Wilton St stop in London is a red roundel on a white background and that
always meant a compulsory stop. A request stop was always a white roundel
on a red background. Has that changed? I ask because it seemed to me
that the only way you guarantee a bus to stop was by raising your hand. I
watched one man move to the stop (from his waiting place in the set-back
shelter) as his bus approached and then look surprised as it accelerated
away (it wasn't full). Almost everyone felt the need to raise a hand to
hail the bus.

To be fair, some buses were already indicating to stop before the hand was
raised but I got the definite impression that a compulsory stop wasn't
compulsory.

"Graham Harrison" wrote:
Wilton St stop in London is a red roundel on a white background and that
always meant a compulsory stop. A request stop was always a white
roundel on a red background. Has that changed?

Yes, all stops are the same now.

To be fair, some buses were already indicating to stop before the hand
was raised but I got the definite impression that a compulsory stop wasn't compulsory.

Quite the opposite, all stops in London are now compulsory if there are any
passengers waiting. For alighting, all stops are request stops. This is
the same as it works in Germany generally.

That said, I'm not surprised it is in practice becoming the same as in the
rest of the UK, i.e. all stops on request only.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

On Dec 8, 10:50*am, Neil Williams
wrote:
"Graham Harrison" wrote:
Wilton St stop in London is a red roundel on a white background and that
always meant a compulsory stop. * A request stop was always a white
roundel on a red background. * Has that changed?

Yes, all stops are the same now.

To be fair, some buses were already indicating to stop before the hand
was raised but I got the definite impression that a compulsory stop wasn't compulsory.

Quite the opposite, all stops in London are now compulsory if there are any
passengers waiting. *For alighting, all stops are request stops. *This is
the same as it works in Germany generally.

That said, I'm not surprised it is in practice becoming the same as in the
rest of the UK, i.e. all stops on request only.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. *Put first name before the at to reply.

Quote: "all stops in London are now compulsory if there are any
passengers waiting."

Except that no-one's actually told the (largely non-British) drivers.
I now treat EVERY stop as a request stop and clearly indicate that I
wish to board an approaching bus. But even that doesn't guarantee a
bus will stop. Many times in London if a bus is already at a stop then
an approaching bus will simply overtake this and drive on regardless.
Two of the worst places for this is Praed Street near Paddington
Station and in The Strand.

Or a bus will simply go by half-full with seats at the back because
stupid passengers like to stand crowding around by the exit doors.

And if you happen to be in a wheel-chair forget it. The T4L drivers
are the surliest and most unhelpful in the country for wheelchair
users.

It would also help if able-bodied passengers didn't occupy the seats
reserved for the disabled or those unable to stand. Foreign tourists
or Ethnics seem to be the worst for sitting in these seats. Can't they
read English - obviously not?

And as for women sitting in aisle seats with their bags on the window
seat - they're a pain. Even when you ask to sit down many times they
refuse to move mainly because they've got their ears full of bl**dy
MP3 sound and they can't hear when you speak to them.

One small advantage with many London buses is that youf passengers
can't put their filthy shoes up onto the opposite seats. But they
reserve that unsociable attitude for the trains.

CJB

On Sat, 8 Dec 2012 06:04:30 -0800 (PST), CJB
wrote:

[snip]

And as for women sitting in aisle seats with their bags on the window
seat - they're a pain. Even when you ask to sit down many times they
refuse to move mainly because they've got their ears full of bl**dy
MP3 sound and they can't hear when you speak to them.

Best plan is to proceed to sit on the shopping. Remarkable how
quickly it moves then :-)

On 2012-12-08 14:04:30 +0000, CJB said:

Except that no-one's actually told the (largely non-British) drivers.

Who are these foreigners of whom you speak?

E.