When in recent years, the white on black electronic destinations signs appeared on Sydney buses, I thought, what a dramatic improvement. I remember also the Government Department had sought the assistance of the association representing those with sight challenges, and that association and its members had given the white/ black combination a big tick!

Having just seen a photo of the latest tram delivered from France to Randwick Depot, I was astonished to see the front destination sign showing 'SYDNEY' in an off yellow /orange colour!! What is going on?
Having made the correct decision that White on Black is superior for Sydney's buses, why the retrograde design for the new trams' signs?

rOjO

They will have what ever Alstom provided. All the other specifications were left to the 'vendor' so why not this one ?

It's possible it's a RGB display as some systems in Europe use coloured route numbers and this display unit may be able to do that - the colour then being 'user' selectable.

That is one thing I love about the Bustechs (and the latest batch of CB80s) is the white LED destination panels you can read from a mile away! I would think this should be emulated on the trams but they will be a separate entity from the STA and we all know that different organisations have their own policies!

Private operators are also using the white LEDs now, so it is not just an STA novelty; perhaps it may even be part of the TfNSW specs?

The IW line CAFs got standard orange LEDs, at least the Alstom signs seem a bit bigger.

Bear in mind that the number of "destinations" will be a lot less on the trams, so perhaps there is less need to make them discernible.

boronia wrote: Bear in mind that the number of "destinations" will be a lot less on the trams, so perhaps there is less need to make them discernible.

Would it hurt for the government to force them to adopt the white LEDs to, if nothing else, to project a sense of standardisation for the public image of PT in Sydney?
They have proven to be the clearest by a long shot and it could mean the difference between getting the right tram to Kingsford or Randwick for some people.

Remember the tram stops will also have platform displays

This matter was sorted for trams a long time ago!

The new white destination signs have not reduced the number of people getting on a bus and asking the driver "does this bus (393 RAILWAY SQUARE) go to the Railway?"

I laugh even more at the plebs that get on at Broadway, ask if "this go to city" (YOU DONT SAY!!!), buy an Adult single trip ticket (or use Opal Card for two stops), and get off at Central. Makes my day. I always wonder how walking a short bit in such a beautiful, sunny City is such a problem to many. There is absolutely no point in taking excessively short trips on Opal anymore under the current fare structure (travel reward or not) unless you've hit a cap, its basically throwing your money down the drain.

As for the topic title, well, I personally do think the white LED's are not only easier to read, but also more modern. But it also depends on the font. STA Bustechs, the older ones definitely have a different font to the 2016 batch eg

tonyp wrote:This matter was sorted for trams a long time ago!

A certain Bus co. with maroon and cream livery based in Monash Rd, Gladesville saw fit to emulate them.

While the white LEDs look good in well-lit areas in the city they are a bit too bright in dark suburban areas in my opinion.

They are supposed to vary brightness to match surrounding ambient conditions, but perhaps there is a limit to how much they will dim

ed24 wrote:While the white LEDs look good in well-lit areas in the city they are a bit too bright in dark suburban areas in my opinion.

Sometimes I think the driver could easily get away with switching off the headlights and using the desto to light up the road.

Jurassic_Joke wrote:I personally do think the white LED's are not only easier to read, but also more modern. But it also depends on the font. STA Bustechs, the older ones definitely have a different font to the 2016 batch eg

Some are fitted with Mobitec displays others with Hanover.

Will the new trams get route numbers?

IWLR displayed L1 for a while, perhaps Randwick could be L2 and Kingsford L3?

boronia wrote:The new white destination signs have not reduced the number of people getting on a bus and asking the driver "does this bus (393 RAILWAY SQUARE) go to the Railway?"

That reveals those people's mental laziness in general, rather then the legibility of the signs themselves. For those that genuinely want to glean the needed information, they are certainly beneficial. I have often had difficulty telling the route number on the old yellow dot matrix displays.