Neil Williams wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 4 Sep 2004:

The main thing I feel is missing from buses throughout the country,
including London (or maybe *especially* London where visitors are
probably more likely to use the bus than elsewhere) is on-board
information.

We used to have this - it was called "the conductor"..... Sigh....

As a minimum, all buses should have a large-font LED-style display
mounted at roof height at the front (one upstairs and one downstairs
on a decker) displaying the name of the next stop. Ideally, there
would also be an automatic announcer (though obviously with the number
of stops in London this would take longer to implement), and certainly
a public address system so the driver can speak to all passengers
(e.g. to advise that the bus is terminating early). None of this
would be exceptionally expensive to implement, and to someone using an
unfamiliar route would be very useful indeed.

They do have PA on many buses. But I agree, I wish we had more on-board
information - couldn't it somehow be linked with Countdown, or with
whatever is due to replace Countdown in the near future?

I'd argue that the above is vastly more deserving of investment than
Countdown displays and their ilk.

They are very useful, though - you know whether it's worth waiting, or
whether it would be quicker, as well as healthier, to walk. For idle
sods like me, that is good to know!
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/