MIG wrote:

MIG wrote:

(snip)
I never understood it that way for all the decades when the distinction
applied, although the rule was kind of handed now rather than found in
writing. However, now I can't find anything about request and
compulsory stops on the TfL site at all, so I've sent a question. I'll
continue scratching around in my stuff though.


And almost immediately I find a bus map from 1981 with pictures of the
two types of stop and explanations as follows.

(White backgroud, red ring, black bar) "This is a 'compulsory' bus stop
where every bus on the route concerned will stop without being hailed.
At busy times it is quicker (and fairer) to form a queue."

(Red background, white ring and bar) "This is a 'request' bus stop
where the bus will only stop if you signal it to do so by waving your
arm or by ringing the bell once if you are already a passenger."

I always thought it was odd when my mother said "wave" but actually
she, and everyone else, simply stuck their arm out. That's not waving
really, is it?


I remember such information being commonplace. However the only
contemporary mention I can find is in the notes accompanying the five
area bus maps (Central, NE, NW, SE & SW) and it only relates to night
buses. There is a picture of a red-backgrounded request stop
accompanying this text:

"All bus stops are treated as request stops between 0100 and 0430.
Additionally N-prefix night bus routes stop by request only at all
times. Please clearly signal to the driver when you wish to get on or
off the bus."

You can also find mention of when the system was introduced in 1935 in
this Designed for London education pack from the Transport Museum (page
30 [1]):

~~~~~
1935
'Fixed stop' system for buses introduced
First LT programme of compulsory and request bus stops started"
~~~~~

I'm not an expert on bus stops but I do know they're a surprisingly
late innovation - the above suggests as late as 1935, in London at
least. I don't know if someone else can flesh out the history of this a
bit.

Back to the present, I guess there is some argument for rolling out the
night bus rules to all buses - i.e. all stops are request stops. Given
that current TfL literature doesn't mention the two types of stops
(apart from with regards to night buses) perhaps things are just slowly
evolving that way anyway. Though I, like the others here, would of
course be interested to know what London Buses' policy or thinking
about this issue is, if any.


----------
[1] !Large PDF file!
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/downloads/pdf/TfL_educationpack.pdf