Email from TriMet this morning:

After nearly three months of testing, TriMet is halting the audible pedestrian warning system. The audible warning—“Pedestrians, bus is turning”—did not activate at the appropriate times to help alert pedestrians and people riding bikes that a bus is turning.

Aww… we could never have predicted this. The idea of a bus shouting a robotic, bilingual warning message every time it turned was BRILLIANT.

The only question is what can possibly replace the “Pedestrians, bus is turning”? (option four would, of course, be spoken in rap)

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

6 replies on “The End of “Pedestrian, Bus is Turning””

  3. THANK GOD. The problem is the bus doesn’t know the difference between actually turning and pulling away from the curb. So every two blocks: “PEDESTRIANS, THE BUS IS TURNING. PEDESTRIANS THE BUS IS TURNING.” By which point we’ve arrived at the next stop, rinse, repeat.

    Last weekend on the way to the House of Pane, we started chatting about this awful thing on the bus and the driver said into the intercom, “IF YOU HATE THIS AS MUCH AS WE DO, PLEASE CALL TRIMET AND LET THEM KNOW ABOUT IT.” I couldn’t imagine hearing that for 8 hours nonstop but if they became permanent, we’d probably need to replace the saying “going postal” with “going busdriver”.

  4. What would be great is if people pedestrians, drivers, bikers etc. would just fucking pay attention. But sadly that is apparently asking WAY too much.

  5. This always makes me think of that episode of the Simpsons when Marge bakes a pie, and then is leaving and tells Homer not to eat it, and he goes “I’m just going to make this biting motion into the air, and if a pie gets in the air and into my mouth, it’s not my fault!”

  6. Audible warnings aren’t enough. Let’s set up some horrific consequence for people getting in the way of turning buses, so that they’ll be really careful and look before assuming they know where the nearest bus is going. Like, a giant metal vehicle mowing you down if you don’t pay attention. Right, guys?

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