Rose – PUBLIC TRANSPORT BRITAINS BEST-KEPT SECRET 2011

Description

Doug Rose criticizes Britain’s poor bus-stop information, blaming fragmented responsibilities, inconsistent standards and amateur design for missing, outdated or illegible timetables and maps. Deregulation and divided infrastructure ownership have produced competing displays and confusion outside London. Rose argues all passenger information—flags, timetables, maps, blinds and websites—should be designed as a single, coherent system informed by users’ needs; good at-stop information must communicate key answers in about eight seconds. He contrasts failures (Leeds, Manchester, Leicester) with successes where authorities took control and enforced a single standard (Derby, Warrington, Southend). In Leicester he implemented stop-specific posters with “Where to Board” maps, linear route diagrams, clear timetables and a simplified stop-lettering system, which improved wayfinding during traffic changes. His recommendations: unified visual language, stop-specific information, consistent nomenclature, legible presentation and local authority leadership to maintain reliable, user-focused street information.