04 Aug 2015, 6:05 am
#142
(03 Aug 2015, 11:18 pm)ne1eng Re: NEXT STOP ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Used a couple of Quaylinks today. I'm all for NSAs but the Q3 I was on had slightly too loud NSAs and as previously mentioned each stop name is read out twice.
On the Q2 I was on it would say for example "Next stop, Gateshead Interchange", then on approach/arrival it would simply say "Gateshead Interchange". Seemed ok I guess but the Q3 I was on didn't say "Next stop". So it felt very repetitive, e.g "Regent Centre", them 1 minute later: "Regent Centre". I actually noticed 2 other passengers rolling their eyes at this.
Have to say I personally prefer the more professional Arriva Saphire NSAs, compared to GNE's overly local/yocal ones. (I like the Cobalt Clipper ones though). Wasn't impressed with Alan Robson's Quaylink NSAs despite not minding him on Night Owls.
Also when on a Citylink58 I couldn't tell what had changed with their NSAs? Anyone know?
Volunteering with Guide Dogs a little when not at work, I've learnt that hearing the destination of the bus is also important, as well as the approaching stop name. I can't see a London iBus style approach being popular here where they read the route number and destination EVERY time the doors close after a stop, but maybe after every 3rd stop it'd be okay? E.g, "58 to Hadrian Park. Next stop Civic Centre/University of Northumbria".
Thoughts, GNE officials? 
On older vehicles, the controllers have a volume setting between 0 (off) and 10 (extremely loud). The "Quaylink" branded vehicles are all set to 5, so they shouldn't be too loud nor too quiet (and in my opinion, the volume is perfect when there are some passengers on the vehicle which adds to the background noise, having tested them out while in service). I believe there are six speakers on an Optare Versa, so if you happen to sit underneath a speaker, it may sound louder to you than it would had you sat a seat or two behind. We receive a lot more complaints about the announcements being too quiet or not working at all, so I doubt we'll be going any quieter than 5, but we can certainly check to ensure that all vehicles are actually set to 5.
The "at stop" announcement does not include "This is" and merely states the stop name. Admittedly, this does irritate me too. It isn't included at all on the Red Kite 45/46 or Coast & Country 8/78 (but is shown on the screen). It's finding a happy medium between informative and obtrusive to those passengers who don't rely on Next Stop Announcements (not forgetting our drivers, who have to spend a hell of a lot longer on the bus than the passengers!)
The use of a more 'professional' voice is subject to opinion and has been debated many many times. I have no problem with the recent Go North East announcements, although I personally find the gimmicky announcements on the Red Arrows a bit annoying after a while (if I can guess the next stop is Herrington Burn, why bother telling me?!) There's no reason why these cannot be re-launched in time, allowing us to review the content of the screens and potentially look to including the line plan which we've used on the "Quaylink" services.
The content of the screens is all that has changed on the "Citylink" announcements - some of the stop names revised slightly, higher quality images added, and images re-positioned so that they are the same on every slide.
As ever, we are happy to take on all feedback. We can certainly look into the possibility of adding the terminus of the route as an announcement in future.
