Door timing and camera awareness directly impact your earnings and passenger satisfaction in Croydon London Bus Simulator. Open doors too early and you block the pavement; too late and you miss on-time departure bonuses. Camera choice affects ticket machine accuracy, mirror checks, and parking precision at busy South London interchanges modelled after real Croydon, Thornton Heath, and Norwood Junction.
Door Operation
Front doors on most double-deckers open with K, controlling both door wings simultaneously even when single-wing mode is active on certain models. Rear doors use L where fitted — common on dual-door Enviro 400 variants but absent on shorter Enviro 200 single-deckers. The dashboard also provides clickable door icons if you prefer mouse control during ticket issuance.
Standard procedure: approach the stop, indicate, stop parallel to the kerb, open doors, serve passengers with correct tickets per our dashboard guide, wait for boarding to complete, close doors, and depart when the countdown shows Due. Skipping stops is possible but forfeits passenger spawns and point opportunities at subsequent stops.
Camera Views Explained
F1 driver view is default for route driving. Use it for ticket machines, mirror glances, and dashboard reading. F2 cycles passenger saloon views — helpful when the bell rings from the upper deck of a double-decker. F3 exterior camera assists reversing into depot bays listed in our depots guide. F4 free camera suits photography, livery showcases for custom companies, and scouting unfamiliar sections of Route 198.
Right-click and drag in first-person to look around the cab. Interactive ticket machines require you to orient toward the device — a skill covered in the Update 1.3.2 ticket machine tutorial.
Wheelchair Passenger Doug
Doug is a wheelchair user who occasionally spawns at stops (0-1 per stop). Deploy the ramp via the dashboard or designated key before he can board. Successfully boarding and alighting Doug awards 10 bonus points when he exits (indicated by a blue stop bell icon). Low-floor buses handle Doug routinely; high-floor models cannot deploy ramps to street level, blocking this bonus entirely.
When building a custom company fleet, include at least one low-floor vehicle if you want Doug bonuses on your private routes. Free-operator starters from our free buses list include accessible options at lower point costs.
Positioning at Bus Stands
Croydon recreates real stand layouts — West Croydon alone hosts multiple bays for different route groups. Align your front door with the yellow stop marker. On shift routes, multiple players queue at the same stand; patience and indicator discipline prevent collisions, especially on Pro private servers where collisions are enabled outside No Collision Zones.
Night routes like N68 and N250 described in our night routes guide demand working exterior and interior lights (N and B keys). Poor lighting does not directly reduce points but makes door timing and kerb alignment harder at unlit stops across Mitcham Common.