I hesitate to even bother to post this, as the topic seems so small and the problem is so easily solved, but apparently the Busdriver’s Tramways Union has been “in discussions” for over 18 months on this topic, and they still don’t have an answer.

Jesus wept. The incompetence of people in charge! It is all very solvable, for the price of less than $20.

Present situation – with intolerably reflective white surfaces inside

The problem, dear reader, is that the new buses, apparently only the electrically powered new buses, are “dangerous” at night as there are too many reflections, caused by bright lights inside the new buses, and the driver cannot safely see the road. A bus driver, who asked to remain anonymous so as not to threaten his job, said the buses are fine in areas with significant amounts of lighting, such as the central city. Here’s the proof (above), with a photo from the DomPost. Presumably taken from the point of view of one of the drivers…

“But as soon as you get out into the suburbs, you can’t see a thing,” the driver said. “Once it’s dark, all you can really see is the reflection of the inside of the bus. You can barely see the road.”

Hmmmm. 18 months and no solution. Perhaps, if I may, the driver, or the union, or the owners, should go down to Bunnings (there’s one near the Bus Depot) and purchase a can of matt black spray-paint. Mask out anything you don’t want to turn black, like the yellow hand-rails, and spray merrily for a couple of minutes. Allow to dry. Problem solved. Honestly – it’s not that hard to resolve.

Paint the white surfaces in matt black paint – job done

Here’s a quick mock up of the finished result, which will do fine for starters. Sure, you could redesign all the handrails, move all the internal lighting to face the other way, install a dimmer, put blue bulbs in (instead of white fluorescent tubes), but the simplest, safest, cheapest, quickest and most immediate change you can make is to stop the bright white surfaces reflecting.

The Eye of the Fish. Solving the city’s problems, one at a time, with no charge. You’re welcome!