Travelling in the NSW buses – using the “STOP” button!
Well, do you know what the Red “STOP button” does that’s there on the buses? For quite sometime I wanted to do a post on this one! A few days back while I was travelling in the bus, two different incidents happened. And both of these incidents were related to the bus being stopped at the next bus stop.
In the first incident, the couple got up to get down the bus & were waiting at the doors just to realise that the bus didn’t stop at that bus stop.
So, basically, they did not know that they had to press “STOP” to let the bus driver know that he has to stop the bus.
So, they came back to their seats, remained confused, silent & stared at each other while wondering what to do next. Luckily the next stop was the last stop for that bus so they didn’t really have to do much.
And the second one was where the couple pressed the “STOP” button while at the bus stop and walked up to the door and realised that the bus didn’t stop! The couple shouted at the driver while he kept explaining what happened. Finally realising that the couple is not going to stop shouting, the driver said sorry and ended the topic there. So, in this case, the couple had pressed the button to stop the bus at the last minute, this made it hard for the driver to stop safely in time and he decided not to stop there and rather stop at the next one. The conversation caused a lot of inconvenience to the fellow passengers!
So, what “STOP” button am I talking about? Here is a picture of how it looks in the bus:
Well, the thing here is not a lot of people know that the stop buttons located on the handrails & walls are to stop the bus at the stop which you intend to get down on. And also you need to do it well in advance for the driver to stop the bus safely. When I was new here, my husband told me about that & this is one important part of the travel here! I didn’t know that too!
NSW maintains the largest metropolitan bus fleet in Australia, and while traveling, our actions can make a big difference!
The “STOP” button is a press button located on handrails or walls to stop the bus. They look like the picture I have shown above! There are several of them in all the busses you take to travel here in NSW.
As you approach the bus stop you want to get down at, press the “STOP” button located on the handrails. Also please press it well in advance of your bus stop, this allows enough time for the driver to stop the bus safely. If you’re elderly or less mobile, please remain seated until the bus has come to a complete stop. These things avoid any kind of inconvenience for yourself as well others.
Where you know the route & are sure of the bus stops, traveling & getting off the bus is relatively easy. When you are new & have to still figure out the best route, take help from google maps – its one of the best ways to plan your trip. Alternatively, you can plan your trip using the NSW transport Trip Planner function – this is particularly useful if your journey consists of several modes or transfers. Alternatively, download one of the handy apps and track your service on your mobile device. Visit transportnsw.info for more information.
