Tips on bus travel

[Barry Drive]

I've started a new discussion thread on that Facebook group (you all know the one) entitled Tips on bus travel. This is intended to be a serious discussion of how to properly catch and ride on a bus. Perhaps, once enough tips get posted an edited version could be set up on the ACT Bus website.

My first tip is as follows:

#1 Know EXACTLY where you want to go. If you don't know - find out BEFORE you get on the bus.

Sounds obvious, but there are many bus passengers who don't know where they want to get to. For instance, they will get on the bus and ask to go to Dunlop. No street name, just Dunlop. So what to do if you are travelling somewhere you are unfamiliar with:

(A) Best thing is to have a printed map with your intended destination circled. That way not only will your helpful bus driver know where to take you, you have a map to help you with the walk from the bus stop.
(B) If you don't have a street map then get the bus network map or a timetable map so that you know approximately where you need to get off.
(C) If you are travelling to motel or obscure place of interest a business card/letter head or email with the correct street and suburb name will greatly assist.
(D) If you can't do any of these things, catch a taxi instead.

If you are unsure of where to get off the bus - ask the driver WHEN YOU GET ON, not during the journey. And if you expect the driver to stop at the intended stop, tell him/her this when you get on! Asking 'do you go to the National Gallery' is not the same thing as asking 'Can you please stop at the National Gallery as I'm not sure when to get off'. Also do not ask more than once - if you get on the bus and ask 'does this bus go to Dickson?' you do NOT need to ask again during the journey as the answer will not have changed.

If you are unsure of where to get off or go once you have got on the bus, consider asking your fellow passengers for help. DO NOT SPEAK TO THE DRIVER WHILE THE BUS IS MOVING.

[Snorzac]

lol true.

On a side note due to many complaints about my early operating 313 driver (yes he still runs early) I have been given a free monthly bus pass by the ACTION customer service centre.

[Barry Drive]

Score!

Future tips may include the following:

- Signal the bus you want (not the first bus you see)
- Have your ticket/money ready before the bus arrives
- Know which ticket you want to buy
- Plan your return journey
- When to "ring the bell"

Any further suggestions and contributions welcomed.

[Buzz Killington]

A good idea Martin, and I'm happy to run it on the site once it is completed as long as it is well intentioned.

A few posts have been removed. There's no need to insult people.

[Bus 400]

Could another one be:

-99.99% of the time, what the destination on the front of the bus shows is where the bus will go.

[p_stampy]

What?

[Bus 400]

You can be sitting at Cohen Stree Bus Station with 16 KIPPAX on the front of the bus. At least once a month someone will ask "Do you go to Kippax"?

[Barry Drive]

Could another one be:

-99.99% of the time, what the destination on the front of the bus shows is where the bus will go.

This is true, although 99.99% is not quite right (drivers sometimes do not use the correct one - especially with digital destos). The other thing is that although it might say 'Kippax' or 'City Interchange' - the bus route ends there but it may not always be the best bus to get there. These matters will be addressed in a future tip "Which bus to catch" (or something like that).

Also - the number on the side of the bus is the same as on the front (or at least it should be).

Yesterday I had a woman passenger who caught a route 17 I was doing and followed tip #1 perfectly. She had the exact location she wanted to go to written down, asked me did I go there and then followed up with a "can you please stop there as I don't know where it is."