(25 Nov 2013, 4:36 pm)Dan wrote The numbers on the signs are large enough for anyone with average eyesight or better to read them from a distance - it means that they do not have to go right to the bus stop and look at the timetable if they are searching for where a bus stops.
Well they aren't that big really to be able to see from to far of a distance, by the time I'm close enough to read them I might aswell of gone to the timetable. Especially when certain stops show incorrect information like in Grangetown where bus stops indicate the 202 stops there despite it not stopping there for 8 months.
(25 Nov 2013, 4:36 pm)Dan wrote It's something which I imagine being beneficial at somewhere like Framwellgate Moor, if the passengers were not familiar with the area. There are several stops in Framwellgate Moor, some of which are not served by some bus services but others that are.
If, on an infrequent basis, you usually travel from terminus to terminus or terminus to a main timing point and you don't look out the window to observe the route which the bus takes, the next time when you get off/get on at a stop which isn't as 'major', you may be running around like a headless chicken minutes before the bus is due in search for a bus stop where these services stop.
I agree to using them in city centres maybe at things like Fawcett Street/ Holmeside in Sunderland. Monument/Pilgrim Street in Newcastle & Millburngate in Durham and those kind of instance when there are a collection of stops, however many will stay want to double check the time even on a frequent service. If I get the 60 and I still check what time it's due.
I just don't think they are that necessary anywhere else. To me there seems little point. If its your local bus stop you know what bus stops serve your stop you may not know the times however so may check a timetable. If your unfamiliar with the area, you're likely to want to check what time the bus is due aswell.