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Trivia: What things don't you see on buses these days?

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Fokx

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18 May 2020
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Liverpool
- TV’s behind the drivers cab (90’s North Western)
- Wheelchair lifts at the entrance/middle
- Luggage Pens
- Bench seating
- Passenger radios
- Doors open during the summer
- Dark grey interiors and felt lined interiors
- Carpeted ceilings
- Space for luggage under stairs on double deckers
- Periscopes that you could look down and see the drivers head
- destination blind screens in the cab that you could visibly see the destination blind display from the interior
- destination blind handles
 

PeterC

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29 Sep 2014
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Major intermediate calling points on the blinds (London)
Pull cord for the bell.
Open platforms
Route number displayed on the offside (London - early routemasters had a blind for this, blanked off on later models)
No route number displayed (particularly Western Welsh among major operators)
Destinations such as "Local", "Town Service" or just the operator name on local services
Half cabs
 

beermaddavep

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11 Dec 2005
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803
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East Durham
Bunches of printed timetable leaflets hanging on a loop of string near the cab. Parcels being picked up and dropped off. A transistor radio wedged between the dash and screen on a saturday for the football. Stubbers or ash trays on seat backs. The wiper motors above the screen. Ice on the inside of the windows!
 
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Back in Geordieland!
Inspectors, dogs ( well not as common as they used to be) ,teenage girls hanging round with the driver, driver wearing a uniform hat, driver smoking, which was illegal pre smoking ban ( drove me nuts, some cabs were like a mobile ash tray).

Not sure about the rest of the country but round here all weekend services after 10 30 pm used to be rammed, much later drinking hours has changed that.

People standing at the front talking to the driver.

Broken ticket machines seem much less common, neither of the latter 2 are anything to do with video cameras, I am sure. Running early is vastly reduced again due to technology.
 
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eastwestdivide

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S Yorks, usually
Stubbers.
Little metal plates fixed to the top of the seat backs for people to stub out their cigarettes.
Pic at:
 

Ostrich

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15 Jul 2010
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239
Corded chains across the open rear entrance, placed in position by the conductor when the bus was full to capacity.
(they also helped prevent the three or four standing passengers on the platform from falling off! :E)
 

Chris 76

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62
Location
Moseley, Birmingham
From my memories of Bristol Omnibus Co. in later 70s/80s:
1. a sign on the back of each seat: 'MIND YOUR HEAD WHEN LEAVING YOUR SEAT' (luggage rack was above).
2. 'Send your parcels by country bus' on the back of every ticket. I hardly ever saw parcels on the bus (and they were country routes).
3. Drivers who drove with the door open on hot days.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Somerset with international travel (e.g. across th
Smoking sections

Stubbers.
Little metal plates fixed to the top of the seat backs for people to stub out their cigarettes.

No smoking signs stuck in the middle of every window.
I thought that smoking would be a big one! A notice either on the destination screen flap or cab/door bulkhead say "Smokers are requested to occupy rear seats" on a Bristol RE or LH

I only remember the No Spitting sign on an Eastern Scottish Fleetline and wondering "why do you need a sign for that.... surely that's a given?"

Bunches of printed timetable leaflets hanging on a loop of string near the cab
Oh yes - especially for bank holidays etc! I'd forgotten about that!
The wiper motors above the screen
And liberal amounts of oil on the dash below
Drivers walking to their buses carrying the ticket machine in a sturdy (old suitcase style) box.
I remember carrying my dad's Setright machine in the box - silver box with the machine number painted in red.


I also remember in November, shovels that would spend their time affixed to a board on the depot wall, would be placed onto buses in readiness of winter snows....
 

TechDan2002

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Penryn
Some of the Bristol VRs and LHs in the care of the preservation society I’m a member of have a blue sign by the door reading ‘Please pay as you enter’ that comes on when the door opens and ‘Bus Reversing’ on the rear obviously illuminating when the bus is put into reverse.
 

Jayden99

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24 Feb 2020
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Bucks
Has to be the long flag tickets with the point at one end for me, made storing day tickets an absolute nightmare
 

Bletchleyite

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"Marston Vale mafia"
Has to be the long flag tickets with the point at one end for me, made storing day tickets an absolute nightmare

I just folded them in half and put in a credit card slot in my wallet. If anything they were less likely to go missing than the thin thermal paper ones now used.

I also recall buying about 20 singles from Piccadilly Gardens to the uni a long time ago...that resulted in one very long ticket! :)

Destinations such as "Local", "Town Service" or just the operator name on local services

You do still see that occasionally.

- Luggage Pens

Still get those on some Arriva buses in MK.

Doors open to pull out at junctions etc.

Still get that as well, not all buses have an interlock.
 

Cymroglan

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2 Jul 2011
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Discarded Setright Speed tickets on the floor. I really do miss that design of ticket. I go on about it so much that I was given a Setright Speed machine for a recent BIG birthday!
 

Ken H

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N Yorks
Bunches of printed timetable leaflets hanging on a loop of string near the cab. Parcels being picked up and dropped off.
Leeds City transport used to have fare tables when fares went up like that.

Remember being on a Pennine bus and someone sent a basket of hens as a parcel. So we did our ride with the noise of hens!

Bus lights turned off when it wasnt dark. they seem to be on all the time these days. why?
 

PG

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at the end of the high and low roads
Thinking about it I don't recall seeing the 'passengers must not' notice immediately behind the drivers cab on any of my recent journeys.

IIRC it used to read:
  • Stand forward of this notice
  • Speak to or otherwise distract the driver while the vehicle is in motion
  • Leave luggage in any gangway
Bus lights turned off when it wasnt dark. they seem to be on all the time these days. why?
I'm case anyone trips/falls and then attempts to claim that the bus company were at fault because they couldn't see as the lights were turned off...
Sadly this is true, we can't expect anyone to be responsible for themselves Actually scrub that as the lights can help disabled folk to see.
I thought that smoking would be a big one! A notice either on the destination screen flap or cab/door bulkhead say "Smokers are requested to occupy rear seats" on a Bristol RE or LH
I seem to remember that over the water (Irish sea) CIE had the no smoking area at the rear of the bus, the opposite of standard UK practice.
 
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rcro

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4 Jun 2020
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69
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Herefs
Midland Red buses used to have a sign by the exit saying “Have you forgotten anything” in front of a big red question mark. Not seen any more since the last Midland Red buses were retired in the early 2000s.

Guessing down to accessibility but the zig zag markings on the edge of steps used to be common but now it’s contrasting solid colours.
 

TheSel

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10 Oct 2017
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855
Location
Southport, Merseyside
Thinking about it I don't recall seeing the 'passengers must not' notice immediately behind the drivers cab on any of my recent journeys.

IIRC it used to read:
  • Stand forward of this notice
  • Speak to or otherwise distract the driver while the vehicle is in motion
  • Leave luggage in any gangway
Liverpool Corporation (and subsequently Merseyside PTE) had notices that could take you your whole journey to read, as illustrated below:

1611418401808.png

Others have mentioned doors open, either at junctions or simply as the default condition in hot weather, but I don't think anyone's mentioned the windscreen being open, as on the picture below of London Routemaster RM967 in Peckham, taken in July 1990.

1611418612965.png
 
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