Strangest bus destination screens?

[SCH117X]

Is it illegal for a bus on a school service to display the service number or terminus?

Most of the local school buses around me have both shown and all have the service number clearly displayed, would be pretty confusing at the schools and en route where you have buses going to different schools if they were not displayed.

 

[Geordie driver]

The kids know which bus to get on by the number, get on the wrong bus and you would get a hiding! I was on a works and schools rota for 12 years and I don't recall a single child ever getting on the wrong bus. Normal punters would get on occasionally, I always advised them not to, they invariably regretted it.

I used to tell people I worked in education, as I drove the school bus.

 

[Andyh82]

Is it illegal for a bus on a school service to display the service number or terminus?

No, most school services around me would display the number and destination

Back in the days of roller blinds the destination would just be ‘School Service’ but now they display the name of the actual school.

There is inconsistency over what destination they show on the afternoon journey though, some display the name of the school they’ve just come from, others display the destination, which although correct makes it less obvious it’s a school service.

 

[gnolife]

The kids know which bus to get on by the number, get on the wrong bus and you would get a hiding! I was on a works and schools rota for 12 years and I don't recall a single child ever getting on the wrong bus. Normal punters would get on occasionally, I always advised them not to, they invariably regretted it.

I used to tell people I worked in education, as I drove the school bus.

There was one point that there was at my stop
07:55 18 to Trafford Centre
08:00 718 to Brookway and Altrincham College of Arts
08:00 714 to Jeff Joseph school
08:05 714 to Altrincham College of Arts
08:10 114 to Manchester
All of which were run by Arriva. There used to be mass confusion

 

[Geordie driver]

There was one point that there was at my stop
07:55 18 to Trafford Centre
08:00 718 to Brookway and Altrincham College of Arts
08:00 714 to Jeff Joseph school
08:05 714 to Altrincham College of Arts
08:10 114 to Manchester
All of which were run by Arriva. There used to be mass confusion

Bit daft have 2 buses with the same number going to different places? We used to have a 45 school run that started where a different 45 did and went to very different destinations. The kids knew which one to get but the adults didn't.

 

[cnjb8]

Thanks for the responses. I had seen that NCT had displays showing on their A1/A2 service and wondered if it conflicted with GDPR

 

[Pat1105]

The 'open to the public' bit is usually so the operator can claim BSOG and also means the service is subject to the DDA regulations. Mostly the public are not brave enough to use them as you say!

The majority of school services in my area are also available to the public. However, on the last day of summer term, schools finish early (around lunchtime) but the school services can’t be changed in accordance with this and the buses have to run at their normal times, as it is a public service with a registered timetable. They never pick anyone up on the last day of term as the public don’t use them.

 

[JetBlast]

and wondered if it conflicted with GDPR

I can't see how it would. It isn't personally identifiable information.

 

[DC3]

Regarding School Services I'm led to believe that the law (if its exists) or ruling has now changed in that all School Services must display the service number and terminus think it was changed a few years ago.

As for some School Services being open to the public I know that this is the case in some places but depending on the School who would want to travel on a Schoolbus these days considering the way the little darlings behave on some of them.

A few years ago we had a handful of School routes that were ‘available to the public’ notably 11S, 11X, 841, 897, 885 & 899, all of which displayed the destination, either the school, or the terminus.

There was one board that did the S91, this was a contract we had with Edgbaston High School for Girls, the duty ran dead from Garage to either Solihull or Edgbaston School, depending on the time of day, obviously! Then ran dead back to garage. I can’t recall why it only did that journey and no positioning route. But we had to display the yellow on black school children on board signs front and rear, and carry a first aid kit on board.

My photo of 4679 in Edgbaston, around about 2008

 

[DC3]

Where did the 11X go?
At Acocks Green today the 11S now runs as the 11A and 885 now runs as the 1A, with the school journeys incorporated into the main timetable on the 11A and 1A. Think 897 still exists and there is also a 73E school journey from Lode Heath School I believe. 899 and 841 were scrapped some years ago, the 899 moved to Yardley Wood shortly before withdrawl in 2015 as well.

And NX do still run other school routes available to the public such as the 876, 877, 94C, 70, 889 and 891 which are operated by BC.

11X was the 11C from Archbishop Ilsley, as far as Kings Heath.
11S was the 11A from the same school, to the Fox & Goose.

I do find it strange the 899 went to YW, but there was a lot of silly things happen years ago.

 

[cnjb8]

I can't see how it would. It isn't personally identifiable information.

That's why I wondered...

Thanks everyone for your responses

 

[DC3]

Thanks for the info.
I recall getting on a Solo on the 11S at Stechford at one point many years ago, several times? Was it Acocks Green who operated the Solo on the 11S as well?

It would have been, was only AG that operated it, they gave you whatever was lying around the garage for school runs, ive got a photo somewhere of when they gave me a solo as a change bus on the 71, that was an absolute nightmare!
the same way when the solo’s were knackered and you’d end up with a B6 on the 42C and 671, that was tight!

 

[Typhoon]

It would have been, was only AG that operated it, they gave you whatever was lying around the garage for school runs, ive got a photo somewhere of when they gave me a solo as a change bus on the 71, that was an absolute nightmare!
the same way when the solo’s were knackered and you’d end up with a B6 on the 42C and 671, that was tight!

I'm not surprised, about 10-12 years ago I can remember Solos on the 11C more than once (Erdington area). I can also remember being left behind!

 

[Trainfan2019]

Back in my younger days the school buses all had service numbers. Destination blinds on double deckers often had the name of the place where the school is on the top blind and 'school' on the bottom blind. Can't remember about single deckers as they didn't have top and bottom blinds. I would imagine they showed just 'school' and the service number or the place name and service number.

Regarding the appearance of 'sorry not in service' a couple of regular displays I've seen in recent years are 'bus returning to depot' and 'engineer on road test'.

 

[borage]

Saw a bus displaying "Christ The King", which I thought was a bit strange – like it was having a religious experience – until I realised it was the name of a school. https://www.flickr.com/photos/goodwinjoshua/49618112247/

 

[DC3]

Did 312 run in red and white at Acocks Green as well, or was that repainted after transfer?

NXWM 312

wmbusphotos.com

And how come one of the B10L had green seats as well?

I can’t remember if any of the solos ran in the red/white, I think they all got transferred via the paint shop. 1429 had the green seats, and yellow poles. Haven’t a clue why!

 

[Statto]

Not so much destinations but there have been strange numbers on blinds, going way back Crosville had an H7X/H8X Fareway of Kirkby had an F1X/F4X/F5X, Yourbus West Midlands had an A6Y & C6Y.

 

[TheSel]

There’s also a Wales in Sheffield, and I suspect that might have been on the blinds back in the day.

It certainly was. And here it is at Sheffield Interchange, displayed quite appropriately by a former Western National, Devon General and Crosville Wales VR - still in Crosville Wales colours.



A few folks have mentioned the seemingly ever-present "Service", displayed throughout Eastern Counties area (although other operators were equally guilty). Similarly, the Scottish Bus Group for many years favoured a white blank destination, with a sticker in the windscreen. It was said that if there was no suitable sticker available, a blank one would be affixed!

Crosville's Wirral area blinds used to include 'PRIVATE DRIVE' - not intended as an alternative to 'EXCURSION' or similar, but a terminus for a school working in the Barnston area on service F24 Heswall - Birkenhead.

But my all-time favourite has to be this former Trent ECW bodied RELH6L - by this stage running for PMT - leaving Hanley and going to the wonderfully named 'Man in Space' (a pub).

 

[edwin_m]

But my all-time favourite has to be this former Trent ECW bodied RELH6L - by this stage running for PMT - leaving Hanley and going to the wonderfully named 'Man in Space' (a pub).

View attachment 77110

Or is it actually going to Hanley Garage or somewhere else (illegible) in Hanley.

That's got to get the prize for this thread IMHO - three destinations shown and one of them out of this world!

 

[TheSel]

Or is it actually going to Hanley Garage or somewhere else (illegible) in Hanley.

That's got to get the prize for this thread IMHO - three destinations shown and one of them out of this world!

You're right - this was doing a Bus Station - Hanley Garage shuttle on the occasion of the 'POPS' Rally in May 1988, but it is a genuine destination, albeit one not designed to be displayed in a narrow aperture like this one. I forget what the upper line said - presumably the district of the Potteries where the pub was located?

I've managed to track down a 'Private Drive' shot in my collection. Slightly later than the F24 route I referred to earlier - by April 1981 (when this was taken) Crosville's 'F' numbered routes had been renumbered into the MPTE three-numbered series, and consequently the 'F24 school bus' became the 634. Bristol RELL6G SRG120 is seen leaving West Kirby depot (now long demolished).



And here's a nice destination from the early days of the Runcorn Busway.

 

[TheSel]

The last bus at night from Halifax still terminates at Portsmouth.

A few others (mostly of historic interest now as I've shown the former operator)

Babes-in-the-Wood Yorkshire Woollen District
Tea House Barrow Corporation
Two Ball Lonnen Newcastle Corporation
Spittal Tongs ditto
Sea Beach Aberdeen Corporation
Bleak House Burnley, Colne & Nelson Jt Committee
Bleachworks Wigan Corporation
Water Rawtenstall Corporation
Battery Morecambe & Heysham Corporation
Bare ditto
Barming Maidstone Corporation
Clock Face St. Helens Corporation

Growing up in Bristol I never found Sea Mills or Fishponds odd but some visitors find them amusing.

The 'CLOCK FACE' destination still existed well into the Merseybus era. Here, displayed on East Lancs bodied Atlantean 1827 in November 1990.

 

[Deerfold]

I did tend to dislike 'Town' or 'City' as destinations.

The silliest one of those I saw was on the early 90s on the R5 Nottingham to Derby linking two Cities.

 

[vlad]

But my all-time favourite has to be this former Trent ECW bodied RELH6L - by this stage running for PMT - leaving Hanley and going to the wonderfully named 'Man in Space' (a pub).

Trentham Man In Space is still the terminus for some journeys of the 21. Unfortunately I can't remember what the display on the front of the bus shows - and given current events I can't go and check.

 

[TheSel]

Trentham Man In Space is still the terminus for some journeys of the 21. Unfortunately I can't remember what the display on the front of the bus shows - and given current events I can't go and check.

Ah - that would make a lot of sense. My journey log records that I travelled on that vehicle as the 1400 261 to Trentham Gardens (1430 return). Many Thanks.

 

[43055]

Trentham Man In Space is still the terminus for some journeys of the 21. Unfortunately I can't remember what the display on the front of the bus shows - and given current events I can't go and check.

At the moment all the 21 journeys are terminating and starting back at the man in space but normally I think they all continue to do a loop not to far from the man in space.

 

[edwin_m]

The 'CLOCK FACE' destination still existed well into the Merseybus era. Here, displayed on East Lancs bodied Atlantean 1827 in November 1990.

View attachment 77121

I hope that route ran at regular intervals in each hour.

 

[Statto]

I hope that route ran at regular intervals in each hour.

32A is the bus that now goes to Clock Face, & in normal times it does run to a clock face timetable, every 30 minutes.

Arriva Merseyside 2691 CX58EWD VDL Bus SB200 - Wrightbus Pulsar

New in 11/2008. Based at Jackson Street, St. Helens and seen here on Corporation Street in it's home town on 04/03/2018 working local service 32A Clock Face via St. Helens Hospital. © Peter Steel 2018.

www.flickr.com

 

[Pat1105]

Deveron Coaches used to display ‘Service 341’ on their screens for the New Elgin circular. It was a bit odd as it didn’t show where the bus was going. They changed this later to show the destination and via points.

 

[TheSel]

At the moment all the 21 journeys are terminating and starting back at the man in space but normally I think they all continue to do a loop not to far from the man in space.

So, an orbit, I suppose!

 

[James101]

Two shouts for a Wardle Transport of Stoke-on-Trent:

‘Have a nice day’ used as an alternative to ‘Not in Service’ or if a destination wasn’t programmed -

Wardle Transport Dennis Dart 11.DA51XTE Hanley, Stoke-on Trent

Wardle Transport Dennis Dart SLF 11.DA51XTE in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent on the 19th January 2010.

www.flickr.com

Also ‘Up Hanley Duck’, local colloquialism which roughly translates as ‘City Centre’ -

Wardle Transport 4812 X438FGP at Hanley

Explore driffbus' 14669 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com