--- "John Rowland" said:

Firstly, nearly all buses go to the end of the line, so the destination
info
is a waste of a huge number of pixels.


Except that not everyone is as familiar with the bus routes as you obviously
are. Imagine that you don't travel on buses very often. You've no idea
where each route goes, so it's no use you knowing that one will be along in
5 minutes if you've then got to turn to the maps, timetables etc. to find
out more about it. At least the destination would give you some idea of
where it's heading.

And since there are routes which don't always go all the way (and there were
a lot *more* of them when Countdown was first introduced) the destination
info is useful for those routes. (E.g. before the 2 was split into the 432,
I needed to know whether each 2 would be going all the way to Crystal Palace
or terminating at Norwood.)

Finally, the displays are easier to read for people who are already familiar
with that style and layout from the Underground. It saves them having to
figure out different pods. (See below.)


So, what I want is a small pod for each route, with the number of the
route painted on the top third of the pod, the number of minutes to
the first arrival of that route as LEDs in the middle third, and the
number of minutes to the second arrival of that route as LEDs in the
bottom third. .... This would be cheaper and more informative than
the current system.


Except that every time a route is changed, renumbered, diverted etc., the
pods would all have to be repainted. New pods would have to be added to
stops that gain new routes, and moved from them when routes are withdrawn.
Who's going to pay for all that work each time? It doesn't sound cheaper
than the current system.

Also, your system of different pods for different routes makes it harder to
have a quick comparison between different routes to the same destination.
(e.g. Waiting at Brixton Police Station, one glance at the display reveals
that a 322 is the first bus to Crystal Palace, a 432 is second and a 3 is
third. Under your system I'd have to find three different pods and compare
them all in order to decide whether it's worth getting the 322 or wait for a
quicker, less crowded route.)

And, how are your pods going to display information like "Oil spillage on
the South Circular. Expect delays on the following routes..." (Yes, I know
the existing system doesn't do that, but it *could*. The displays are
flexible enough.)

Ok, I admit it. I'm biased. I don't travel by bus very often. Your system
might be better for frequent bus users, especially frequent users of only
one route, but the existing displays are more useful for everyone else.