I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?


michael adams

....

"michael adams" wrote in message
...

I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?


Only on the right kind of bus.

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us...ire/?tax=68212

Charging points – when we’re all so reliant on technology there’s nothing
worse than having a flat battery, so now you can charge your smartphone,
laptop or tablet on the bus at the handy seat-side sockets – but please don’t
try plugging in gadgets like your hair straighteners because they won’t
work!


-- --
Mike D

In article ,
(michael adams) wrote:

I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?

Probably. I think buses built for the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway in 2009
had them.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 2017\07\19 22:27, Michael R N Dolbear wrote:

"michael adams" wrote in message
...

I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?


Only on the right kind of bus.

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us...ire/?tax=68212

Charging points – when we’re all so reliant on technology there’s
nothing worse than having a flat battery, so now you can charge your
smartphone, laptop or tablet on the bus at the handy seat-side sockets –
but please don’t try plugging in gadgets like your hair straighteners
because they won’t work!

I guess aluminium smelting is out then.

In message , at 18:14:34
on Wed, 19 Jul 2017, remarked:

I think buses built for the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway in 2009
had them.

Part of the frog-boiling gentrification of the route, where one was
supposed to be able to sip coffee and work on a laptop during your
commute. Except they banned food and drink and there are no tables for
the laptops.
--
Roland Perry

Metrobus route 400 to East Grinstead had USB charging ports on each seat back last week, but the return bus did not.

"Michael R N Dolbear" wrote in message
...

"michael adams" wrote in message
...

I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?


Only on the right kind of bus.

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us...ire/?tax=68212

Charging points - when we're all so reliant on technology there's nothing worse than
having a flat battery, so now you can charge your smartphone, laptop or tablet on the
bus at the handy seat-side sockets - but please don't try plugging in gadgets like your
hair straighteners because they won't work!


-- --
Mike D

Sorry I only checked that afterwards.

These though were being used as ordinary buses with plenty of mums
with buggies in evidence. At one stage on the return journey there were
three buggies - with only the one door at the front next to the driver. The
sockets were standard, white, budget-line looking things like they'd come
straight out of Screwfix or Toolstation.


michael adams

....

On Wednesday, 19 July 2017 18:38:40 UTC+1, michael adams wrote:
I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.

Should I just get out more ?


michael adams

Many commercial operators outside London are buying new buses fitting with power sockets and also usb charging points. Some buses are also being refurbished with some or all of these facilities plus posher seats, "coffee shop" style flooring and bus stop / real time info. I was out and about on buses outside London at the weekend. The Brighton and Hove bus I used had stop information displayed inside the bus - similar to TfL's I-Bus. A Metrobus vehicle I used at Crawley had usb charging points and wifo. Another Metrobus vehicle also offered wifi. Both of these buses were older spec so weren't all "bells and whistles".

New buses for Arriva, Stagecoach, Go Ahead and Transdev Blazefield in different parts of the country have all incorporated these "whizzy" features over the last couple of years. Look for "Sapphire" or "Max" Arriva buses or Stagecoach Gold, route 36 and Coastliner for Blazefield and various different branded routes with Go Ahead subsidiaries like Metrobus, Brighton and Hove, Go North East and Oxford Bus Company.

The reason for all this largesse is to try to attract younger travellers addicted to their technology plus some motorists who would perhaps prefer to use travel time for work purposes rather than drive. London is a very, very long way behind on these sorts of things although the electric buses on the 507/521 so have at seat usb points. Only small issue is that these buses are configured to carry large numbers of standees so there are few seats and most journeys are short length so you'd do well to get 5 mins of charging! TfL have said they may experiment with different "features" on some routes but there is no great "commercially driven" push to get bums on seats despite falling bus usage in London.

--
Paul C
via Google

On 19/07/17 18:38, michael adams wrote:
I've just travelled on a bus route between Dartford and
Gravesend run by Fastrack on the way out and Arriva Kent
on the return and at the end of every pair of seats
a plug socket was set into the side of the bus.
Switched sockets on Fastrack and plain sockets on
Arriva each with a small sticker - caution 240v supply.
Nobody appeared to be taking advantage of this facility
boiling kettles, making toast etc. Is this just for
charging phones ? The journey time on Arriva is about
31 mins.


Cash strapped safety ignorant teenager with,

a smart phone or laptop;

a dodgy mains charger bought from eBay, stuffed in a bag / back seat
pocket;

a sub-standard l-ion battery bought from Amazon, that's currently
well flat.

I just hope someone has done a fire risk assessment on a moving vehicle.
Where are the sprinklers?

Should I just get out more ?

Just sit closest to the exit

--
Adrian C

On Sun, 30 Jul 2017 09:46:29 +0100, Adrian Caspersz
wrote:

On 19/07/17 18:38, michael adams wrote:
[...]
I just hope someone has done a fire risk assessment on a moving vehicle.
Where are the sprinklers?

Much better to have USB sockets, as long as they don't have the data
pins connected... New buses seem to have these, rather than power
sockets. And we don't need to carry chargers around.

Should I just get out more ?

Just sit closest to the exit

Good advice anyway!

Richard.