Should be Certified

Omnibuses2.0’s Northern Correspondent reports from the temporarily double decked upstairs rear of the no. 263

It gave the youngsters occupying the rear seats of the bus something to chuckle about. Within the multiple copies of Metro news sheets strewn over the seats was the story of the teenager (not unlike them) who received a certificate for using a bus.

It’s natural that the media will have a laugh at a so-called assessment authority that issues such certificates. After all, it does have more than a vague hint of silliness about it, as exemplified by the young passengers’ hilarity. As if the media need an excuse to take a pop at the bus service.

The certificate in question acknowledged that the candidate could await a bus, calmly board, sit and get off again.

The underlying issue, though, is that it’s not just thousands of teenagers who struggle to understand a timetable and use a bus, there are plenty of adults who can’t either. That’s through either a lack of practice (thanks to the car) or unfamiliarity with the system. Many timetables and websites now include sections on how to use a bus. Why would operators waste valuable print or bandwidth if there wasn’t a real and pressing need? A useful extension is therefore to educate young people in safe travelling on the bus service. Get them while they’re young.

Issuing a certificate may not be the ideal reward. Giving them some sort of free day ticket or longer-period discount might be better—and it might attract less unwanted interest and ridicule.

It was all well and good the teenagers on the 263 having a laugh but these were fully worldly wise. Even if one of them had to phone his dad to seek permission to go on a sleep-over.

In the article, Metro reported the youngster as “clambering on board”. Why do the media always associate disparaging, derogatory or belittling words such as “clamber” with public transport? Clamber implies effort, even on all fours. Metro is obviously unaware of the modern articulated stock on the youngster’s route 135 in Manchester; if they were, they’d probably slag those off, too.

135 photo by Omnibuses2.0’s Northern Correspondent