LOTS of bus stops in north London have seen their dot-matrix information boards taken out of the shelters. Not sure why – I always thought they were helpful. They weren’t always spot on, but they were a decent enough guide. Now, if you want to know when the next bus is due at one of these stops you have to text a number advertised by Transport for London on the pillar. You text it, they text you back with what’s coming when.
It all whiffs like a swizz to me. Service and network charges apply, as the sign says. So a free-for-all information board, helpful to anybody who hasn’t got the iPhone bus times app (and anybody with the iPhone bus times app and a drained battery) has been replaced with a charged text service.
And the bus stops are left with emergency tape covering where the information board used to be.