Bendy buses. What do you think?

[Tynan]

I've had some problems, mostly early on, with not realising that it was a bendy bus until I was a fair way past it

I've learnt to spot the warning sticker on the back now but there can't be any doubt that they're more dangerous that almost any other vehicle

 

[stephenb]

there's at least one tight turning on my former route that they can't seem to negotiate without putting wheels up one kerb or another. Don't know if it's due to size of bus, ability of driver or both. Competent cyclists are safe enough by not going up either side, but poor unsuspecting peds waiting at the crossing are well in the firing line.

 

[Arch]

They're a daft thing to have here in York too - even regualr buses have trouble with a lot of our corners and narrow city centre streets. I don't see why they couldn't take the trouble to upgrade (IE produce new) double deckers - I don't know, but what is the passenger capacity of a bendy versus a double? For some reason I assume the bendy is less - the back bit is never as long as the front, is it? Whereas the top deck holds more than the bottom deck, on a double decker.

 

[CotterPin]

On the ones in London there is more standing space so I guess they can squash more people in. As someone else has also mentioned, they take up less time at stops as people can get on quicker because they use all the doors to enter. Mind you, that doesn't mean you can't fix it so people can use all the doors on a double decker as well? (Which they seem to do in increasing numbers in London these days).

 

[HLaB]

Dublin bus spent a fortune on a new bus garage near the airport, partially to service their fleet of bendy buses. I believe they phased them out before it even opened. I wonder if the safety record was one the reasons.

 

[Pete]

Regarding passenger capacity: remember that standing passengers are not allowed on the top deck of a double-decker. So even with as many seats, fewer can be carried. I think the reason is something to do with this, although if the good old-fashioned (and - alas! - disappearing) 'routemaster' can cope with that, it'll cope with anything ...

...whereas bendy-buses are cattle-class throughout. Just like the trains in fact. More passengers means more fares means more revenue ....

 

[catwoman]

I don't like them at all. Fortunately there are none on my regular routes but they do traverse them and when you see them side-on it must be said they are far too long. They are very wide as well. I recognise the sticker on the back of them and on the rare occasions I have come across them I stay well back, only overtaking when they are at a stop and then they have never caught up with me.
I can't see what the problem would have been with upgrading the double deckers with a new fleet. Someone said about the speed of people getting on but with the advent of the Oyster card in London, the speed of entry on all buses has greatly improved in my experience. The majority of passengers have some sort of pass or pre-paid ticket these days.
The "seventy-free" (very good, I shall remember that) goes up Essex Road in Islington. I cannot think of a road less suited to the things than the Angel end of Essex Road

 

[Keith Oates]

I can't comment on the bendy buses in London but can state that the modern double deckers work fine in Hong Kong which is equally, if not more, as busy as London. The streets there are also narrow in places but the moving of people seems to go very well!!!!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Are the safety concerns about driver training? Eh? Is that what we should say about urban 4x4s too then? The problem is that the driver has no idea what is happening sixty feet behind him as was witnessed when the young lad in Ilford was dragged around under one for over an hour before anyone noticed.

Hmmm. I'd have said that's a driver training issue myself. I've driven wagon and drags before (very like a bendy bus) and I was always aware of what was happening around the whole vehicle. You can lose sight of one corner, or even one whole side, of any articulated vehicle when you're manoevring, but to not be aware of something like that for a whole hour is unthinkable. And you should always be aware of what's around your vehicle before you start the maonoevre.

 

[Pete]

Hmmm. I'd have said that's a driver training issue myself. I've driven wagon and drags before (very like a bendy bus) and I was always aware of what was happening around the whole vehicle.

By this, I assume you mean a rigid truck towing an equal-sized trailer via a simple hinged coupling, do you not? As often seen overseas, but less often in the UK (were they banned at one time?). I must confess, they scare me too, more so than the more conventional artic HGV consisting of short tractor coupled to full-size trailer. Would you say my fear is justified?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Sorry, I should have clarified that. Yes, a wagon and drag is just that.
I don't think they're any more dangerous than any other articulated vehicle, by which I mean keep well clear of them all if you're on foot or on a bike (or even in a car, sometimes). With a bendy bus, or a wagon and drag, the driver loses sight of around 20' of the vehicle (ie the length of the trailer) while it's turning, but with a conventional artic it's more like 45'. On the other hand, the back of an artic will swing out less than the back of a wagon and drag, as a rule. They were never banned here, but it used to be compulsory to have a driver's mate in the cab when you drove one, many years ago.
The other side of the coin is that wagon and drags can carry more volume than artics (30 pallets as opposed to 26), thereby cutting down on truck journeys, and they cause less road surface damage. But that's not really relevant to this thread.

 

[zimzum42]

Bendy buses are not 'wagon and drag', the engine is at the back, the rear articulated section pushes the front bit......

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Same shape and handling characteristics though. Where the engine is doesn't really matter.

 

[Pete]

I think, now, that the 'illegality' I was thinking of, was about doubly articulated HGVs i.e. tractor pulling a trailer pulling a second trailer. This has got to be a real pain to reverse - surely! I remember seeing such a set-up negotiating a roundabout once - and making a real meal of it! But it was part of a convoy of circus or fairground or suchlike vehicles, and I suppose those johnnies are a bit 'beyond the law' anyway. It seems there's a type of doubly-bendy-bus in some parts, but I hope we don't get too many of those round our way. Trams - fine - but there are limits!

Incidentally I recall lots of artic. trolley-buses on the Continent - particularly Budapest where we rode on them many times. IIRC the trolley poles were attached to the rear section but I don't know whether that means that the motor power was all at the rear or distributed between rear and front. With electric traction it probably makes more sense to distribute it - like trams and trains.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I think, now, that the 'illegality' I was thinking of, was about doubly articulated HGVs i.e. tractor pulling a trailer pulling a second trailer. This has got to be a real pain to reverse - surely! I remember seeing such a set-up negotiating a roundabout once - and making a real meal of it! But it was part of a convoy of circus or fairground or suchlike vehicles, and I suppose those johnnies are a bit 'beyond the law' anyway.

I can't remember the specific rules, but fairground operators are allowed to tow one trailer behind another. General hauliers are not allowed to do so (yet), but I'll be first in the queue for the licence when they become legal!