Dublin Bus - should they stop announcements of stops?

LXFlyer · 23-07-2014 11:12am

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

The addition of extra messages beyond the 'next stop' announcements is a bug bear of mine with this - Seems that someone in DB now realises they have a captive audience (I'm guessing drivers are under instruction to keep the thing switched on at all times, though thankfully a small handful on my route seem to be rebels and switch it off) for whatever spiel they choose to put on their new toy.

So this morning as well as the usual talk about cigarettes and e-cigs we had 'please do not disturb the driver, and stand behind the white line' followed a few minutes later by 'please remember to hold the hand rail at all times whilst standing or moving on the bus'.
All blared at Max11 on the volume scale.

The drivers have no control over the announcements. They are completely automatic.

They just have not been rolled out onto all of the buses yet.

They can however add an extra one if necessary manually.

ArmaniJeanss · 23-07-2014 11:25am

lxflyer wrote: »

The drivers have no control over the announcements. They are completely automatic.

They just have not been rolled out onto all of the buses yet.

They can however add an extra one if necessary manually.

Do you know if drivers have control over volume, it seems to be different from bus to bus?
Also any idea who is making the decision to add these recent extra messages - we survived for manys the year without needing to be reminded to 'hold the handrail whilst standing or the bus is moving'.

StreetLight · 23-07-2014 11:40am

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Do you know if drivers have control over volume, it seems to be different from bus to bus?
Also any idea who is making the decision to add these recent extra messages - we survived for manys the year without needing to be reminded to 'hold the handrail whilst standing or the bus is moving'.

Drivers have no control over the next-stop or occasional 'reminder' announcements, such as holding a handrail. Unfortunately, this is a by-product of a dumbed-down, litigious society and is called covering one's a.s.s

"Well, nobody told me to hold a handrail."

LXFlyer · 23-07-2014 11:45am

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Do you know if drivers have control over volume, it seems to be different from bus to bus?
Also any idea who is making the decision to add these recent extra messages - we survived for manys the year without needing to be reminded to 'hold the handrail whilst standing or the bus is moving'.

No they have no control over the volume.

AlekSmart · 23-07-2014 11:53am

StreetLight wrote: »

Drivers have no control over the next-stop or occasional 'reminder' announcements, such as holding a handrail. Unfortunately, this is a by-product of a dumbed-down, litigious society and is called covering one's a.s.s

"Well, nobody told me to hold a handrail."

Some of us will remember,only too well,the primary duty of a Bus Conductor at peak times was to shout..."Hold the Bar there now,Ladies...Ding Ding !!"

However in Century 21 the Canned Announcements are an NTA gig,and they are putting considerable resources into the system.

The volume is pre-set,and on newer vehicles the P/A Unit CANNOT be switched off or over-ridden.

What appears to be exercising the NTA is the ability of people to "selectively hear" only the announcements favourable to them whilst proffessing total ignorance of the remainder....what is the answer?...beats me :rolleyes:

23-07-2014 1:27pm

I don't know if they fixed it or not but I once heard the "exit bus by centre doors" announcement on an EV!

TheBandicoot · 23-07-2014 4:15pm

There are also some buses where the wiring seems to pick up engine noise and amplify a whining noise through the speakers when the bus accelerates.

JCX BXC · 23-07-2014 8:56pm

What they should have is a Ryanair type trumpet every time the bus stops

smellmepower · 24-07-2014 12:24pm

Don't mind them at this stage,just tend to drown them out.Would actually be handy if they announced what stop is the right one for popular tourist attractions,like on the 13/40 for the Guinness factory on James Street and the first stop on Emmet Road for Kilmainham Gaol.

24-07-2014 12:29pm

smellmepower wrote: »

Don't mind them at this stage,just tend to drown them out.Would actually be handy if they announced what stop is the right one for popular tourist attractions,like on the 13/40 for the Guinness factory on James Street and the first stop on Emmet Road for Kilmainham Gaol.

They'd have to do them in Irish too in that case. I remember when the bilingual Luas announcements started, it was like a rolling commentary in the city centre with the "alight for Henry Street shopping district" and similar addons.

SandyfordGuy · 24-07-2014 12:48pm

Some of the stop names are actually pretty stupid when there are far better landmarks they could use rather than road names.

One o the best ones I've seen is when on routes with more than one industrial estate, it will bark out "Industrial Estate" and sometimes with multiple stops on the same road they'll bark out the same road name each time.

I suppose this would make some of them longer than can fit on displays, but that rule doesn't apply for Irish names and the related scrolling bug on the LED displays.

jimmycrackcorm · 27-07-2014 5:42pm

Given the propensity of Dublin bus windows to fog up so you can barely see where you are even when used to the tried, I think these announcements are useful

mikemac1 · 28-07-2014 6:10am

The 18 is never a busy route but it is useful that it crosses the city without going through An Lár.

2 OAP's downstairs and I sat upstairs all on my own. Within seconds the warning about smoking and fines came on

I hope that's automated and it wasn't a case the driver didn't like the look of me :pac:

Edit: I see my question was answered already ^^^

OldMrBrennan83 · 28-07-2014 6:51am

This post has been deleted.

murphaph · 28-07-2014 9:00am

I think the fluffy announcements should be axed immediately. The Irish ones are purely there to satisfy a lobby group...whatever. They wouldn't really be an issue if stops were spaced further apart, which would deliver other benefits....but Mary would have to walk 500 metres further to her bus stop so no go.

ArmaniJeanss · 28-07-2014 10:04am

I don't think every stop needs a name/announcement (much like not every bus stop gets an RTPI screen).
Areas/localities/estates would be better imo (I realise I'll be in a minority on this) perhaps something along the lines of the 'stage' system.

So a section of say the 39A from Blackhall to BlanchardstownSC could get announcements for Stoneybatter, CabraX, BaggotRd, Kempton, AshtownRoundabout, ParkwayStation, Blanch VillageN3 and BlanchSC.

Would be a much usable system imo. I'm not sure how useful being blasted with the names of stops 150 metres apart is to customers.

murphaph · 28-07-2014 2:47pm

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I don't think every stop needs a name/announcement (much like not every bus stop gets an RTPI screen).
Areas/localities/estates would be better imo (I realise I'll be in a minority on this) perhaps something along the lines of the 'stage' system.

So a section of say the 39A from Blackhall to BlanchardstownSC could get announcements for Stoneybatter, CabraX, BaggotRd, Kempton, AshtownRoundabout, ParkwayStation, Blanch VillageN3 and BlanchSC.

Would be a much usable system imo. I'm not sure how useful being blasted with the names of stops 150 metres apart is to customers.

This just doesn't follow any understood developed world system that I know of. You either announce all stops by name or none.

The announcements are really only for the visually impaired as everyone else can read the electronic display if unfamiliar with the area or look out the window otherwise (if in daylight) and they above all need to know EXACTLY where they are alighting so they can get their bearings and proceed to where they need to go. Telling a blind guy "you're roughly here" is really no use to him...he'll still have to then ask the driver for an exact stop.

The concept is basically fine (with the exception of the inane "please hold the handrail guff" but the stops are too close together.

ProudDUB · 28-07-2014 8:11pm

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I don't think every stop needs a name/announcement (much like not every bus stop gets an RTPI screen).
Areas/localities/estates would be better imo (I realise I'll be in a minority on this) perhaps something along the lines of the 'stage' system.

So a section of say the 39A from Blackhall to BlanchardstownSC could get announcements for Stoneybatter, CabraX, BaggotRd, Kempton, AshtownRoundabout, ParkwayStation, Blanch VillageN3 and BlanchSC.

Would be a much usable system imo. I'm not sure how useful being blasted with the names of stops 150 metres apart is to customers.

They are very useful for:

- passengers who may be using a particular bus for the first time, or on an infrequent basis & don't know where to get off.
- people who can't see the landmarks coming up, that would let you know when your stop, as it is dark, or raining heavily & the windows are all fogged up.
- people who may be tending to the needs of a child.
- people who are standing when the bus is full, and other standing passengers are blocking their view out the windows.
- non English/Irish speakers who may not be able to read & understand the names of streets on signs.
- people getting off at stop on a road with no street sign.
- children who are getting the bus on their own & need to be doubley sure of where to get off.

I honestly can't believe that something so obviously necessary & bog standard, as the announcing of stops on a mode of public transportation, is even up for debate. :rolleyes:

Acciaccatura · 28-07-2014 11:46pm

There's English announcements followed by the Irish announcements on all Irish Rail and Luas services. Why are people kicking up a fuss now that the buses have adopted this practice? Buses are far more confusing than rail services, so if anything, it's needed more, what with people not being familiar with Dublin and tourists perhaps not being aware that smoking is prohibited on public transport. Just my two cents.

29-07-2014 12:03am

My issue with the fluff (no smoking, use a handrail etc) is that the stops are so close together that it would be quite easy to miss one while this announcement is running. Fine if you know the route but what if you don't?

Muahahaha · 29-07-2014 7:56pm

murphaph wrote: »

I think the fluffy announcements should be axed immediately. The Irish ones are purely there to satisfy a lobby group...whatever. They wouldn't really be an issue if stops were spaced further apart, which would deliver other benefits....but Mary would have to walk 500 metres further to her bus stop so no go.

I've never seen the Irish used by public transport do anything other than confuse the vast majority of us who don't speak it in any kind of regular way. I've seen Dublin Bus stops where the destinations on the timetable at the stops were only in Irish. When you haven't laid eyes on the language in 20+ years suddenly trying to decipher An Carraig Dubh into Blackrock isn't that easy.

All adding Irish does at the end of the day is inconvenience the majority of people. Gaelgoirs can surely understand English and im sure it won't hurt them that much to use it for a split second rather than having this daft system we're saddled with just to keep a few language nazis happy.

LXFlyer · 29-07-2014 10:51pm

Karsini wrote: »

My issue with the fluff (no smoking, use a handrail etc) is that the stops are so close together that it would be quite easy to miss one while this announcement is running. Fine if you know the route but what if you don't?

In practice the safety announcements tend only to appear when there is sufficient distance between the stops for them and the stop name to both be announced.

They're not that frequent.

LXFlyer · 29-07-2014 10:56pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

I've never seen the Irish used by public transport do anything other than confuse the vast majority of us who don't speak it in any kind of regular way. I've seen Dublin Bus stops where the destinations on the timetable at the stops were only in Irish. When you haven't laid eyes on the language in 20+ years suddenly trying to decipher An Carraig Dubh into Blackrock isn't that easy.

All adding Irish does at the end of the day is inconvenience the majority of people. Gaelgoirs can surely understand English and im sure it won't hurt them that much to use it for a split second rather than having this daft system we're saddled with just to keep a few language nazis happy.

At the top of each timetable the general areas served are listed in Irish, but this is then repeated under the timetable in English with journey time estimates.

I don't believe that there is any timetable that does not have this.

Frankly if the use of our national language is causing you that much grief, I think you've little to be worrying about.

GaelMise · 19-10-2014 10:53pm

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I get pissed off at this idea that being anti-Gaeilge is a sign of some lack of pride in the country.
Like with the height of respect who the hell are you to decide what makes anyone a proud Irish person or not?

Personally I take my Irish pride in the achievements on the world stage of the likes of Ken Doherty, Rory McIlroy, Aiden O'Brien, Robbie Keane, U2, Aiden Gillen, Daniel Day Lewis, etc or the achievements of the country as a whole, our welcoming and friendliness, our peacekeepers abroad, our willingness to travel and broaden our horizons. Hundreds of other things.

If I'd happily see the language die (and I would) then that doesn't mean I lack anything in pride.

Not sure what it says about your pride as such, it does speak volumes about how you identify yourself through and clearly you identify yourself as rejecting an important part of this country's herritage.

markpb · 19-10-2014 11:20pm

GaelMise wrote: »

Not sure what it says about your pride as such, it does speak volumes about how you identify yourself through and clearly you identify yourself as rejecting an important part of this country's herritage.

Did it take you three months to come up with that judgement?

JCX BXC · 19-10-2014 11:22pm

markpb wrote: »

Did it take you three months to come up with that judgement?

You seem to be more interested in attacking people rather then posts.

I agree that its a lack of pride when you don't support the Irish language, but I am not making petty attacks.

BuffyBot · 20-10-2014 12:13am

Old thread..and not even a useful resurrection

Dublin Bus - should they stop announcements of stops?

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