Pedestrians tricked by 'placebo' buttons at crossings But now it has emerged that we may have been tricked, as a number of the buttons are merely fakes - with the green man controlled by an automated system, meaning pushing the button has no effect at all. The junctions operation from 7am to midnight in some areas and the waiting times vary by time of day and the location, but the revelations have angered some who feel pedestrians are being tricked by the fake, or placebo, buttons. Julian Baggini, the editor of The Philosophers" Magazine, told the BBC: "We want to be treated as intelligent, autonomous agents rather than being manipulated. Traffic planners don't need to mislead us. They can just honestly say, look, all pedestrian crossings have buttons because that makes it easier. Some do nothing, but believe us, your urban pedestrian travel experience would be worse without them. In Edinburgh between 50-60 of 300 junctions have crossings where the green man comes on automatically, while in Manchester 40 per cent of the buttons are placebos and don't need to be pressed to stop the traffic at busy times. The automated system can also have added benefits. In 2012 Transport for London changed the setting at a crossing in north London after Orthodox Jews told them they were not allowed to operate electronic machinery on the Sabbath. The change means that from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday the pedestrian crossing operates on an automated programme rather than via pressing the button.