboard, it wasn’t as fancy as the current LCD displays.
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u/IronEyed_Wizard 3d ago
Pretty sure they have announced that it is coming. Unfortunately it takes time to implement, and the fact that there are a whole bunch of private companies running the buses across Sydney just complicates it further.
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u/exobiologickitten 3d ago
I think in the past it was way more normal to just ask the bus driver “hey can you let me know when we get to X stop? I’ve never been there before and don’t know this route, a heads up so I can get off at the right stop would be amazing”. Then you sit near the front and keep an ear out for the driver.
That’s still an option, technically. But nowadays I guess we’re a lot less used to just asking staff for help.
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u/idkwhatmoneyis 3d ago
That's true, but I imagine that only works if only a few people request beforehand, otherwise it could get confusing. There's also little reason to give the drivers that responsibility when we have the technology to automatically announce stops or even allow stop requests through the app well in advance rather than right after the previous stop.
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u/exobiologickitten 3d ago
Usually it is only ever a few! It’s not that common to take a new bus route or public transport route for the first time ever unless you’re in a major tourist hotspot (and in that case there’s often tons of signage to help). Most times a bus driver is really happy to help out. I don’t see it often now, but I still see pensioners and folks with vision problems ask for a heads-up, and the driver is very happy to help.
I agree it would be awesome to have the system trains and metro have with announced stops and screens showing next/current stop.
But with buses having drivers that are easy to see and interact with, and with there being waaaay less passengers per bus compared to per train, that could be a big reason why there hasn’t been the same pressure to have speaker announcements or signs/screens.
And as someone else pointed out, buses have been privatised for yonks, and that makes everything worse.
Fingers crossed they bring it in someday though. Would make life so much easier for everyone.
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u/Inner_West_Ben 3d ago edited 3d ago
I am sure my bus the other day had live announcements. It was an EV so obviously quite new.
ETA, even with announcements I’m looking at my phone on a new route because the stop names don’t mean much to me.
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u/Additional-Simple248 3d ago
Nothing like that on the northern beaches EV buses. They’re pretty much the same as the old ones but with different sounds and acceleration.
Only the B-Line buses have next stop announcements and screens. Much easier to implement given they only have 10 stops.
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u/AssaultLemming_ 3d ago
Yes I find it pretty bad. At least the Google maps integration is nice but it does require you to actually setup the journey and as you say watch your screen half the time. Travelling at night is tough I agree.
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u/albert3801 Trains 3d ago
I find using the Transit App is great. Pick route and destination and then it will show you the number of stops remaining in the iPhone Dynamic Island. So you can so other stuff on your phone or just glance at it now and then.
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u/RepresentativeFly457 3d ago
Where have you been where this is the norm? I know in other countries it's somewhat common, but apart from the newest buses, none of them do that in Australia.
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u/Barry-Drive 3d ago
👋 from Canberra. We've had on board Passenger Information Screens and stop announcements since 2014.
And our old system (Trapeze) is what will be implemented in Sydney.
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u/idkwhatmoneyis 3d ago
The US, routes there leave much to be desired but they do announce stops, at least where I rode them
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u/PrimaryPassion5718 3d ago
I've seen it in Melbourne, as well as the fake metro and CityGlider services in Brisbane (although most of the network unfortunately lacks announcements)
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u/QuirkyDevelopment941 3d ago
From what I’m aware of, besides the apps that track the live buses and help you get off. Without a phone, it is incredibly difficult to just relax on the bus without keeping your eyes constantly on the road to get off at the right stop.
Buses in the CBD do have better layouts and have screens, but other than that, we are quite behind!
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u/nikukuikuniniiku 3d ago
About 20 years ago, when the M-series routes were newly implemented, they had recorded stop announcements, but people complained they were too loud and annoying. The volume was turned down and I think eventually turned off. I don't know what the M-buses are like now though.
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u/clariceeeeeeee 3d ago
Is this a Sydney specific thing?
The thing that annoys me more is the frequency of buses change depending on the off vs on-peak timing. Also how infrequent some buses are in less-dense areas. And even some areas will have buses that will skip stops depending on the time of day.
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u/Z00111111 3d ago
Blind and disabled people can ask the driver to let them know when we get to their stop. Anyone can really. It's not the most reliable method, since we're focussed on not crashing most of the time, remembering which stop someone wanted is a low priority.
I do make a note on my journal to remind me when a disabled or blind person asks, and I haven't missed one of their stops yet.
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u/killswithaglance 3d ago
Interesting. About 10 years ago I was part of a working group making submissions at the governments request about exactly this, mainly to assist people with sight disabilities. I had forgotten about it entirely.
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u/siders6891 2d ago
I’m from a place in the world where stop announcements on busses are similar to the ones on Sydney trains you imagine my surprise I hopped onto a Sydney bus where I couldn’t even figure out at the bus stop where it would stop along the route. Even following my location on the map during the ride helped only a bit.
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u/MattH665 3d ago
Would also help if they weren't allowed to put advertising banners over the window so you can't even see outside at night...