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| Imperfect representation of 52 and N52 once upon a time |
A quick idea that popped into my head when I thought of the lack of displays on the offside of buses (except on RV1's hydrogen Citaros) which are found often but not commonly in mainland Europe.
How about combining the E-ink displays used in Waterloo Bridge bus stop which don't require maintenance of changing the stop timetables (in this case, route branding) with the problem of route branding whereby only one [set] of route[s] is advertised?
Electronic-branding, in the form of e-ink route branding.
Example: A 155 bus goes on 118. Displays 118 as usual. The branding changes into 118.
See where I'm going with this?
All this because I dwelled too long on 322's blindset at Battersea (QB) confined only to 322 and me staring at 315s a bit too intently.
The early 20th century
It was a must for any form of transport to convey where it gets people from, as you would need to get from A to B. The question becomes, does that mode of transport get you from place A to place B? If you don't convey that information, another company definitely will.
Before 1933, every mode of transport was quite literally every man for himself. Multiple bus companies, many competing for each other's profits. Buses competing with trams. Trams competing with trains. Buses competing with trains. Trains competing with both buses and trams.
A hive mess of competition.
Thus here's an example of what they'd have to do, to meet competition.
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| Wikipedia Before blinds were a thing |
In 1933 the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, (London Transport for short), which saw an American tycoon consolidate all the different Underground lines, buy up all the tram and bus companies in London and surroundings, pretty much only leaving what's now the National Rail companies which were massive then and no doubt still have big networks country-wide today.
That's to say, route branding was no longer a must.
Rather, a privilege moving forward.
The 1990s.
Route branding saw a revival as car ownership increased vastly over the past half-century, coupled with privatisation of almost all walks of life by Thatcher's hands save for London Transport and the NHS pretty much.
We slightly come back to "every man for himself" rhetoric, though repurposed into two simple factions.
Bus vs Car
Routemaster had the bulk of attention in the centre, with examples like 9 11 19 36 38 73 159.
Non-Routemaster examples include the Docklands Express D1/D11 and London Coaches on 52/N52 (of the first "24-hour" bus routes)
Single deckers:
London Buslines' Dart/Pointers on route 285.
Dart/Marshalls on route 490.
In the case of 38, the branding was if I recall, an Arriva execution, no doubt a flagship route so that statement holds some credit. The 73 however would've stemmed from Leaside Buses, it's operation would filter into... you guessed it! Arriva. Perhaps the 73 branding was an infection to bring 38 into the branding list.
Early 2000s.
Route 11.
Similar to the 38 in being operator showing their flagship route, though I saw these vehicles more on other routes in the depot, flexible allocations etcetera.
The 285 re-enters the foray, as London United had their DPSs don a branded look too.
New bus route 135
Where advertisements are on the sides of the bus, TfL have went to scupper that prospect for the first few months of 135, for the better.
No one knew of route 135 before 2008, though as TfL was in much better shape, there no doubt would have been plenty of advertisements at bus stops the 135 would serve as well as leaflets/pamphlets to the doors of houses and businesses.
On top of that, the buses themselves were advertising the route. So when people spotted that shiny new Enviro400 in the Docklands and on the A13, they'd understand where the route goes at a glance, with it's clean art and clean lettering with the geographic map. It is a shame they haven't done it anymore for the newer routes, as much as when said newer routes (218 278 301 306 497 X140 etc) where mostly introduced in the financial crisis era.
Branding concept
I only remember this because in 2017 one of Norwood (N)'s to-be-withdrawn VLAs (from 2/N2's retain) was used as a test bed for how the branding can look like, using the route 19, a route changing hands and more prestigious than the 2 in wealthier areas served.
One of these concepts would fruition into the Barkingside trial.
The three were:
- Arterial
Geographic areas route goes through (e.g 19 is Highbury, Clerkenwell, Soho... etc)
- Hyper-local
A 50:50 ratio of main places (e.g Romford Stn) and locations of interest (Valentine's Park)
- Express Self-explanatory, X26
The top two had variations of Gold/Silver and Bronze, whereby the Gold/Silver sacrificed the side adverts but the Bronze did not. You can see that by comparing a Barkingside branded bus (the Gold/Silver concept child) and a Hayes branded bus (the Bronze concept child, probably).
The mention of frequency does remind me of the old route posters inside, specifically the Tridents at Beddington Cross (BC) I remember, with 3/N3 and 157. Other types from other companies had them but I fondly remember staring at the 3 and 157 going home.
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| From memory recreation, probably 70% accurate One of these would be inside, in place of ads |
The equivalent of an Overground map inside an Overground Class 378 train, except there's a small excerpt about frequency. It is a shame it died off, understandably because many garages have multiple routes, so keeping track of them, let alone making new ones, would be a hassle when you're sacrificing income flow from not displaying advertisements instead.
Adapting old branding with electronics
Perhaps a revitalised version of the above image, using e-ink displays (or even LED panels) inside the bus, though somewhere more visible and easily visible as opposed to cranking your head sideways where ads inside the bus are, dependant on bus type how awkward it is to view ads (and in this case, the e-ink/LED route display).
I mean, billboards have since transitioned from large sheets of paper glued on, removed, new sheets glued on - into electronic displays, mostly. Failing that, the internet. We've stepped into the digital life in various ways, we should adapt this old language of branding into the digital realm too.
Branding is an essential way to advertise a service, whatever branding it is. At the bus stop? As a leaflet? On the bus?
All ways for potential passengers and reoccurring passengers to know the service better.
If trains and the tube can have maps of their routes inside them, why can't London's buses?
You don't have to venture far from the capital to see buses that do that. Of course, any means to get a person on the bus is employed, since (for decades) only London has blessed with regulation. In short, London had stability and control - low fares. Outside London, it was every man for himself - high fares, because businesses have to pay for expenses somehow.
Whether inside London or anywhere else in the UK, public transport is the sustainable method, but alas this post isn't done yet.
Barkingside and Hayes
Kind of touched on in the Branding concept section with 75% of buses branded in Barkingside (25% in Hayes) with a little touch of maps sent to residents' homes in Barkingside (Hayes didn't if I recall) though nothing more to elaborate on.
The less said the better, but Barkingside was a great branding scheme for a starting scheme, whereas Hayes was a budget version in cost and execution that was better off not wasted money effort nor time there.
To finish my earlier paragraph: Whether inside London or anywhere else in the UK, public transport is the sustainable method, but public transport needs to be improved to the point it's blatantly the better method of travel in conjunction with lots of coverage. We in Britain have the highest tax on car users by a long mile compared to Americans and our European brethren, yet we still fail to catch the hearts of many car-users, wondering why as we fail to acknowledge sky-high fares in the countrysides whilst inside London speeds are so slow you'd be quicker on a horse.
All in all, it was a nice look back in the far past, middle past, recent and what we have currently (basically only Uno's 383). There might be future branding, whatever form it takes, who knows. There's one thing I do know though. Thanking you fore reaching until the end, until the next post, stay safe!
Credits:
OMSI London DLC
McClellandFilms
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