Stick It Out

If you live in the Bay you may have seen the poster in the photo. But then again you probably haven't. So far on the 12 route I have spotted 5 of these posters. None of them in what you would call prime sites. I hadn't realized until now and I am just guessing, but just as you would pay more for an ad shown during Coronation Street than after the Epilogue, it would appear that even in the humble art of bus stop advertising some sites are more prime than others. The one in the photo is out side the old South Devon College (the much missed and sadly lamented old South Devon College). About 3 people a day walk past this spot and the poster isn't even visible to those few passengers who now wait there for a bus. An other is across the road from the Churston Golf Club, facing Windy Corner. No body ever, in the whole history of Torbay has approached this bus stop from the direction of Windy corner.

Even the two in the town centre are on the Pravillion stops, again on the wrong side for anyone walking up to the bus stop to see this big yellow glove calling on the masses to stand on tip toe and stick their hand out. Torbay Council and Stagecoach are running this campain designed to make it easier for the bus driver. The very first post(1) two years ago when I started this blog was called Put Your Hand Out If You Want Me To Stop.(Put your hand down, I mean if you want me to stop the bus not the blog). Maybe some in Head Office is reading this and said, "Hay, that's a good idea." Well if you are an even better idea would be 15% pay rise in May; just a hint.

Idea good, visibility poor. Spend some more money on prime sites, put a bit more effort into this campain. I mean there isn't even a poster in Paignton Bus Station or in Union Street. Thousands of passengers would see them there instead of the 0.00003% of our passengers who are seeing them at present. So far I haven't had a single passenger ask me where they can get a big Yellow Glove. Big disapointment. The best place for posters like this would be on the bus, not quiet as big of course, A4 would do. It would give the passengers some thing to read during their journey and may even get through to one or two of them. However a source within the company told me that this option is not planned for the near or middle future.

Any way, if you want a bus and you see it coming please put your hand out. It may not stop but at least you have entered into the spirit of things.


(1)
My First Ever Post

Stopping a bus from the outside.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004.

IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.

No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?'
The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus.
The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop.
The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?
So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.
PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.