Bendy buses

[Tom williams]

Hi All,

Don't know if anyone here has heard the sad news (to me), that the bendy buses in Cardiff are stopping on the 29th january.

I just wondered why they were being replaced, is it down to old age?

I also would like to know if there are any artic buses running in Bristol still?

Tom

 

[Ilovetrains43]

No, I think bendies are dangerous for some people, including wheelchairs. Over in Hull, we haven't had them for over 20 years! Don't know about Bristol however.

 

[carlberry]

Hi All,

Don't know if anyone here has heard the sad news (to me), that the bendy buses in Cardiff are stopping on the 29th january.

I just wondered why they were being replaced, is it down to old age?

I also would like to know if there are any artic buses running in Bristol still?

Tom

None in Bristol for several years now (However Bristol Airport did have a couple pre Covid). Cardiff's have achieved a decent age as they haven't been too effected by politicians! They still run in Brighton and Aberdeen I believe.

 

[Ilovetrains43]

They still run in Brighton and Aberdeen I believe.

And Leeds.

 

[CN04NRJ]

Hi All,

Don't know if anyone here has heard the sad news (to me), that the bendy buses in Cardiff are stopping on the 29th january.

I just wondered why they were being replaced, is it down to old age?

I also would like to know if there are any artic buses running in Bristol still?

Tom

They have been plagued with reliability issues for years, horrendous MPG, still euro 3, almost 16 years old, some in need of rebuilds due to corrosion.... and so on and so on.

I enjoyed driving them and they were great buses when they worked - it's a testament to CB that they've kept them going so long when other operators got rid of theirs sooner. Nothing lasts forever, sadly. As a side note, 27 years of Dart operation ended in Cardiff on Saturday without any fanfare - a shame as the Ailsas had a good send off.

 

[Geeves]

And Leeds.

I think all the Leeds ones have been retired now.

 

[scosutsut]

York has some on the park and ride too.

 

[Ilovetrains43]

I think all the Leeds ones have been retired now.

First still have them in Leeds.

 

[Pit_buzzer]

First still have them in Leeds.

Not been any first bendies in Leeds for years

Edit, July 2016 they were withdrawn

 

[dvfmlfc]

We had some ex-Arriva London Citaros in Liverpool for a time operating the Airport service. Two of them managed to set themselves on fire, an engine fault. They were all hastily withdrawn around 2014, never to be seen again.

 

[johncrossley]

They are still very popular on shuttle services for airport car parks and for staff shuttles for airline crew. These clientele are perceived to be more deserving of expensive buses than normal bus passengers, and they are even sometimes equipped with air conditioning even though the routes they run are very short.

 

[Andyh82]

They are still very popular on shuttle services for airport car parks and for staff shuttles for airline crew. These clientele are perceived to be more deserving of expensive buses than normal bus passengers, and they are even sometimes equipped with air conditioning even though the routes they run are very short.

Define ‘very popular’ - Manchester Airport had a few old London examples, they don’t any more.

 

[johncrossley]

Define ‘very popular’ - Manchester Airport had a few old London examples, they don’t any more.

Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted all have articulated buses. So three out of the four main airports in the country use them.

 

[Gostav]

No, I think bendies are dangerous for some people, including wheelchairs. Over in Hull, we haven't had them for over 20 years! Don't know about Bristol however.

Emm, articulated bus can be find in almost all "Former Eastern Camp" countries including but not limited from Czechia, Slovakia, Russia to China, never heard it's not safe.

 

[CN04NRJ]

No, I think bendies are dangerous for some people, including wheelchairs. Over in Hull, we haven't had them for over 20 years! Don't know about Bristol however.

Why? Wheelchair ramp is at the front and you can pull up to the kerb and deploy the ramp just like any other bus.

 

[37114]

They are still very popular on shuttle services for airport car parks and for staff shuttles for airline crew. These clientele are perceived to be more deserving of expensive buses than normal bus passengers, and they are even sometimes equipped with air conditioning even though the routes they run are very short.

More likely the best tool for the job. You need a vehicle that is high in capacity to move lots of people a short distance with easy access as they have loads of baggage so can't climb stairs.

 

[Ilovetrains43]

Why? Wheelchair ramp is at the front and you can pull up to the kerb and deploy the ramp just like any other bus.

Because there could be 1 wheelchair already there and a pram. There is only 1 ramp.

 

[GusB]

Because there could be 1 wheelchair already there and a pram. There is only 1 ramp.

I fail to see why this make artics less safe. You could have the same situation on a rigid single deck bus, or on a double deck bus. The number of ramps has nothing to do with it.

 

[CN04NRJ]

Because there could be 1 wheelchair already there and a pram. There is only 1 ramp.

Just like any other bus... except for some of the latest that have two certified wheelchair spaces.

 

[alex397]

Interestingly some of the bendies used on car park shuttles at Stansted Airport are brand new examples. The first brand new bendies in the UK for some time I believe. They are operated by National Express.

Possibly the closest place to London with bendies in operation is the 888 bus route between Luton Airport and Luton Airport Parkway (and it’s registered as an ordinary public bus service so anyone can use it) with 3 Volvo B7LA/Wright Eclipse Fusion bendies in service. Although it is now mostly just run by short non-bendy Mercedes Citaros as I imagine demand on the route is fairly low at the moment. Of course, this route won’t last much longer with the ‘DART’ shuttle opening this year.

Talking of this route, it was the last place to see an ‘ftr’ bendy in service. It was withdrawn last year with no fanfare, and I don’t think was reported anywhere.

 

[Ilovetrains43]

I fail to see why this make artics less safe. You could have the same situation on a rigid single deck bus, or on a double deck bus. The number of ramps has nothing to do with it.

I'm just thinking if the articulated part is not straight, it could cause problems for the disabled and elderly alike.

 

[Trackman]

Was there a problem with them for cyclists and other road users and that's why a lot operators binned them?

 

[Andy Pacer]

Define ‘very popular’ - Manchester Airport had a few old London examples, they don’t any more.

But sister airport East Midlands does.

 

[AB93]

Was there a problem with them for cyclists and other road users and that's why a lot operators binned them?

Not really - that was a factor Boris liked to blow out of proportion in his efforts to be elected Mayor...
London binned them because of Boris.

Everywhere else, realistically, has binned them because of the higher operating costs

 

[Busaholic]

Was there a problem with them for cyclists and other road users and that's why a lot operators binned them?

I was on Oxford Street in London one afternoon in 2005 when a bendybus on route 73 had a serious collision with a cyclist and the road was closed for at least two hours.

 

[Statto]

There were a couple of other issues for the bendy buses in London too; the narrow streets in London, & Central London in particular are not suitable for bendys. It only needed a couple of bendys in heavy traffic to block junctions waiting for traffic to clear resulting in chaos. Fare evasion was rife too, as you weren't allowed to pay on board, and ticket inspectors were spread few & far between. I think the route 25 got an unfortunate nickname because of this, when bendys were introduced on that route


Another issue, i got motion sickness when sitting at the rear of a bendy bus once.

 

[jon0844]

I was on Oxford Street in London one afternoon in 2005 when a bendybus on route 73 had a serious collision with a cyclist and the road was closed for at least two hours.

The 73 seemed to regularly clip kerbs and mount pavements on some of the tighter turns (I know from first hand experience) so they seemed dangerous to more than just cyclists. I am assuming the other routes were the same, but that was the one I used most frequently.

The 73 also had the nickname 'seventy-free' on account of the ease at which you could travel without paying. What did they call the 25?

Uno bus picked up a number of bendies in recent years, and there are some photos/video of at least one on fire near the University of Hertfordshire campus. I am pretty certain they're all gone now, and even when in operation they were mostly shuttles aimed primarily at students rather than the general public.

 

[341o2]

I was on Oxford Street in London one afternoon in 2005 when a bendybus on route 73 had a serious collision with a cyclist and the road was closed for at least two hours.

Boris Johnson, upon election to Lord Mayor began a campaign against the bendybuses, for that reason "They wipe out cyclists" he claimed and as from 2009, operating contracts were not renewed as they expired. Hence the Borismaster.

Some bendybuses went to Malta and were just as controversial regarding accidents and fires

 

[alex397]

If bendybuses were so dangerous to cyclists and rife with fare evasion, I doubt they’d be so popular on the continent, where some places even have double-bendy buses.

I’m not sure I’d agree the London roads were too narrow (junctions are maybe poorly designed though) - I’ve seen them driving down incredibly narrow and bendy streets on the continent seemingly without issue.

Maybe some of the London routes were not ideal for them. But to get rid of them completely was short-sighted and very typical of a politician. There were some routes where they are really suited (I’m thinking of the 207/607 and ‘Red Arrow’ routes), but because they are now so political, no London mayor would probably allow them again. Double deckers are very useful, but the extra deck leads to longer dwell times, and of course the upper deck is out of bounds for various different passengers.

 

[Andy Pacer]

We used them in Leicester generally on university work (with some 'normal' service work thrown in). They were good for cutting down loading times but were not great to drive. We used to fight for who got to have a double decker when one of the bendy buses was off the road.