please empty your brain below
As well as the capital letters (which are actually discouraged in DfT guidance as they're harder to read, but seemingly TfL have changed their opinion done a U-turn), the font used has been changed slightly. This includes displays where there is no capital letter qualifier point.
The new font is more squashed up, and in my opinion, not for the better.
White is better than yellow though. :-)
Which is unlikely to be good for readability. Especially as they have reduced the height of the destination to fit in the sub-destination underneath.
Perhaps there has been another u-turn on the u-turn.
Yellow on black is supposed to offer the best contrast for visually impaired people, hence why it was adopted on the tube and buses - the problem is that bus blinds and sunlight don't mix - so the contrast is lost, so they end up pale yellow/white on black.
Again, dropping all upper case lettering was to help passengers read destinations at a distance, I wonder if this was a vanity decision to keep someone happy.
I recall a female typographer was very involved in the motorway signage work, some references here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_the_United_Kingdom and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Calvert and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15990443
Indeed yesterday I received an email where the subject line was in UPPER CASE; it was so much more difficult to 'read' what had been written as against the other 20 other email lower case subject lines it was nestling amongst on my computer monitor.
All-caps was an absolute no-no.
Also fonts should be sans-serif.
John
![[long URL 1]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_General_buses_LT60_%28LTZ_1060%29_%26_E176_%28SN61_BHJ,_route_11,_13_October_2013.jpg){kind=link}
Bright sunlight stray relections off the glass screen can easily obscure the number. [long URL 2]
![[long URL 2]](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7528/16066321005_c076af14f4.jpg){kind=link}
I would argue that the provision of any subsidiary information is a Good Thing. The problem with lower case letters is that some of them are quite small, whereas block capitals are all the same height. You also need to allow space for the tails letters like "g" and "y". So given that you want the main destination to be as big as possible, and recognisable from a distance (so in lower case - strictly "Title Case"), the best use of the remaining space is probably upper case.
It's not that long ago that the "ultime" was in upper case and the "via" in lower case! [long URL 3]
![[long URL 3]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Routemaster_buses_RML2724_(SMK_724F)_and_RML2680_(SMK_680F),_Routes_23_%26_11,_Strand,_London.jpg){kind=link}
dg writes: seventeen
Harry is right, however, on the better readability of upper and lower case. It should also be said that letters set in u/lc take up less horizontal space than those in caps, so you can fit more characters into a line.
Route and destination displays
Regulation
(3) Any route number display shall be capable of displaying
(a) characters of not less than 200mm in height on the front and rear of the vehicle and not less than 70mm in height on the side of the vehicle;
(b) characters that contrast with the display background;
(c) characters that are provided with a means of illumination; and
(d) not less than three characters.
(4) Any destination display shall be capable of displaying
(a) characters of not less than 125mm in height when fitted to the front of a vehicle and not less than 70mm in height when fitted to the side of a vehicle;
(b) characters that contrast with the display background;
(c) characters that are provided with a means of illumination; and
(d) not less than fifteen characters.
Design need
Different size characters are required as a vehicle is likely to be viewed from a greater distance form the front or rear than it is from the side. By using contrast in the adjacent surfaces, passengers with low vision are able to make use of their residual vision. Illumination is required for the display to be visible at night. Disabled people do not require a minimum number of characters to be displayed but it is essential that adequate space is provided for a route number and destination to be identifiable.
Best Practice
White or bright yellow lettering on a black background is most clearly visible. Lower case lettering in Helvetica, Arial and other Sans Serif fonts are easiest to read. LED/LCD or other electronically generated characters should only be used if they can offer the same clarity, both night and day, as a conventional roller blind display.
Regulation
(5) Destination information shall not be written in capital letters only.
Design need
The use of both upper and lower case text helps ensure that words that are not completely clear and legible to people with a degree of vision impairment or learning disability, are still identifiable through shape recognition of the word. It is important that ascenders and decenders are not squashed since this will make shape recognition more difficult.
Firstly, why are they still using old fashioned blinds when almost everyone else is using electronic displays that convey much more information, much more legibly?
Secondly, the policy of missing out all the intermediate stops is most unhelpful because very few people go all the way to the final destination. If you're at Victoria you're probably don't care two hoots that the 73 is going to Stoke Newington or the 38 is going to Clapton Pond, but you really would like to which ones go via Piccadilly Circus, Selfridges or Oxford Circus. And showing only a far flung destination makes life needlessly difficult for visitors and tourists.
Thirdly, if they must use blinds, fluorescent DayGlo yellow is much more visible than plain dull white. No problem at night either, just use UV lighting from the front.
Fourthly, bus destinations blinds were all upper case until about the late 1950s when the Routemaster was introduced. Going back to upper case seems to be change for the sake of change.
Fifthly, the destination needs to be shown on the back of the bus as well.
None of this is rocket science, so why can't TfL make a proper job of it as London Transport always did?
dg writes: That's my red highlighting. Thanks Y!
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/suppliers-and-contractors/design-standards
The basic typography and signage guide is called "TfL basic elements" and references the RNIB with regard to upper and lower case selection.
Aside from station names and roundels, the general guidance is don't use all capitals.
"Bit patronising (and sexist) for Happy Harry at 08.55 above to refer to "a female typographer"
Not to mention airbrushing the role of the late Jock Kinnear (whose student she was) out of the story
(or should that be a "Scottish typographer"?)
This has reminded me of how we suddenly realised that our bus-mad child (still in a push chair) could tell which buses were going to WINDSOR and which were going to WATFORD. This indicated that he really could read and was not just recognising the difference in shape between the words Windsor and Watford.
I was always amused when a friend's guide dog stood up only when the right bus came along. People were convinced she could read the route number, but she had simply learned to recognise the type that operated that route!
dg writes: It's a London bus magazine.
not my photo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/lgeeography/24968530712/
The final aspect is the cost. We now have at least three generations of blind design in use for no obvious gain. How soon before we get yet another change?
Fifty years after their work on the Transport font, Margaret Calvert worked with the Government Digital Service to adapt the font for web use - chosen because the legibility of the original was so high. So New Transport has been the base font for gov.uk since 2012 - more detail at https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2012/07/05/a-few-notes-on-typography/
The "N" always used to be smaller than the number
[photo 1] [photo 2] [photo 3]
![[photo 1]](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~cign/rjwsite/index/3dms2425.jpg){kind=link}
![[photo 2]](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~cign/rjwsite/index/02l98.jpg){kind=link}
![[photo 3]](http://londonbusesbyadam.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-3/p325516912-3.jpg){kind=link}
But then I think they do look quite clear so maybe the law is indeed an ass!
....worn out or need replacing for other reasons such as transfer to a new depot, or a new route being added to that operator's portfolio.
Of course in the olden days blinds were interchangeable between all buses because all buses were the same design.
Yes - indeed.
I didn't know that the N-prefix has been changed to be smaller so it's less easy to see, but this too seems to be going back in time for the hell of it, even though it is disadvantageous. Unbelievable stuff.
Interestingly, the 3/N3 batch there is a tiny 'N' with the 3.
(There is only one all night service that has a letter prefix other than "N" - the C2)
Which is a shame, because the pun is quite nice.
TridentScan | Privacy Policy