Sir, – Padraig O’Rourke has a point about the dodgy information displays on the Dart (June 27th), and their impact on our many visitors from abroad, but I wouldn’t make too much of it.
About 14 years ago I had occasion to use the, excellent, “blue bus” service to and from Dublin Airport on a regular basis. The driver had to call out the stops himself without benefit of amplification, which led to something of a rapport developing between him and his passengers. This led to him obliging certain people who wanted to be dropped off at intermediate, unofficial points. On one occasion an American inquired how near we were to where he was going, and was told it was the next stop. Then another passenger needed to use an impromptu one. The door opened, the American came forward but the driver caught him in time and set him right.
“But I thought you said mine was the next stop?” There was the slightest of pauses from the driver before he said: “I meant the next official stop”.
We all loved this kind of thing; not least the Americans. You got the feeling that it was what they expected, and it constituted, in fact, the material for the stories they would dine out on when they got home. – Yours, etc,