4 ms·

Double deckers are awesome. I don't understand why there aren't more of them in the world: double the density of commuters should be desirable in congested citi

Double deckers are awesome. I don't understand why there aren't more of them in the world: double the density of commuters should be desirable in congested cities.

tom_mellior 7y ago
Many big cities that would be eligible for double deckers already have trams. And I think there is a problem with the height of the double decker vs. the typical height of overhead lines for trams.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  America seems in general to have a lot of stuff hanging over roads - like traffic lights, signs, electricity lines, phone lines - thing that the UK puts to the side of the road or buries underneath it. Maybe it's because American roads are wider so traffic lights at the side of a six lane road don't really work any more and they have to hang them up for the middle lanes to be able to see them.
Symbiote 7y ago
If you don't have a 4x4 Chelsea Tractor lobby, you can just use bendy buses. Boarding and alighting is much faster, and there's more space for pushchairs etc.
- johnnycab 7y ago
  >If you don't have a 4x4 Chelsea Tractor lobby, you can just use bendy buses. I fail to see the specific connection between the SUV drivers and bendy buses, as these articulated buses were operational on only 12 routes out of 700+ due to their restrictions. If the implication is that these buses were taken out of circulation due to a vocal lobby of car owners of certain luxury marques, living in salubrious boroughs, then it is a preposterous suggestion. The real reason is that this bus was a death machine ─ snaking along the streets ─ killing cyclists, bikers, pedestrians and motorists alike. Amongst a catalogue of flaws, ranging from being prone to catching fire to acquiring the label of 'free bus' by fare dodgers; it's only saving grace in the near-decade long operation was being wheelchair-friendly. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses-the-fatal-facts-6588794.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses-the-fatal-facts-...
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    'TfL claimed bendies had more accidents because they " encountered more road users" than non-bendy buses.' ...and the article, along with any possibility of actual journalism from the Standard, ended here. It's a reasonable argument. It's it true?
    - johnnycab 7y ago
      It is disappointing that you decided to ignore the death and misery caused by this version of the bus and instead chose to pose a question on journalistic integrity. You did not provide evidence or refute any facts to support your claim that bendy buses were indeed safer or the routes even traversed the narrow streets, where 'Chelsea Tractors' (Range Rover/BMW X5/Cayenne), generally used to roam. There is also no evidence, that this 'lobby' you speak of, actually existed, let alone being overly concerned about the surrounding issues. For the uninitiated, articulated/bendy buses were in operation from 2002-2011, the article linked was written in 2007 in the Evening Standard (ES), when it was still under paid circulation.

Double deckers are awesome. I don't understand why there aren't more of them in the world: double the density of commuters should be desirable in congested cities.

tom_mellior 7y ago

Many big cities that would be eligible for double deckers already have trams. And I think there is a problem with the height of the double decker vs. the typical height of overhead lines for trams.

chrisseaton 7y ago
America seems in general to have a lot of stuff hanging over roads - like traffic lights, signs, electricity lines, phone lines - thing that the UK puts to the side of the road or buries underneath it. Maybe it's because American roads are wider so traffic lights at the side of a six lane road don't really work any more and they have to hang them up for the middle lanes to be able to see them.

Symbiote 7y ago

If you don't have a 4x4 Chelsea Tractor lobby, you can just use bendy buses. Boarding and alighting is much faster, and there's more space for pushchairs etc.

johnnycab 7y ago
>If you don't have a 4x4 Chelsea Tractor lobby, you can just use bendy buses. I fail to see the specific connection between the SUV drivers and bendy buses, as these articulated buses were operational on only 12 routes out of 700+ due to their restrictions. If the implication is that these buses were taken out of circulation due to a vocal lobby of car owners of certain luxury marques, living in salubrious boroughs, then it is a preposterous suggestion. The real reason is that this bus was a death machine ─ snaking along the streets ─ killing cyclists, bikers, pedestrians and motorists alike. Amongst a catalogue of flaws, ranging from being prone to catching fire to acquiring the label of 'free bus' by fare dodgers; it's only saving grace in the near-decade long operation was being wheelchair-friendly. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses-the-fatal-facts-6588794.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses-the-fatal-facts-...
- Symbiote 7y ago
  'TfL claimed bendies had more accidents because they " encountered more road users" than non-bendy buses.' ...and the article, along with any possibility of actual journalism from the Standard, ended here. It's a reasonable argument. It's it true?
  - johnnycab 7y ago
    It is disappointing that you decided to ignore the death and misery caused by this version of the bus and instead chose to pose a question on journalistic integrity. You did not provide evidence or refute any facts to support your claim that bendy buses were indeed safer or the routes even traversed the narrow streets, where 'Chelsea Tractors' (Range Rover/BMW X5/Cayenne), generally used to roam. There is also no evidence, that this 'lobby' you speak of, actually existed, let alone being overly concerned about the surrounding issues. For the uninitiated, articulated/bendy buses were in operation from 2002-2011, the article linked was written in 2007 in the Evening Standard (ES), when it was still under paid circulation.