(16 Sep 2013, 6:51 am)Daniel wrote Conversely, drivers changing their destinations on Ryhope Road is just not acceptable - is it? I noted a few weeks back that I witnessed drivers changing their destination blinds (61 and 2A) at Southmoor School. I'd say there was another good 1.5 miles or so from that school to Park Lane - and there are 3-4 more stops along the way. Passengers know their service as "61 SUNDERLAND" not "2A WASHINGTON", so they're not going to stick their hands out.
I believe the pilot mentioned something similar, of drivers changing their destinations at The Cedars - just a minute or so away from Southmoor School.
Drivers usually get layover time, and (especially in the case of Gateshead Interchange or Park Lane Interchange) I do believe destinations should be changed whilst laying over. As we've already mentioned, this is not particularly appropriate at Eldon Sq as buses tend to go straight to their stands. In this case, at the final stop, a bus driver should stop and change his destination blind there. If the bus does not stop at Blackett Street, Percy Street whilst waiting at the traffic lights would also be appropriate. Changing as early as Gateshead (or even before then) just isn't acceptable really, in my eyes at least.
Regardless of the rights or wrongs of changing early, as aureolin and myself have mentioned, data for late running services is being manipulated (deliberately or not) and when customers query a service, they are left annoyed by Customer Services essentially calling the passenger a liar and denying the service was running late.
All because the ticket machine was changed earlier than it should have been.