(12 Oct 2022, 9:30 pm)omnicity4659 wrote Noticed an interesting use of the display/announcement equipment on the 900 earlier... I was sat in the front seat so could see what was happening in the cab. The driver had it set to "Heworth from St James" so it didn't work as it should, just saying "900 to Heworth" after the doors had closed.I was on the 60 pullings in Park Lane, and it said This is the 6 Service to Lanchester, obviously, that must have been a mistake because, by the time I got off, it said "Drifter 60 Service to Parkside, but I always see drivers accidentally putting in the wrong display on, but it's always quickly changed, never had a driver who constantly changes the display. However I was on the X1 from Peterlee, it said to Newcastle on the front and it wasn't on the Short-Notice Cancellation list, but by the time we left Houghton, it said "This is the X1 service to Washington Galleries".
At random points through the journey he'd start playing around with the controller to display random destinations such as Central Station, presumably so he could see it in the reflection of the bus windows in front...?
After Simonside, he then played with the controller again so the announcements cycled through "900 to Tyne Dock", "900 to Bede" and "900 to Heworth", and then after Jarrow he did it once again so the bus announced "900 to Hebburn", "900 to Pelaw" and "900 to Heworth". All of that also displayed on the exterior blinds too.
On the approach to Heworth, he cycled through the destination list once again and selected Whitley Bay, so the external blinds showed Whitley Bay, and the bus announced "900 to Whitley Bay"! He then cycled back through to select South Shields.
I just found this rather peculiar, and potentially confusing for someone unfamiliar with the area or Metro Replacement buses - especially announcing Tyne Dock after Simonside!
RE: Next Stop Announcement Systems