"Joachim Harter" wrote in message
...
Orienteer wrote:

A lot of Japanese buses do this, plus a display of the stop name. In
Kyoto
routes which go to tourist spots also repeat in English.

Really?
I was in Kyoto about one year ago and, as far as I recall, English
announcements and displays were only on the subway. Inside the buses
only Kanji signs were displayed, and the drivers' calls were a bit hard
to understand. Was there a recent improvement, btw?

No, they've had it for some time, at least three years. And the clear
announcements are recorded in a woman's voice, not made by the driver. What
is new is the introduction of low floor buses, and some semi-automatic and
fully automatic transmissions. While the customer service is relatively
advanced, with electro-mechanical displays of when the next bus is coming on
most bus stops, the bus technology itself is way behind Europe's, it seems.