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When you're travelling on a bus, when's the right time to ring the bell? This question has puzzled many that have bothered to ask it of themselves.
If you ring it too soon, the bus driver might forget - too late, and you've passed your stop.
One answer would be Indibell - Each passenger, who has
paid their fair is issued with a private electronic bell - The bell detects where the passenger is situated (back of the bus / upstairs) and estimates (taking into consideration the other passengers and their requested stops and their positions) when the optimum time is to signal the driver - Multiple people wanting the same stop will be collected together, and the bells amplitude and frequency will indicate to the driver how long he should stop.
As the passengers get off the bus they replace the belling-ringer device so that the next set of paying passengers can re-use them.
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Annotation:
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Nowhere near the Let's All that I was expecting. |
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I would suggest a detector by the bus doors similar to that of a library. This kind of gadgetry sounds like it would be a common trophy for wannabe thieves. |
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Were you aware that when you ding the bell the driver is alerted by a light that illuminates until he has stopped and opened the doors? I've never seen a driver 'forget' that you dinged (although I have met some that just didn't care). |
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[hidden]Hmmm...(adds that the bell button glows redhot when removed from the bus, and eventually burns itself to dust) ;) |
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[wags]Yes, but I've still been on buses that fail to stop even when the bell's been rung. BTW, AFAIK, the driver still has no idea how long it will take you to get out... |
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why not just have individual buses? |
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They could be much smaller, say big enough for you and some luggage or three or four friends. You would probably have to drive them yourselves to make them economical. |
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2 wheels, trouser clips and hey, the bell. |
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One wheel and a seat. Just imagine the space saved in the car park. |
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Bluetooth link. Use your phone as a bellpush. Might be a problem if you pressed it when several buses were in range though. |
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I reckon that'd work - just pair up with your own route number. |
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I mean what are the chances of say 3 buses of same route number being within 10 metres of it each at once ? ;-) |
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i suggest a main cab that the driver sits in,
with retractable cables that people can clip
to office chairs. when they want to stop,
they unclick themselves and roll to the
sidewalk. |
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No way - There would have to be jukebox-style mechanical-arm that would unclip you automatically - once you had correctly signalled that you wish to removed from the bus. |
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why? do we not trust people to unclick, i
mean unclip, themselves from the bus?
people aren't that incompetant. of course,
this idea would probably work best in
designated bus lanes. |
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Perhaps it could be in the form of a ticket - A bit like London Transport's Oyster Card, but a Very Smart card - one that rings to let you off - Perhaps the Hotel California Ticket - People getting on the bus without a ticket would not be allowed to leave. |
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"BTW, AFAIK, the driver still has no idea how long it will take you to get out..." |
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Erm, the way the bus driver knows how long it will take you to get out is by looking in the mirror to watch you get out. Trust me, I used to work for my local transit agency. They train them to do this, and frankly no amount of different bell intensity of length would change the need to do that, because every person's bell is the same, but how long it's going to take them to get off is different. (What if they've got to push through a number of people? Are they way in the back or next to the door? What if they just walk slow?) |
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Honestly I think the bells we have work just fine. |
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