Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
Post Reply
Sktz
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 7:52 am

Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by Sktz »

I am not a bus driver but need to know do you get a written map or something similar showing where the route is and where the bus stops are?

In particular Sydney, and transit systems if possible.

Would appreciate any advice or information, thank you in advance
Bovways
Posts: 721
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 10:48 am
Location: North-west Sydney

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by Bovways »

In my experience you will get a set of route maps, often with left and right instructions, to help you while you are learning the routes (or driving a route that you haven't done for a while!). Many operators also have 'route pointers' on poles along the route, advising where to turn.
School trips and diversions on public routes are typically provided as left and right instructions on the shift board that the driver takes with them.
Bus stops you just have to use your eyes for, although the stops also come up on the Wayfarer Opal ticket machines.

I can't speak of Transit Systems as I have not driven for them.
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21566
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by boronia »

You can get details of routes and stops off the transportnsw.info web site and various apps.

I imagine that initial training would include travelling over the routes and having the stops pointed out by the instructors?
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
Aurora
Posts: 925
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:54 pm
Favourite Vehicle: C set
Location: Sydney Reg 3

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by Aurora »

boronia wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 10:14 amI imagine that initial training would include travelling over the routes and having the stops pointed out by the instructors?
Which is very important, some bus stops can be hard to find easily or located at difficult to stop places, depending on time of day. There are some absolute shockers around.
An asset of NSW. All opinions/comments are strictly my own.
M 5885.
mubd
Posts: 1024
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:42 am

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by mubd »

It strikes me as a bit odd that the companies haven't championed some sort of GPS app which drivers can be provided with, especially given the shortage of drivers and length of time taken to train people on a route.

Forgetting where to stop, or getting lost, is probably one of the biggest reasons that someone can be put off the job.

And those yellow pointers are quite often close to useless - so many missing, obscured, or out of date ones. They could do well to add some more signposting.
Eastgardens to Kingsford is a 1-2 section fare.
Merc1107
Posts: 2243
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 6:38 pm
Favourite Vehicle: MAN 18.310, MB O405NH, L94
Location: A Coastal City

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by Merc1107 »

Mudmaps aren't much help either. One particularly silly example I encountered was a rail replacement map & instructions that had you come near the station, then go on a lap of the adjoining suburb, returning to the same roundabout from the opposite side.

A good way to learn routes and stops is to catch those services, follow along with a phone or timetable. Drive them in the car, too.

Speaking of phone apps for procuring transport information, I find them all quite clunky to use. It isn't always clear what alternative routes or stops you can use (e.g. AnyTrip's map view of an interchange lets you choose each individual stand) and of course if you should lock your phone you may return to find any directions lost (as the app went to sleep). It just feels as though these apps, rather than being a help and easier than a physical map, can be something of a nuisance.
lunchbox
Posts: 1796
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:50 pm
Favourite Vehicle: Bicycle - no waiting - on time
Location: Sydney

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by lunchbox »

Currently, Sydney City Council, and probably other councils, are replacing their bus shelters. Generally, the shelters have had the yellow sign with the bus stop logo attached to the roof of the shelter. So the yellow signs have gone too - hastily replaced with an entirely inadequate blue A4 paper/plastic thing which waves in the wind and fades to white.
So even prospective passengers don't know where the stops are at present - the Herald ran an article earlier this week.
Things will improve, but not quickly enough.
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21566
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by boronia »

I was on an STA bus a while ago, and I noticed the Thoreb screen displaying a map. It was tracking the bus along yellow highlighted streets, which I assumed might have been the route.

Is this a normal installation? Would it have shown the location of bus stops?

Notwithstanding this, most stops these days seem to have signage in one form or another which is readily visible above parked cars (but maybe not trucks?).

In my past days in the truly private sector, you'd be lucky if the local council allowed Bus Stop signs (let alone service info) to be placed on electricity poles; stops were a "secret" between the customer and operator.
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
Merc1107
Posts: 2243
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 6:38 pm
Favourite Vehicle: MAN 18.310, MB O405NH, L94
Location: A Coastal City

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by Merc1107 »

Have seen that Thoreb GPS/route map function before as well, in addition to them being able to give a live passenger loading readout thanks to door counters (I've had it report-30 pax on my bus when it was full ... evidently not a great system!).

With the map, it gives distance to next stop, route distance and a couple of zoom levels. If anyone ever played the game "Midtown Madness," the map might look familiar.
It looked like the system would even make automated announcements, but that was either never implemented or disabled on the examples I encountered.
sunnyyan
Posts: 345
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:39 pm
Favourite Vehicle: MB OC500LE CC CB60 CNG

Re: Do you get provided with a guide of where bus stops are?

Post by sunnyyan »

^ The THOREB can do announcements. It was formerly used on all the Metrobus routes (of course excluding the private ones). It gradually fell out of use as the announcements were never updated for route changes (e.g. M10 diverting away from Town Hall, the addition of the Lyminge Rd stop on the M41).
Post Reply

Return to “Discussion - Sydney / NSW”