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"Not this stop, but the one after" button

on buses
  (+4, -1)
(+4, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

Sitting on the bus. Can't push the "stop request" button yet, because there still exists a stop closer than the one I want. So now I'm forced to (urgh) pay attention for 5 minutes while the bus crawls through traffic at a snail's pace until it finally passes that bus stop, just so I can push the button for the next stop.

I sometimes lose my concentration and end up forgetting to request my stop altogether. (It always seems like traffic thins and the bus zooms ahead at 30 mph just as it is passing my stop)

So, a "Not this stop, but the one after" button on the bus would be useful.

phundug, Jan 30 2004

Bar Bus http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Bar_20Bus
Time, driver, please [egbert, Oct 17 2004]

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       As a fellow bus-dweller, I sympathize. I think it would get just as confusing for passengers and driver as the current system already is. But when in doubt, pull the cord (or press the button as the case may be) and yell, "No, next one after this, please!"
k_sra, Jan 30 2004
  

       I'm the proponent of the "If you want to get off the bus, tuck-and-roll" system. If you tip the bus driver enough, then he MAY slow down for you ...
Letsbuildafort, Jan 30 2004
  

       buy your ticket and get given a hard hat with a programmed loud ringer and a revolving yellow light that does it automatically for you...this would wake you up if you happen to doze off...
po, Jan 30 2004
  

       [k_sra] Not if built correctly. When the NTSBTOA button is pressed, there is no sound, but the request is stored in the bus's "memory". When the driver pulls away from the first stop, the "Stop Requested" sign automatically lights and the bell sounds.
phundug, Jan 30 2004
  

       Yes, but you wouldn't know if it was malfunctioning until it was too late to be handy... Distrustful persons (such as myself) would be waiting for the doors to close at the "stop-before-the-stop" to see if it was really going to work.
k_sra, Jan 30 2004
  

       The bus driver would kindly look at you like you were an idiot and keep driving.
k_sra, Jan 30 2004
  

       You could install one of these on the "Bar Bus" [linky] to give you time for one last round.   

       How about an "Is This My Stop Yet?" button for when travelling in unfamiliar neighbourhoods?
egbert, Jan 30 2004
  

       Here here. That would be a calorie saver for me, [eggy]. Especially when travelling abroad.
k_sra, Jan 30 2004
  

       If you're attention span is this short, I'm glad you're taking the bus and not driving.
waugsqueke, Jan 30 2004
  

       Considering that I always seem to take the bus when it's inordinately busy, I like this idea. It's often awkward trying to reach for the pull cord over three people's heads when you're standing squished between five people and have an armload of groceries or something.
andromeda, Jan 30 2004
  

       I like my hat the best...
po, Jan 30 2004
  

       You give that hat back to Dipsy right now, young lady, and go play with your scooter.
egbert, Jan 31 2004
  

       Better yet, the "My Stop" button that you can press when you get on.
DrCurry, Jan 31 2004
  

       Damn the feasibility, I like this idea. As a (I can’t believe I’m going to admit this), bus driver (gasp), it’s not the ‘sorry next stop’ calls that drive you crazy, it’s the ones where you stop, and there’s dead silence as 50 people look around with that ‘wasn’t me’ look. You can’t leave too fast because it might be someone who is a little slower getting off… but it isn’t - over, and over, and over...
Itsmeagain, Jan 31 2004
  

       I'm gonna guess it's the three kids in the back, keeping their heads down and sniggering.
DrCurry, Jan 31 2004
  

       No doubt!
Itsmeagain, Feb 01 2004
  

       [letsbuildafort], i'm also a big fan of the 'tuck and roll' approach, although personally i would just open the emergency exit window, tuck my knees up to my earlobes, and roll out onto the roof of the next car waiting in traffic.
caughtwithpantsdown, Feb 02 2004
  

       How about a route map on a touch screen? As you get on the bus, touch the map where you want to get off. That spot (or the stop nearest) lights up. The light resets and a chime sounds when that stop is next. Of course, you still have to be paying enough attention to know when to get up and actually exit the bus.   

       <rant>
It would help to have a PA system with enough volume (yikes!) and clarity (oh my!) so that passengers have some clue which stop the driver just announced. Of course, Murphy would arrange for the driver to have a thick foreign accent and severe nasal congestion if that were to be the case.
</rant>
BigBrother, Feb 02 2004
  

       Based on the above annotations, i think there's a simple solution. Press the button a stop early, then retake your seat and when the bus comes to a halt listen for the bus driver's swearing. As soon as the swearing stops and the bus starts moving again, press the button a second time and prepare to disembark.
kropotkin, Feb 02 2004
  

       you have a driver announcing stops [BB]? Wow. We have no such thing - and it probably wouldn't be understandable if we did.
hazel, Feb 02 2004
  

       I no longer ride a bus since I moved from RI, but we had a simple system there - get on, show your pass or pay, and say to the driver "How's it going; can you drop me at the Dunk in East G.?" Sorry if that's too low-tech.
bpilot, Oct 22 2004
  


 

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