The Old Number 9 Bus

Transport for London puts an old, tireless “Routemaster” bus on the number 9 route that runs along High Street Kensington. While serving in London, I have not had the chance to take a nostalgic ride on number 9 .  . . until Thursday, when I needed to run an errand. There is a big difference thanks to advances in technology.

 

 

 

 

The newer buses have chip readers, so passengers just place their Oyster card (London travel card) on the pad, and take a seat . . . if you can find one.

 

 

Using iBus technology, the newer buses have  signs driven by GPS (called Sat Nav in England). The signs illuminate and a woman’s voice annunciates, as the bus approaches the next stop.

When you want to get off at the next stop, just push one of the many stop buttons, and signs illuminate, indicating that the bus is stopping.

 

Many bus stops, employing this GPS tracking technology, have “countdown signs” posting the various buses and when they are due.

The older number 9 doesn’t have a travel card reader, but has the personal touch; a real live conductor who looks at your ticket, or uses his portable chip reader to check Oyster cards. Because the older bus doesn’t employ GPS technology, you can’t be daydreaming because a gentle voice won’t alert you to the next stop. Instead of lots of stop buttons, you pull a cord strung along the length of the bus to ring a bell in the driver’s cab.

It was fun, and took me back about 35 years. It made me realize just how spoiled we have become!