Bus times is very easy to use for people who have no clue about existing networks or the various different operators, people who just want to get from A to B. You fire up a map, you find a stop at each end, and if you're lucky the same route and operator is listed at each end. You click the route number and a timetable is there ready to use, showing you the departure and arrival times for A and B.

Bustimes is difficult to use if A and B are not directly linked by a single route, requiring further research. Which is where route branding comes in.

What is the single best way to tell people looking to go from A to B but who don't have intimate knowledge the bus services in the area that a direct bus service exists, therefore unlocking the speed, convenience and basic utility of a generic tool like Bustimes.org?

Branding!

Where no direct bus exists, you are in a whole different world, and the hassle of knowing how to figure out what bus goes where is only the start of that hell for a casual bus user. But even then, simple logic suggests that even in that scenario, somehow who knows from simple basic observation that the bright orange bus goes from A to X, and the bright green bus goes from X to B, is in a better position than someone who is having to navigate a red spider's web or route numbers when using only a crappy company app.