‘Please let the bus go first’: the polite phrase that could help save the planet

Todd Niall is the senior Auckland business reporter for Stuff.

ANALYSIS: ‘Please let the bus go’ is one of those polite expressions of British public transport, like the London Underground’s ‘Mind the Gap’ announcements.

Spending some time sitting on buses in Auckland, trying to join traffic from a bus stop, might remind you of this as car after car barges or weaves, rather than slowing down for 5-10 seconds.

The phrase was once plastered to the rear or rear right corner of British buses, an idea adopted here in the 1950s and 1960s when we followed the ‘old country’ example.

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With congestion increasing and pressure on bus services due to a shortage of drivers, it seems like the time has come to try and introduce one of the cheapest ideas, but also potentially the more likely to change behavior, to improve bus priority.

There are potential benefits to politely asking motorists to make a choice in favor of a bus full of passengers.

Many may respond better to making that choice themselves, and by making that simple choice, it might trigger a thought process about how cars and driving aren’t the ultimate form of transportation.

And once this idea becomes more widespread, other necessary changes might be easier to make.

If asking nicely seems naive, there is also the legislative approach. However, this has been in the works for around six years, the idea forming part of the accessible streets reform package, still with the Minister for Transport, and could happen next year at best.

Research conducted for Waka Kotahi in 2017 found that a collective 30 hours per week of bus travel time could be saved if all motorists obeyed a “Let the bus go first” law.

If you need convincing, it’s all in the catchy-named 80-page report: “Quantifying the Economic and Other Benefits of Allowing Priority Exiting of Buses from Bus Stops.”

Focus groups were held, including with bus drivers who understandably had their own opinions on why motorists wouldn’t let them out.

“Most bus drivers believed that the reason some road users did not give in was because they didn’t want to be stuck behind a bus,” the report said.

“A number of bus drivers considered to be younger drivers were less likely to yield than other road users. They also believed traders and motorists in larger vehicles were less likely to give way.

Other observations from a wider range of groups were: “Up to 50% of road users are yielding to buses at present – and – there is a strong ‘pass the bus at all costs’ attitude among the drivers.”

In 2017, not much thought was given to the climate benefits of not having idling diesel buses waiting for a break in traffic, but motorists acknowledging the priority of public transport could be called ‘intangible benefits’ .

The benefit-cost ratio – yes, there is one – was 4.5, slightly less if the signs on the buses were lit with more expensive LEDs, rather than the traditional sticker.

Mayor Wayne Brown is a proponent of bus priority, decrying the lack of transponders on buses that can send an electronic signal to traffic lights, giving them the jump.

But for that to work, the buses will need their own lanes – still a rarity, and a whole lot of technology in a time when there seems to be less money for anything.

Or Auckland Transport could just put the stickers on, do a bit of publicity and media, and see if Aucklanders choose to get on board, or perhaps more appropriately, get behind.