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Londoners hit out at 'mistimed' bus safety alerts

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A glitch means the new warning, "the bus is about to move", often sounds after buses pull away from stops

Bus passengers have criticised Transport for London (TfL) over a "mistimed" announcement designed to stop people falling over on board.

The warning, "Please hold on, the bus is about to move", is supposed to sound just before buses pull away from stops.  But a technical glitch means many warnings sound after the bus has started moving.

Some passengers have branded the idea "annoying and useless", but TfL said it would make journeys safer.  It said about 3,000 people were injured each year by slips, trips and falls on London buses.

TfL said many of these happened "because people have shopping in one hand and phones in the other".  But it accepted that the new warnings "have not quite got the timing right yet".

The alert is currently triggered by a computer that sends out the message after the average amount of time a bus would spend at a bus stop.  So for passengers on buses that spend less time at a stop, the alert does not sound until the bus is moving.

TfL said that if customers did not like the alert scheme, it can be withdrawn, but that the aim is to "make safety even better".

Many customers have taken to social media to vent their frustration at the mistimed messages.

Nathan Wade, from East Finchley, north London, posted a tongue-in-cheek video on Twitter to highlight the error.  The children's residential worker, 30, said: "I do have sympathy for people that have been injured on the bus. I have seen it before where older people have nearly fallen over because the bus has pulled away too quickly. However, I don't think telling passengers to 'Please hold on, the bus is about to move' is going to help with that, even if the timing issue could be resolved."

From the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42681106):

The DLR ‘ding’ just before the train moves off is surprisingly effective at getting passengers to wake up and hang on. No need for lengthy verbal announcements which by their nature are annoying to regular travellers and/or mistimed for infrequent travellers.

Just like the "Please don't enter or leave the train when the doors are closing" automated announcement just after the doors have closed.

Not only is the new safety announcement, currently to be heard on all London buses, slightly patronising for anyone who has, say, used any form of wheeled transportation before, but it suffers from a technical fault. Passengers are treated to a rendition of “Please hold on, the bus is about to move” repeatedly throughout their journey, regardless of whether the bus is actually about to move or not.

If TfL really think buses need yet another announcement to break up the monotony of a bus journey, here are few bits of advice we think some people could really do with an occasional reminder about:

1) “Passengers sat on the aisle next to an empty seat in an attempt to claim as much personal space as possible are invited to get off the bus and hail a taxi instead.”

2) “Passengers sat on the aisle next to an empty seat across from a friend who has done the same are invited to get off the bus and jump into the nearest canal.”

3) “Passengers are reminded that sitting next to the only person on an otherwise empty bus is weird and creepy.”

4) “Unless they’re sitting at the front, which is fair game, let’s be honest.”

5) “If you just heard a ‘ding’, someone has pressed the ‘stop’ button. Pressing it again won’t somehow cause the bus to stop more.”

6) “Seriously, would it help if we told you the bus explodes if it goes ‘ding’ more than three times in a minute?”

7) “There are seats available on the upper deck of this bus. Go up there and sit down so the bus won’t sail past the poor gits standing at the next stop in the pissing rain, you utter bastards.”

8) “Sorry chaps, if your willy is so big you need to spread your legs across two seats, it has to have a valid Oyster card.”

9) “Stop trying to make eye contact with strangers. This is LONDON.”

10) “Oh my god seriously leave that person alone they don't want to talk to you they just want to get home and cook sausages.”

11) “Tourists: getting on the bus solely to ask the driver to explain how to get to Big Ben while everyone else is late for work will often offend. Especially at a bus stop in Parliament Square.”

12) “Anyone eating anything more substantial than a Twix is required to offer all the other passengers a bit first.”

13) “Anyone drinking alcohol is reminded that not only is it now illegal, but it will make anyone who isn't extremely jealous.”

14) “If you were listening to your piss-awful music through headphones instead of that crappy phone speaker you probably wouldn’t even be able to hear this annoying announcement.”

15) “Don’t stand on the stairs getting in the way, or if you do at least have the decency to fall down them so we can all have a good laugh.”

16) “Passengers considering having a loud and lengthy phone conversation should first rectally insert their handsets.”

17) “You. Yes, you. Everyone knows it was you that held up the bus fumbling around in your bag for your Oyster card and now wants you to die.”

18) “Chin up everyone, there is always at least a very slight chance that everything will be okay.”

19) “We apologise for the delay. It’s mainly down to all these dicks who think driving a car through central London is a good idea.”

20) “Please, can you all just stop being dicks, all the time.”

21) “Could the red-faced weirdo please stop getting so uptight about what other people do on the bus, you’ll do yourself an injury mate.”

The DLR ‘ding’ just before the train moves off is surprisingly effective at getting passengers to wake up and hang on. No need for lengthy verbal announcements which by their nature are annoying to regular travellers and/or mistimed for infrequent travellers.

The announcement has been changed and now says

"Please hold on when the bus is moving."

Which is an improvement.

It's still ludicrous!

No bus related, but I fail to understand why the message about short form platforms, and only doors in carriages 1 - 5/6/7 need to be played in every bloody carriage on the new electric services either - it is quite capable of playing per-carriage messages, as it does when it tells you which number you are currently in, so just play the message in the relevant carriage and leave the rest of us in peace.

Or alternatively just get the bloody platforms lengthened so there’s no need for an announcement at all!