london buses:

buses of london are an identity of london. they are painted in bright red colour. they are always maintained very tidy. you will see no dents and no scratches but for this the city's traffic discipline is very largely responsible. generally buses have only driver who controls opening and closing of doors. cctv cameras are fitted to prevent crimes on the buses. commuters generally have smart cards to pay the fare. you have to pay more if you buy ticket in cash either from the bus conductors or from the vending machines installed adjacent to the bus stops. smart cards are also available for composite journey using bus, train and tram. fare structure is very simple. you pay a flat amount irrespective of distance. normally buses do not take you very long distances. daily, weekly and monthly passes are also available for which you pay a lump sum and can board and de-board any number of times. some passes are issued with reference to the geographical aeas known as zones. more the number of zones you travel accross, higher the fare for the passes.

a few bus stations are architecturally very beautiful. the bus stops are very typical in look. they display the route chart of buses, timings and frequency. an area may have several stops. various stops in an area are denoted by alphabets. the route chart on the bus stop has an inset depicting various stops in the area. very little area of the bus stop structure carries display of the advertisement.

it is very seldom that a passenger is checked for his ticket. if a driver has any doubt, he too has an authorit to challenge a passenger.

the buses have space for accommodating prams. for de-boarding at a request stop, a passenger has to press the button provided in the bus. some buses are double deckers. at present only a few buses have electronic display as well as announcement system for the destination and the next bus stop.

i have also seen change of the driver en route and this did not take more than two minutes. the system is very efficient and electronically controlled. the driver has to be either punctual or be marked absent.