Bendy buses

[johncrossley]

I think bendy buses, wouldn't be suitable for their routes in Sheffield, due to hills.
Didn't they trail a bendy bus in the 80s, and it was unsuitable,

That's why they use them in Switzerland. There are no hills there.

 

[Jordan Adam]

I operated one from the same batch which had a 349bhp engine and could scale hills a great deal more quickly than anything else I've experienced. There were also no issues with grounding out on gradients. If there is a reason they wouldn't be suitable, it won't be hills!

Likewise with the ones in Aberdeen which have ZF gearboxes rather than Voith, they climb hills far better than most single deckers never mind when Kickdown is engaged...

 

[MotCO]

That's why they use them in Switzerland. There are no hills there.

Only mountains!

 

[Deerfold]

Bendy buses operated in Sheffield for years as far as I recall; in fact, I think it was the very first UK city to introduce them if I recall correctly...

They operated for many years in Sheffield, starting on a city loop and spending most of their time on a City-Meadowhall shuttle. They were put in service before it was legal to operate them as a Public Service Vehicle so initially didn't charge fares.

 

[Tom Gallacher]

I think bendy buses, wouldn't be suitable for their routes in Sheffield, due to hills.
Didn't they trail a bendy bus in the 80s, and it was unsuitable,

1979. Commercial Motor did a small feature here

Free rides on trial odic BRITAIN'S first regular articulated bus | 7th September 1979 | The Commercial Motor Archive

'Free rides on trial odic BRITAIN'S first regular articulated bus' first printed in the 7th September 1979 issue of Commercial Motor

archive.commercialmotor.com

 

[cnjb8]

First Bus have acquired at least seven of the ex Brighton & Hove bendy buses from Ensign Bus recently:

BD57 WDE
BD57 WDL
BD57 WDM
BD57 WDP
BD57 WDT
BL57 OXM
BP57 UYF

Does anyone know what First Bus are planning on doing with all of these? Are they for their Dublin Airport car park shuttles? Or for Aberdeen? Or for York to allow the rest of the 58 reg ones to go to Aberdeen? Or something else?

At a guess, Aircoach in Ireland?

 

[JD2168]

I think bendy buses, wouldn't be suitable for their routes in Sheffield, due to hills.
Didn't they trail a bendy bus in the 80s, and it was unsuitable,

Last bendy buses used in Sheffield were the Leyland DAB versions which finished on the 501 & 502 between Meadowhall & Batemoor via Sheffield Centre.

 

[F Great Eastern]

At a guess, Aircoach in Ireland?

They currently have a batch of 11x 2008/2009 bendy Citaros (new to Aircoach) operating the Dublin Airport Car Park shuttles that had a mid life refurbishment around 6 or 7 years ago (colour LEDs, repaint, WIFI new seats added) but those are due to go off lease sometime in 1H 2023.

They are set to procure some new either electric or hybrid vehicles for the service over the coming 18 months as per the Dublin Airport strategy, but it was rumoured that there may be some interim vehicles in the meantime that join the fleet.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Reversing a two-segment bus has been mentioned, that would be difficult enough, but what about reversing a three-segment bus?

Another reason they have not been popular, perhaps.

 

[RJ]

Reversing a two-segment bus has been mentioned, that would be difficult enough, but what about reversing a three-segment bus?

Another reason they have not been popular, perhaps.

I suspect the simple answer is you don’t! It’d be near impossible to maintain directional control for more than a few metres unless there’s some sort of mechanical intervention to restrict the movement of the rearmost turntable.

 

[peri]

I seem to recall taking a bendy bus from Hull to Sheffield and Leeds probably around the 90's.

 

[Simon75]

Reversing a two-segment bus has been mentioned, that would be difficult enough, but what about reversing a three-segment bus?

Another reason they have not been popular, perhaps.

As also mentioned before too, most bus stations aren't designed for them too.

 

[37114]

I suspect the simple answer is you don’t! It’d be near impossible to maintain directional control for more than a few metres unless there’s some sort of mechanical intervention to restrict the movement of the rearmost turntable.

In Australia they have B Double lorries, (effectively there are 2 points of articulation) and they are reversible but not easily however drivers cope with them. However in a bus station they would be a nightmare

 

[Robertj21a]

In Australia they have B Double lorries, (effectively there are 2 points of articulation) and they are reversible but not easily however drivers cope with them. However in a bus station they would be a nightmare

There are quite a few double-articulated buses operating in Switzerland and Austria.

 

[Zamracene749]

I suspect the simple answer is you don’t! It’d be near impossible to maintain directional control for more than a few metres unless there’s some sort of mechanical intervention to restrict the movement of the rearmost turntable.

This is quite impressive to watch (Video depicts a bi-articulated Volvo being reversed into its depot space)

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Where height restrictions don't complicate matters, there's little benefit to a bendy bus that can't be provided by a double-decker really. TfL only used the bendy bus on the 521 (Waterloo - London Bridge via West End) because a double-decker wouldn't fit in the tunnel bypass just beyond Waterloo Bridge.

 

[Robertj21a]

Where height restrictions don't complicate matters, there's little benefit to a bendy bus that can't be provided by a double-decker really. TfL only used the bendy bus on the 521 (Waterloo - London Bridge via West End) because a double-decker wouldn't fit in the tunnel bypass just beyond Waterloo Bridge.

Not fully true really. Artics can load or discharge sizeable numbers within seconds, unlike double deckers. You only have to view the numerous artics abroad to see how efficient they are.

 

[dodecahedron67]

Where height restrictions don't complicate matters, there's little benefit to a bendy bus that can't be provided by a double-decker really.

Bendy buses load/unload much faster than double deckers
They can take more people than double deckers
They tend to be more accessible as there’s no stairs
They can take more buggies/wheelchairs (if specced correctly) than a double decker

Bendy buses actually tend to have smaller turning circles than double deckers as well, believe it or not…

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Bendy buses load/unload much faster than double deckers
They can take more people than double deckers
They tend to be more accessible as there’s no stairs
They can take more buggies/wheelchairs (if specced correctly) than a double decker

Bendy buses actually tend to have smaller turning circles than double deckers as well, believe it or not…

Surely the answer to the "bendies versus deckers" conundrum is to combine the two and have a bendy decker?

 

[Zamracene749]

Where height restrictions don't complicate matters, there's little benefit to a bendy bus that can't be provided by a double-decker really. TfL only used the bendy bus on the 521 (Waterloo - London Bridge via West End) because a double-decker wouldn't fit in the tunnel bypass just beyond Waterloo Bridge.

Almost impossible to bang your head on the roof of a bendybus

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

I seem to recall taking a bendy bus from Hull to Sheffield and Leeds probably around the 90's.

Stagecoach used articulated B10MA coaches on the Express Network for a while

 

[GusB]

Surely the answer to the "bendies versus deckers" conundrum is to combine the two and have a bendy decker?

It has been done (link is to an image of a Neoplan Jumbocruiser).

Neoplan Jumbocruiser

double-decker articulated bus

www.flickr.com

 

[Mikey C]

Bendy buses load/unload much faster than double deckers
They can take more people than double deckers
They tend to be more accessible as there’s no stairs
They can take more buggies/wheelchairs (if specced correctly) than a double decker

Bendy buses actually tend to have smaller turning circles than double deckers as well, believe it or not…

Bendy buses have fewer seats than a double decker.
But also take up more road space, which impacts on bus stops, stations and garages, as well as other road traffic.
And they don't have the view out from the top deck

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

Stagecoach used articulated B10MA coaches on the Express Network for a while

Were they not the buses used for the Glasgow to London sleeper service?

 

[PG]

This is quite impressive to watch (Video depicts a bi-articulated Volvo being reversed into its depot space)

Indeed!

It has been done (link is to an image of a Neoplan Jumbocruiser).

I wonder if walkthrough is possible on both decks?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Were they not the buses used for the Glasgow to London sleeper service?

Yes but those ones were new to Stagecoach in Hull (credit FocusFlickr) - one survived until earlier this year in "preservation"

T97 JHN Stagecoach EMMS 97 Volvo B10MA with Jonkheere Modulo body in Sheffield July99 (Copy)

Explore focus- transport's 7011 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

There were others with Fife and Western IIRC

 

[RJ]

Bendy buses have fewer seats than a double decker.
But also take up more road space, which impacts on bus stops, stations and garages, as well as other road traffic.
And they don't have the view out from the top deck

They also carry a lot more people than a double decker.

Both vehicles have their place on different types of work!

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Were they not the buses used for the Glasgow to London sleeper service?

Yes, they formed the test bed (no pun intended) for the sleeper services Megabus ran. Later replaced by the Van Hool deckers which were convertible for use on day services marketed as Megabus Gold.

 

[RJ]

Bendy buses actually tend to have smaller turning circles than double deckers as well, believe it or not…

My 10 metre B7TL will just about U turn in certain station car parks but I wouldn’t take the Citaro-Gs as they would get stuck. Not only do they have the same wheelbase as a 12 metre rigid, it will trigger the jackknife protection if you force it to turn that far around that radius, which impacts on the turning circle.

I’ve banned my bendies from so many routes that deckers can do, but where they do fit I prefer using them!

 

[Jordan Adam]

But also take up more road space, which impacts on bus stops, stations and garages, as well as other road traffic.

I've always found this argument a little flawed as it fails to consider the difference in overall capacity.

The capacity of a typical Articulated bus is around 140-160 depending on exact model and specification, in contrast a typical double decker carries around 80-95, thus you'd need two double deckers to carry the same number of passengers as an articulated bus. Even two short wheelbase London spec deckers take up quite a bit more road space than an Articulated bus and that's not factoring in the increased running costs of two double deckers vs one artic.