h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I live in Essex and to get off the bus, you simply ring the bell, remain seated and the bus will stop at the stop, you stand up and walk off the bus.
I used to live in Birmingham and there you just stood by the exit door before reaching your stop. If you rang the bell and remained seated the driver would simply drive past your stop.
In the larger cities the law of the jungle seems to apply when travelling by bus, ignore other people just get on and off the bus as quickly as you can. One word of warning never tell a smoker to put their cigarette out, you may get more than an earbashing and end up in an hospital ward.

Or thrown in front of a train, seemingly.

The differences across the country never fail to amaze. Stagecoach run services in Manchester and Kent. Here in Manchester, you have to ring the bell, race to the front of the bus while it's still moving and practically have to wave your hands in front of the driver's face to make him or her aware you want to get off; in Kent, by contrast, we were told off for getting up and moving to the front of the bus while it was still moving (having been conditioned this way by Stagecoach Manchester) as the etiquette there was to ring the bell and remain seated...

... although Stagecoack Kent: on my very first visit I got off the train in Folkestone, worked out which bus to be on, got on, showed the driver my Manchester Megarider, explained I knew it wasn't valid here but as I'd be there for a fortnight, and the buses were still Stagecoach, did you do the same deal? He let me travel on it. Which was incredibly decent.