Me on the bus... I wish not.

I don't take the bus very often. Actually, most times I'm on a bus it's very late at night, and I'm on my way home from one of those rare occations out.
Not long ago I was out, celebrating a coworker who chose to bid off, abandon the rat race and retire.
It's late, not many passengers, and the passengers onboard all looked pretty tired and ready to find the calmness of home.

Did I mention I don't take the bus often? Well, I discovered why!
As we were driving along, a way too cheerful and very polite voice announced the approach of the next busstop.

After passing 6 busstops, noone exiting, noone entering the bus it started to really annoy me. It felt like enervating nagging. Half ways home I was seriously considering to get off the bus and walk the last 8 kilometers.
Not only was there a voice to tell me where I was at all times: there was a lit sign showing the last and the next stop, announcing each change on the sign with a loud "Ding!"

Seriously! It's Norway! If you follow the road you are not very likely to get lost. Not unless you decide to walk across a field and climb a mountain. The only way to go is forward, and if you are really adventurous you can go back.

I do understand, and appreciate, the metalic voice announcing which stop is next on the underground in London... and San Fransisco (the only two undergrounds/Bart I have ever been on), but there we are talking about options, directions, and several hundred passengers who have to prepare and be ready to exit and/or enter within seconds.

Here, in Norway, we are in no rush... not in comparison, anyway.
Here the driver will come help with your luggage, or even tell you when to get off if you ask him to do so when you buy the ticket.

The voice I don't understand. I just keep thinking: "Why?"
When i take the bus I want to relax and let my thoughts wander. I want to see someone and let my imagination spin on a story.
I want to drift off into entertaining fantacies. In short: I want to lean back, relax... perhaps even doze off... and let the driver drive me home.

"Show me the way to go home.
I'm tired and I want to go to bed...."