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Coach
and Bus Good Practice Guide
1. Before a Journey
2. Bus Stops and Stations
3. The Bus
4. Fares and Tickets
5. Punctuality and Reliability
6. Complaints and Suggestions
7.
Consultation
1.
BEFORE A BUS JOURNEY
Bus users deserve a high level of up-to-date an?d accurate bus service
information
• in timetables and leaflets
• by telephone
• via mobile phones
• on the internet
• at bus stops and bus stations
• using Real-Time Information displays
• in enquiry offices
• on buses
• from drivers and other company staff
Timetables and timetable leaflets for all local bus services should
be easily accessible, and not only through bus company garages and
offices. In many areas, these are few in number and can be awkwardly
situated. Timetables should be clear and easy to understand and
should take into account the needs of partially sighted users.
THIS GUIDE understands the reluctance of some operators to promote
competing services, but would nevertheless like to see greater acknowledgement
of other local services. Some operators already include the services
of other operators in their timetable books, and have done so for
many years. This demonstrates to users the full range of travel
opportunities available and offers a good example for other companies.
Users may be dissuaded from travelling at all if they are not aware
that another operator’s service may get them home later in the evening,
for example. Appropriate timetable leaflets should be available
from libraries, tourist information offices and other public buildings.
Household leaflet drops should be undertaken when new services or
major revisions affect an area. In-bus notices are useful to alert
the public of changes, but can rarely give full details.
Buses should carry timetable leaflets, available from a dispenser
or from the driver. THIS GUIDE accepts that it is not always practical
for buses, particularly on urban service, to carry leaflets, but
it is important that existing bus users should be given proper notice
of changes affecting their services.
TARGET: Timetables for significant bus service
changes should be available for passengers at least two weeks prior
to the changes.
A telephone enquiry service should be available at local call rates
(or even free of charge), and the appropriate numbers should be
promoted in literature, at bus stops and on the buses, and prominently
displayed in local telephone directories. These must be manned for
more than evershrinking ‘office hours’, recognising that bus users
regularly travel outside these hours, and the lack of available
information may discourage or prevent journeys being made.
TARGET: During office opening hours, enquiry
calls should be answered within 45 seconds.
The Internet is being used increasingly by bus companies to promote
and publicise their services, and many passengers – but by no means
all – now have access to this type of information. As with all information
provision, details must be clear and easy to access and understand.
Easily downloaded timetables, ideally with maps, should be available
for potential passengers requiring timetable information in a more
permanent form.
Bus stops and bus stations are obvious places for information, yet
it is remarkable how often the provision of information at these
points is incomplete, non-existent, or at worst out-of-date. Bus
users are not interested that the bus company and the local authority
might be in dispute about who should provide and display the information.
Bus stop and bus station information should be userfriendly, and
not some dense mass of figures produced on a computer by a clerk
who may have little idea of what the user is actually looking for.
Information specific to that stop is preferable to whole-route timetables,
but journey times should be clear and passengers often need information
to be available at the stop for their return journey. Typefaces
used on timetable panels should be clear and easily legible, day
and night. Timetable cases on bus stop poles and in bus stations
should be sited at heights and in positions accessible to wheelchair
users, children and smaller adults. Bus fare information is even
less in evidence, but in those urban networks where an exact fare
policy is pursued, is considered essential.
There is a move towards using solar power to illuminate timetable
cases and we consider this brings significant benefit to passengers
at night.
The spread of Real-Time Information displays at bus stops and bus
stations is welcome. They offer reassurance to passengers and can
draw the attention of non-users to the service on offer. We commend
these places where displays are clearly visible to non-users rather
than tucked away in a shelter.
Real-Time Information must be just that, rather than simply detailing
scheduled departure times, and THIS GUIDE has a concern that while
such displays are often provided in urban situations, where frequencies
are high, this information would be considerably more valuable at
stops on rural or interurban services, where frequencies can be
low and where passengers may need reassurance that their bus is
actually coming.
Real-time information available by text is also useful, as it enables
users to check when the bus is coming before they even leave home.
Enquiry offices should be staffed by knowledgeable and friendly
customer-oriented people who can supply information clearly and
simply.
Enquiry office opening hours should cover the times of the day and
days of the week when services are operating. If this is not possible,
an obvious alternative should be available, particularly at bus
stations. This could, for example, be directions to an inspector
or controller’s office, or a freephone link to a control room. If
bus services run for up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, it
is reasonable to expect some form of information provision throughout
this time.
TARGET: Members of the public should be served
within three minutes in enquiry offices. At bus stations, information
should be readily available as long as bus services are operating.
On buses, the importance of accurate and comprehensive destination
information cannot be over-emphasised. Too many operators seem content
to display a single destination point that does nothing for the
confidence of would-be casual passengers. The destination display
is part of the advertising for the service, and all too often is
woefully inadequate.
The increasing use of bus service numbers and destination information
at the nearside and rear of buses is very welcome, and should become
universal. Inside buses, windows are often used for promotional
material, and while this is far from perfect, it does provide operators
with a further opportunity to convey information to its existing
users, though care should be taken to ensure that visibility for
users is not impaired.
THIS GUIDE welcomes moves to provide ‘live’ electronic in-bus
information advising passengers of the next stop and the ultimate
destination of the service. This can be particularly reassuring
for passengers unfamiliar with the route and unsure of their alighting
stop.
Similarly the increasing use of electronics to provide destination
displays is welcomed, now that they have greater clarity than before,
although we acknowledge that traditional indicator blinds when used
properly still give excellent clarity. We would like to see further
use of GPS systems with electronic displays so that ‘via’ points
that have already been passed are no longer displayed.
Drivers and inspectors are the bus industry’s front-line staff,
the people whom users are most likely to see and from whom they
are most likely to seek information. More attention should be given
to training and briefing drivers and inspectors. Statements from
staff such as ‘They don’t tell us anything’ are the worst advertisements
for a bus company. The drivers on large networks cannot normally
be expected to know every detail of every service. However, they
should have a working knowledge of their own company services to
be able to advise passengers on connections and alternatives.
When new services are introduced and major changes made to existing
services, part of the process of introducing these must be a driver
briefing to ensure that passengers are advised of changes before
they happen, and can learn about the effect of changes when they
take place.
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