Trivia: things other than place/stop names on bus destination displays

[HullRailMan]

Stagecoach Hull (outside the current temp strike timetable) show the destination as ‘Kingswood Circular’ on the 5 in both directions even though it starts and ends at Hull Interchange and just runs via Kingswood. At two stops on Kingswood the same stop is used in both directions and the destination blind doesn’t tell you whether the bus is going clockwise or anti-clockwise. In the same way, the 8 shows “Bransholme Circular” in both directions to/from the Interchange. Back in the day, KHCT used to run the 23/24 with “Outer Circle” as the destination.

 

[SSmith2009]

First Leicester revised their front displays to show 'face coverings mandatory' in place of the via points when masks were mandatory.

WX59BYT First Leicester Braunstone Bus 18 69441

Explore Matt's Transport Photography's 77328 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[DunsBus]

The 1 used to display “Clermiston Circle” (probably in pre-Atlantean days, so over 40 years ago)

It did - Clermiston Circle and Easter Road Circle depending on the direction of travel. These screens were revived for a few years in the early 00's.

 

[neilmc]

Back to Leeds City Transport the inner city circulars showed a destination of 'Circular'. Thats 57-64
The Ring Road bus showed 'Ring Road'. Both ways were 9 so unless you knew, you didn't know if it was going to Stanningley or Whitkirk.

LCT also used "Ring Road" as a terminal destination for some short workings from the city if they turned around at the Ring Road roundabout (service 1 at least)

 

[Simon75]

Some places have town services with the route number and " Town Service" on it

 

[Taunton]

Back in my youth, Western National buses at Taunton must have had a considerable shortage of the destination blinds, as although fitted with several separate displays at the front and back, one would just show "Western National" and the other "Service Number". The number would be correct as it was done with three elements that had 0-9, but as the town services had various scattered numbers all in the 200 range, and the bus stops didn't have any list, you had to be a bit of a bus nerd to know where each was going.

This wasn't just an isolated happening, sometimes more buses would be running in the town with these generic destinations than showing it properly. I used to think that the conductor did it to save changing all the destinations at each end, the routes across town only taking 20 minutes or so, but later found out that they were fitted with quite short lengths of the material blinds that just had these generic offerings and no destinations, not even Taunton, at all.

 

[duncanp]

On the subject of Lothian, "Circle" was a destination that was displayed some years ago.

Before the Birmingham Outer Circle was split, buses used to display "Outer Circle" on the destination blind.

Buses would sometimes show just "Service" or "Town Service" in On The Buses

 

[Dai Corner]

Rail replacement buses sometimes show things like " I'm being a train today. Choo Choo" which I find a bit naff.

 

[Wolvercoter]

I recall Stagecoach Oxford advertising 'Bus Points' on their destination displays back in late 90s or thereabouts. Also, 'Super Low Floor!'.

 

[DunsBus]

"Scholars" and "Reserved" are two that I recall from my childhood in Sunderland.
Slightly off-topic but I remember South Shields depot drivers, in both Tyne & Wear PTE and Busways days, screening both ends of the route.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Once I saw a not-in-service bus returning to Gilmoss bus garage in Liverpool for the night displaying “BED”.

 

[DunsBus]

Once I saw a not-in-service bus returning to Gilmoss bus garage in Liverpool for the night displaying “BED”.

On a similar note, Edinburgh Coach Lines have "Off Home Now - See you tomorrow" for the buses used on service 13, when the service has finished for the day.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Just seen an (out of service?) Arriva bus tootling around displaying "Merry Christmas' (complete with a row of reindeer) on its electronic destination blind!

Christmas was two months ago, wasn't it?

 

[Dai Corner]

Just seen an (out of service?) Arriva bus tootling around displaying "Merry Christmas' (complete with a row of reindeer) on its electronic destination blind!

Christmas was two months ago, wasn't it?

It's in ten months time

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Christmas was two months ago, wasn't it?

It's in ten months time

If what's on the shelves is anything to go by, at some retail outlets, it'll be more like in six months' time!

 

[Statto]

... and, of course, for far too long we had 'Face Coverings must be worn' (or similar), as on this Arriva Merseyside Wright bodied VDL in Widnes. Even the driver is complying!

View attachment 123971
Image shows Arriva Merseyside 2698 - CX58EWL - at Green Oaks, Widnes, displaying 'Face coverings must be worn' and the service number (110).

Interesting that this vehicle actually displays the number, as well as the message, as Arriva Merseyside vehicles have the same & other messages on blinds, but the message takes up the whole display, with no route number showing, which is really annoying.

 

[tbtc]

A favourite display at First’s Olive Grove depot here in Sheffield is “Football”, which is presumably intended for special services to the Wednesday ground at Owlerton but is more commonly seen in the front of vehicles returning to the garage of an evening, i guess it’s a bit more fun than “sorry, not in service”

(More rare is the screen for the Horse Racing, for when buses are borrowed by Doncaster)

 

[TheSel]

Interesting that this vehicle actually displays the number, as well as the message, as Arriva Merseyside vehicles have the same & other messages on blinds, but the message takes up the whole display, with no route number showing, which is really annoying.

Not just Merseyside - the North Wales ones can be just as bad. Witness this one (below) of Arriva Cymru's 2935 - MX09EKP - in Chester last December. No route number, and the entire display in a language not understood by the vast majority of Cestrians or visitors to the City. (my pic).

Display reads: "Cyfarchion y tymor oddi wrth Arriva" which I think translates as "Season's Greetings from Arriva - you've just missed your last bus" (or something like that).



== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Feb 2023 ==

On of my favourites is this rarely-seen Stagecoach Merseyside display: "Driver on Break. Your bus will arrive shortly"

Photo'd here in West Kirby on Stagecoach Merseyside 15739 - KX61DKU (again, my pic)

 

[SSmith2009]

Centrebus have added "any single fare £2" to their displays alternating with the routes via points

Looks quite smart and importantly doesn't take away from the destination and route number being shown

555 seen showing the display:https://www.flickr.com/photos/acbestphotography/52637109576/

 

[JD2168]

A favourite display at First’s Olive Grove depot here in Sheffield is “Football”, which is presumably intended for special services to the Wednesday ground at Owlerton but is more commonly seen in the front of vehicles returning to the garage of an evening, i guess it’s a bit more fun than “sorry, not in service”

(More rare is the screen for the Horse Racing, for when buses are borrowed by Doncaster)

Another one I have seen with First is Bertie’s Buses For Sheffield displayed on the blinds which goes with some of the branding.

 

[Zamracene749]

'Miners'. Could be seen on works buses in the north east serving the collieries.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

'Miners'. Could be seen on works buses in the north east serving the collieries.

Would they have (sequentially) served more than one pithead, where there were multiple collieries in the area?

 

[jackot]

I've often seen Stagecoach buses around Aldershot celebrating the Islam festival of Jalsa Salana on their destination boards which is held nearby.
A lot of buses also seem to intermittently show their destination in Urdu or Nepalese as well around Aldershot, with the town being home to a large Gurkha community.

 

[EdinRH]

'Miners'. Could be seen on works buses in the north east serving the collieries.

Eastern Scottish buses on private hire taking miners to and from Bilston Glen colliery displayed "Contract" as their destination. I remember asking my grandad where Contract was. I would have been aged six at a maximum, as I was born in 1983 and the colliery closed in 1989.

 

[WibbleWobble]

Yellow Buses used to have promotional ticket messages on their front displays. However they stopped doing it after they got a stern telling off from the Traffic Commissioner at a Public Inquiry for doing it (they weren't hauled in for that, but it did get brought up).

 

[ACBest]

Centrebus have added "any single fare £2" to their displays alternating with the routes via points

Looks quite smart and importantly doesn't take away from the destination and route number being shown

555 seen showing the display:https://www.flickr.com/photos/acbestphotography/52637109576/

Thank you, I appreciate it! That’s my handiwork - I always keep the destination and route number on display at all times - for example, my Christmas displays have Merry Christmas on the bottom line with one of a selection of festive bitmaps on the left hand side.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Some buses (Stagecoach IIRC) switch their displays to ‘Bus Reversing’ when reversing.

 

[Simon75]

Once I saw a not-in-service bus returning to Gilmoss bus garage in Liverpool for the night displaying “BED”.

I've seen a similar photo for Arriva Birkenhead

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Feb 2023 ==

Back in the days of linen blinds you'd see things like 'Service' and 'Relief'

Private was one too

 

[jp4712]

Oldham Corporation, up in the Pennines, ran several services to low-lying, smoky Manchester. This led to the situation where the Manchester end of a service might be enveloped in thick fog, while the upland end might be completely clear. So Oldham had as a destination FOG ON ROUTE which conductors would put on the destination blind as a sort-of pre-emptive excuse why their bus was catastrophically late due to delays down in the city. Manchester did something similar by having FOG on its via blinds.

Manchester City Transport, and successors SELNEC and GMT, had MATCH on many blinds which worked for Maine Road, Old Trafford or indeed Gigg Lane or Burnden Park.

Slightly off-topic, but Ramsbottom UDC buses eschewed PRIVATE in favour of the slightly prim ENGAGED.

 

[341o2]

"Sorry not in service" when running empty

Regarding place names on the London trolleybuses, one destination was Near (or Nr) Willesden junction. London also had Extra trolleybuses, these would display Extra instead of a route number, and a route/destination blind