Among the media interest in the delivery of 15 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400H hybrid double decks for Lothian Buses here is something I’ve not yet read: the front destination displays are digital.
Edinburgh, Scotland, is so far away for me that it could even be in a different land so I can’t say with certainty but are these the first Lothian deliveries to feature front electronic displays? If they’re not, digital is very much in the minority. Buses as young as 11-reg were still arriving with power blind “linens” at the front, though the side and back displays had become digital.
Digital offers flexibility and convenience. That convenience may yet come to the fore during the 10 months-worth of work that started last weekend along Princes Street, to remedy problems with the on-off-on city centre tramlines. Were Lothian Buses’ blinds all digital, the operator could make any last minute adjustment with ease. This is the second major tram-related disruption for Lothian Buses. The first, during the tramline construction, threatened the very viability of the operator as passengers were put off.
Digital blinds are also said to be clearer for people who have difficulty with their sight. They can offer much more information than the blinds of old. They certainly can do better than the once universal single line ultimate destination.
But they can be irritatingly confusing if they flash, scroll or otherwise advertise something that isn’t strictly pertinent to what the passenger needs to see: a clear rendition of final destination, major via points and route number. Anything else is obfuscation and the traffic commissioners & VOSA have a view on this, too. I suppose I could be accused of defeating my own argument when I say that something subtle is permissible.
And broken or cheaper versions that frustratingly “flash” when static (owing to refresh rate problems) or where individual elements are not refreshing correctly are poor.
Perhaps that’s why Edinburgh’s power blind “linens” are refreshingly clear and easy to read. They appear less garish, less brassy, less kitschy. There’s a certain uniform simplicity & constancy about them. But, with white not yellow on black, does this now most traditional of approaches really cut it in an age where diversity, including for people with visual impairments, is respected?
As an aside, the use of a golden colour rather than Lothian white with newly introduced madder gives the Lothian hybrids a slightly understated and less harsh warmth.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Going Digital
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21 comments:
"Digital blinds are also said to be clearer for people who have difficulty with their sight."
Are the digital blinds really clearer? The size of the 'dots' in the examples in the photographs mean that the edges of the text are 'fuzzy' compared to the linen blinds, even on the relatively large text of the rear display showing '19 Kings Road'. I agree that the linen examples might be clearer if the text were yellow, or 'dayglo' green; but I think that the digital blinds need to use a smaller 'dot' size (and therefore more dots) before they could really said to be clearer. However, increasing the resolution would undoubtedly increase the cost.
Here in London they have changed back to the single line ultimate destination on their blinds, and don't allow any digital displays. I thought that was implemented to make it easier for partially-sighted passengers.
This is an age-old argument that can never be won - it all comes down in the end to personal and operator preference.
I would still like to see a trial with LED displays in London, maybe convert half the runout of one of the garages to an Edinburgh style setup (i.e. there's two separate LED displays at the front, one for route, one for destination), and get the passengers to decide which they prefer.
Digital displays are more versatile and cost effective over the life of the unit. I don't agree that they are clearer than blinds, especially in bright sunlight when the sun is shining directly on them. There is nothing clearer than linen or tyvek blinds provided that (a) the glass is kept clean (b) the backlighting is up to the job and (c) the engineer fitting them washed his hands before the job!
Not the first Lothian buses with an electronic front display
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgeupstairs/3263754094/)
but perhaps the first legible ones!
"I would still like to see a trial with LED displays in London, maybe convert half the runout of one of the garages to an Edinburgh style setup (i.e. there's two separate LED displays at the front, one for route, one for destination), and get the passengers to decide which they prefer."
As would I. Using LEDs (or powered blinds) would allow London buses to show final destination and number on the rear and side. The way it is, in London you tend to get " via " on the side which is only semi-useful.
I don't want to see the nonsense you get on a lot of provincial LEDs (advertising "fixed" information e.g. fares and the likes) but if you use them well (final destination in large font, a couple of vias in smaller font, full displays on front/back/side), you can get a very good passenger information setup indeed.
As for Edinburgh, I predict they'll have trouble with those white LEDs failing. Everyone else uses amber, and one reason for that (remember how quickly they failed on the Euston departure board) is that white ones just don't seem to last.
LEDs are more visible in the distance as buses approach. Perhaps less relevant in London and Edinburgh when the buses aren't moving fast at all?
Apart from London, do any of the big 5 operate linen displays? I can't say I've seen any for a while, apart from on particularly old vehicles.
Has anyone conducted a survey to find if passengers have any strong views either way ? Anyone with sight problems probably asks a fellow passenger which bus has arrived at the stop.That is not patronising,but natural for anyone who has sight problems.
Anyone who has had to struggle with changing roller blinds won't mourn their passing,plus any route changes or variations means costly new blinds.The time taken to wind through dozens of destinations to get from one to another is also very annoying,and hard on the knuckles.Power blinds are better,but a bit dated now.
Agree about annoying scrolling messages. Less is more.None is best.
As for London,just ask operators what they think about daft TfL rules and attitudes. One line final destination blinds are awful...no clue as to the route or major intermediate calling points. Perhaps I'm a fossil, but passengers needs don't change with fashions...tell them where the bus goes in a nice clear font.I-bus is great once on board,but the secret is getting on the right bus !!
Neil, TfL have recently changed their specs for destination displays again - it's power blinds all round now, and the side has to show a destination and not a via point.
Tender awards are in the middle of changing over - for example the new Geminis on the 25 used by First have side destinations, e.g. "25 Ilford" but other awards don't quite yet.
Of course that's another argument - power blinds as prone to fail as an LED, if not more so due to the moving parts. I'm not going there .... :D
Perhaps wooden boards slipped into metal brackets might be best of all.
More seriously (?), how about LED computer-type screens. Then we could have infinite variety or display with crisp edges.
Bit expensive though?
Lothian also has another LED screen bus, but its been on test around the city.
This is the first "whole" batch to have LED screens fitted.
This is the second one ( only one ) to have it - 20 years later :P
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_montgomery/5404740763/
I dare say its all test as everything else has has the old rollers.
London can get away with keeping blinds simply because their routes are tendered for, usually, 5-7 years and nothing much ever changes in all that time.
Try telling that to the provincial operators who have to act commercially.
You never been to Falkirk! talk about stagnated
And I could think of dozens of rural operators over the years who simply felt no need at all for any sort of destination screen, blind or information on their vehicles! (-:
"And I could think of dozens of rural operators over the years who simply felt no need at all for any sort of destination screen, blind or information on their vehicles! (-:"
And plenty of small city contract operators who think a piece of A4 in the windscreen with a number written on in marker pen cuts it. Clue: no, it doesn't.
Not as "good" as one operator around MK which will remain nameless, who has now switched to LEDs, who previously had a set of blinds containing such gems as:-
Wolver ton (Wolverhampton with the "hamp" coloured in in black pen)
Blehtcley
Did they even *bother* proofing them? It looked *awful*.
Neil
In my experience the digital blinds are less legible from a distance (of course it does not matter now because only the 10s have them, but long term ...).
One thing they could do with digital is have the via places in the right order according to direction of travel; in your picture it should be via Leith Walk, Princes St, Tollcross to Bonaly. In fact they have replicated the status quo of the roller blinds, with only one set of via's per route used in both directions.
Perhaps the best compromise would be to have LED amber displays with just the route number and final destination in a large font filling the whole display. This is what one of my local routes' depot does and it works well (albeit more out of laziness and sticking everything on automatic than in the interest of the customer I suspect, plus the route number is on what is considered to be the wrong side on the front). However, this does look rather daft with the longer destination names as you end up with a full sized route number but a shrunk destination half the height of the display. Perhaps that's a problem largely confined to Wales tending to have longer names and not so much England and Scotland (although of course you still have the __________-on-__________ names and so on).
What I've noticed tends to be a problem living in Wales is when the operator wants to have the destination bilingually but also with via points. Fitting Neath/Castell-Nedd, Swansea/Abertawe, Brecon/Aberhonddu etc on the top line with scrolling via points on the bottom line without squashing the route number for example.
Perhaps a good solution would be to start standardising on even wider LED displays in buses, giving even more flexibility.
Have to say digital are tons easier to see from a difference and the way Arriva in the midlands seems to be my favourite. Top line is end destination and second row shows major calling points. As a regular travellr and user of unfamiliar routes at times this works well.
From a practical point of view for a commercial operator LEDs are a no-brainer.
In London the cost of the "traditional blinds" (tend to be polyester these days instead of Tyvek as it illuminates better - and linen hasn't been used for decades)is borne by TfL through the contract price.
Legibility-wise across all lighting conditions, I don't think you can beat the latest TfL standard of power blinds with LED backlighting. They're completely clear in the brightest sunlight, can be read from any angle and illuminate superbly at night. On the other hand, traditional manual Tyvek blinds with tube backlighting are awful.
Lothian did dabble with electronic displays during the eighties and into the nineties.
As follows:
666 - Transign
667 - Luminator
Both changed to Vultron Metro II displays c1984. 667 changed to standard blinds 1999; 666 was scrapped in 1988 following an arson attack while in service.
702 - Hanover
Changed to Vultron Metro II display c1984 and to standard blinds in 1989.
735 - Vultron Metro II
Fitted in 1984, replaced by standard blinds in 1995.
961 - BrightTech
Fitted in 1996, replaced by standard blinds c2000.
Electronic displays did feature on the sides and rears of Olympians while the 12 dual-door Lynxes delivered in 1991 had destination blinds and electronic Vultron number screens.
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