I’ve always found it funny that we expect people to form a connection with and continually use public transport, yet we give buses the most forgettable identities imaginable. Standing at a stop, hoping the 7 or the 33 or the 205 will appear, and every single one feels basically the same. Numbers do the job – yes – but they don’t exactly stick in the mind, and they certainly don’t make anyone feel excited about getting on board.
Today, I’ve been thinking about how much better things could be if buses had names as well as – or entirely instead of – numbers – proper identities, not just digits. And before you think I’ve completely lost it, there are places already doing versions of this brilliantly.
Nottingham shows how it can be done
If you haven’t spent much time in Nottingham, you might not realise just how well they’ve cracked this (and other public transport tricks). Their bus network isn’t just a sea of route numbers but it’s a collection of named lines with bold colours and a clear identity and brand. Instead of trying to remember whether you need the 40-something or the 30-something, you just head for the Turquoise Line or the Brown Line and check the destination.
Once you’ve used it, you remember it. Nottingham has managed to turn what could have been a bland and long list of routes into something that feels friendly.
Why it works
Names just work better for our brains. People remember labels and brands far more easily than they remember numbers. Think about how much easier it is to recall ‘the Green Line’ than ‘the 936’. One feels like a character; the other feels like a (very long) exam question. There’s also a comforting quality to named services. Something called the Blue Line feels calmer, more intentional, than a random route number.
And that matters. Public transport can be intimidating if you don’t use it much – especially for children, older people, or visitors. Giving buses a more human touch lowers the barrier. It helps you feel you’re boarding something familiar rather than something you might accidentally get wrong.
Branding without being boring
From a branding point of view, names are a gift. They let operators build proper identities – colours and themes, if you like – and make the whole system feel like it belongs to the community. But names can go beyond marketing and can also spark local pride. Imagine a competition to name new routes, or themes tied to local culture or history. Kids would get excited about seeing ‘their’ bus go past. Adults would feel a bit more connected to the places they live.
And frankly, anything that makes buses feel less like an afterthought and more like a valued part of daily life is worth trying. In the UK especially, buses have spent years sitting at the bottom of the transport tier list – looked down on, usually underfunded, and often treated as a last resort. They’re the mode people end up using, not the one they’re encouraged to choose, in many cases.
We all know the stereotypes: slow, unreliable, stuck in traffic, dated interiors and inconsistent branding. Buses get a far tougher reputation here than they deserve, and a lot of that comes down to how they’re presented and talked about. Trains get brands, colours, identities, heritage; buses get numbers and a fancy vinyl wrap if they’re lucky.
So if something as simple as giving services names or personalities can chip away at that stigma – even slightly – it’s worth doing. It helps buses feel like part of the place, not just filler between the bits of infrastructure councils care about. It sends a subtle message: this service matters, or this route has a purpose, this isn’t an afterthought.
Because deep down, people respond to things that feel looked after. A named route, or a bus with a bit of character, suggests someone has put thought into it rather than just drawing a line on a map and plucking a number out of thin air. And if it nudges even a handful of people into seeing buses as something friendlier, more dependable, or simply more worth trying, then that’s a win.
In a country where the bus is too often painted as second-rate, giving them names isn’t just cute branding – it’s a little step towards dignity. A way of saying, ‘This deserves your attention!’
What if we ditched numbers altogether?
It sounds radical, but it’s not as far-fetched as it first appears. Plenty of train and tram systems around the world get by with names or colours rather than strict numbering. And most of us navigate places like airports, tourist attractions, or even hospitals using named paths, colour-coded zones, or themed signage. Nobody panics at the thought of following the ‘Red Route’ to car park B or the ‘Green Trail’ around a museum.
So why couldn’t an, albeit small, bus network, work the same way? Imagine a city where you don’t stand at a stop searching for a tiny digital number. You look out for the ‘Riverside Line’ or the ‘Forest Line’. You could tell someone, ‘take the Meadow Line to the high street,’ and it would make perfect sense.
Removing numbers entirely would force operators to design a network around clarity and a background story rather than route classification. It would demand better signage and more relatable branding. That might sound like a headache for planners, but for customers it could be transformative.
Would it work everywhere? Probably not. Dense cities with dozens of overlapping routes would struggle without some form of numbering, even if that’s just perhaps behind the scenes. But smaller networks or those with clearly defined corridors, could potentially pull it off. In those places, naming routes could make the network easier to navigate, not harder.
It sometimes feels like numbers are only the default because they’ve always been the default. No-one ever really asked passengers whether it’s the best way. Names tell stories and help people remember where they are going.
We could do with a bit more personality
I’m not saying we should scrap numbers entirely – there’s a practical place for them (particularly in rural areas), and planners would have a meltdown without them. But as a layer on top, names could make networks more intuitive, more memorable, and more enjoyable to use.
Public transport shapes how we move through our villages, towns and cities every single day. A touch of personality wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it might even help people feel a little more at home. After all, I’d much rather say, ‘I’m catching the Turquoise Line,’ than ‘I’m getting the 77B.’ One sounds like a journey; the other sounds like a chore.