Tom Barry wrote

peikko wrote:

None of this is thought through, and it seems TfL have no idea
about
what stress these cause to many people.

On the other hand, it's much less stressful on a crowded bus where
you
can't necessarily see reference points outside if the bus tells you
where the next stop is. This is doubly true in rainy weather where
the
windows might be covered in drops or partly steamed up.

I don't find iBus remotely stressful, personally. It's also useful
if,
say, you can remember which bus stop you're getting off at but not
necessarily the layout of the route approaching it. You just wait
until
the bus announces it, then get off at the next stop. This also works
if
someone unfamiliar with your area is coming over, you just tell them
the
name of the bus stop to look out for.

Once on board I do find the repeated announcement slightly annoying so
perhaps a slight improvement would be to make it only if someone has
boarded ?

However I recently noted a logical flaw which affects the above. When a
stop is closed it is still announced but there is no announcement at
the previous stop.

Thus "The next stop is The Dysart"
press bell
burst of music, then "The next stop is closed"
Then the normal announcement "The next stop is closed"

(observed on 65 Kingston-Richmond 10 am Sat 10 Jan)

If the walk back is much the same as the walk from the previous stop
this doesn't matter much but here the next stop for the 65 is 500 m on
and for the 371 it's 600 m and at the top of Star & Garter hill.

So I suggest "The next stop is Petersham Fox & Duck", "The following
stop is closed" and/or "also alight here for The Dysart".

This didn't affect me since when the bus halted at the temporary
traffic lights the driver stretched a point and let me off anyway -
thanks.

--
Mike D