6 ms·

I especially loathe the double length buses. Seriously, why? Not like these buses get all that full. Just run them more often at peak hours.

konspence 11y ago
That costs far more (in fuel, maintenance, and drivers), and typically places that have articulated buses warrant having articulated buses.
- JupiterMoon 11y ago
  London used to have them. It was sort of amusing watching them trying to navigate the tight corners and narrow streets. But very scary to be near them on a bike.
- freshyill 11y ago
  And some places even run smaller buses. Here in the DC area, we have articulated buses, standard ones, and even smaller ones—about 60 percent of the size of a standard bus. It's rare to get the ideal size at the right time in an area of such bad traffic, but they do make an attempt.
  - aidenn0 11y ago
    In the small city I live in, we have small buses, which is sized right for the ridership. Unfortunately their top speed is about 26MPH on level ground and My commute includes a steep freeway overpass, which that drops to about 18MPH. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 25MPH and most traffic goes about 35MPH on the overpass as there is nowhere for a speed trap to be set. I can tell from 4 blocks away when one of those buses has been there recently.
vacri 11y ago
> Just run them more often at peak hours. Every bus you run requires a qualified employee to drive it, and putting them on for only an hour or two per shift would make it even more expensive (what employee would want to work such minor shifts?)
coin 11y ago
Would need more drivers. I suspect personnel are the largest cost.
- mikro2nd 11y ago
  Or make them self-driving...
sschueller 11y ago
We have triple length buses [1] in some areas of Zürich. They are all electric and in large parts of the route have their own lanes. Buses need bus lanes or they will not be on time and add to traffic. [1] http://www.bus-bild.de/bilder/hess-trolleybus-bgt-n2c-16700.jpg http://www.bus-bild.de/bilder/hess-trolleybus-bgt-n2c-16700....
- lmm 11y ago
  If you're going to give it its own lane anyway you might as well make a proper tram (which will have higher capacity and a smoother ride for passengers).
  - Fargren 11y ago
    In Buenos Aires, there are bus lanes on some major avenues. That means buses are on bus lanes some of the time but not all of the time. A tram can't do that.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      Sure it can. You just embed the tram lines in the road, so that cars can drive on them when trams aren't. Here's a picture from Naples, but they are common across Europe: http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000bgbDBRzeRa8/fit=1000x750/Modern-Tram-on-Road-in-Naples-Italy.jpg http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000bgbDBRzeRa8/fit=...
      - jrock08 11y ago
        Tram lines are expensive, and require that the city (population, economic, and social centers) remain largely static. If you predict wrong, you can end up spending millions on a tram line that doesn't get used.
        icebraining 11y ago
        Just like any investment, no?
kennydude 11y ago
Bendy buses? They're great for accessibility but for some reason where I live we have double deckers everywhere :(
mnw21cam 11y ago
Running buses more frequently has its own problems. When a bus is running slightly further from the one in front than it should, it has to stop more often for passengers, and those passengers take longer to buy their tickets, which makes the bus run even later. This is a positive feedback loop that is made worse when buses are more frequent. I have certainly seen a set of four buses coming as a convoy on a route that is meant to have them every 12 minutes. The solution is to either run fewer bigger buses, or to inject a whole load of negative feedback into the system, either by having buses wait for a minute at a few stops until their scheduled departure time (which involves making the route slower) or by real time tracking with radioed instructions to the drivers, like they do on some underground train systems.

konspence 11y ago

That costs far more (in fuel, maintenance, and drivers), and typically places that have articulated buses warrant having articulated buses.

JupiterMoon 11y ago
London used to have them. It was sort of amusing watching them trying to navigate the tight corners and narrow streets. But very scary to be near them on a bike.
freshyill 11y ago
And some places even run smaller buses. Here in the DC area, we have articulated buses, standard ones, and even smaller ones—about 60 percent of the size of a standard bus. It's rare to get the ideal size at the right time in an area of such bad traffic, but they do make an attempt.
- aidenn0 11y ago
  In the small city I live in, we have small buses, which is sized right for the ridership. Unfortunately their top speed is about 26MPH on level ground and My commute includes a steep freeway overpass, which that drops to about 18MPH. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 25MPH and most traffic goes about 35MPH on the overpass as there is nowhere for a speed trap to be set. I can tell from 4 blocks away when one of those buses has been there recently.

vacri 11y ago

> Just run them more often at peak hours. Every bus you run requires a qualified employee to drive it, and putting them on for only an hour or two per shift would make it even more expensive (what employee would want to work such minor shifts?)

coin 11y ago

Would need more drivers. I suspect personnel are the largest cost.

mikro2nd 11y ago
Or make them self-driving...

sschueller 11y ago

We have triple length buses [1] in some areas of Zürich. They are all electric and in large parts of the route have their own lanes. Buses need bus lanes or they will not be on time and add to traffic. [1] http://www.bus-bild.de/bilder/hess-trolleybus-bgt-n2c-16700.jpg http://www.bus-bild.de/bilder/hess-trolleybus-bgt-n2c-16700....

lmm 11y ago
If you're going to give it its own lane anyway you might as well make a proper tram (which will have higher capacity and a smoother ride for passengers).
- Fargren 11y ago
  In Buenos Aires, there are bus lanes on some major avenues. That means buses are on bus lanes some of the time but not all of the time. A tram can't do that.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Sure it can. You just embed the tram lines in the road, so that cars can drive on them when trams aren't. Here's a picture from Naples, but they are common across Europe: http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000bgbDBRzeRa8/fit=1000x750/Modern-Tram-on-Road-in-Naples-Italy.jpg http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000bgbDBRzeRa8/fit=...
    - jrock08 11y ago
      Tram lines are expensive, and require that the city (population, economic, and social centers) remain largely static. If you predict wrong, you can end up spending millions on a tram line that doesn't get used.
      - icebraining 11y ago
        Just like any investment, no?

kennydude 11y ago

Bendy buses? They're great for accessibility but for some reason where I live we have double deckers everywhere :(

mnw21cam 11y ago

Running buses more frequently has its own problems. When a bus is running slightly further from the one in front than it should, it has to stop more often for passengers, and those passengers take longer to buy their tickets, which makes the bus run even later. This is a positive feedback loop that is made worse when buses are more frequent. I have certainly seen a set of four buses coming as a convoy on a route that is meant to have them every 12 minutes. The solution is to either run fewer bigger buses, or to inject a whole load of negative feedback into the system, either by having buses wait for a minute at a few stops until their scheduled departure time (which involves making the route slower) or by real time tracking with radioed instructions to the drivers, like they do on some underground train systems.