if you clink on the link, it's a postcard and the second photo is of the reverse
But this one is...
Yes, one of the ones that Stagecoach brought over. Which also links to the separate thread about repatriated buses!But this one is...
Double decker bus | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Double decker bus at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!www.ebay.co.uk
Appears to be an ex-Hong Kong Olympian.
Has anyone got a picture? Presumably there is a means of locking the steering in the rear cab? Is the middle articulated? It must have some kind of steering. (Thanks)
It was in Ahmedabad around 25 years ago. I didn't have a camera and I've never seen a photo elsewhere. They were linked with a short solid hook and eye tow bar. As far as I can remember no brake lines so the trailing bus was unbraked.
Using double decker buses on public bus services in The Netherlands remains very rare however. Articulated buses are much more common as they're able to carry more passengers without the limitations of a double decker.
The argument is that bendy buses are difficult the some british street, especially when turning 90 degree left corners. streets on the continent seem to be wider. They seem to cause a problem for cyclists, again when turning left. But then perhaps they should not try and undertake buses. And they take far more road space than a double decker.
Surely, it's only the wheelbase of the front unit that matters?. On artics that will usually be less than the wheelbase of a 12m rigid, so there shouldn't be any problems. The rear unit is, of course, designed to follow the front.
do the rear wheels follow the same line as the middle ones when going round corners. or do they 'cut the corner' a little?
Actually, the rear wheels usually take the corner a bit wider than the middle wheels. Depends on the exact bus model though, the currently most common version with engine in the rear vehicle swings out less afaik.
It sounds like Utrecht 12 needs a tram!Actually, the rear wheels usually take the corner a bit wider than the middle wheels. Depends on the exact bus model though, the currently most common version with engine in the rear vehicle swings out less afaik.
Funny though that they don't appear to cause any problems for cyclists here in The Netherlands, not even in some of our large university-cities with almost more cyclists than buses. Which actually even have 20 meter bendy buses (Groningen) or even 25 meter double articulated ones (Utrecht), also on quite narrow roads.
Road space taken by the bus seems not really to be an issue here, the main issue is the mass transit and thus how to get as many passengers in and out as fast as possible. Something that is more easily done in an articulated bus with four sets of doors than in a double decker.
Just to give an idea: when the double-articulated buses were still being used on route 12 in Utrecht they carried a whopping 4000 passengers an hour with a bus every 2 minutes. That was just a matter of arriving at the stop, squeeze ~133 passengers in the bus within a minute or so and leave again. Try that with a double decker
Using double decker buses on public bus services in The Netherlands remains very rare however. Articulated buses are much more common as they're able to carry more passengers without the limitations of a double decker.
The limited stop services that got double deckers recently got them as they run mostly on the highway and are extremely busy, thus more seated capacity was desired. But actually they needed to increase the frequency to be able to carry all passengers.
Currently double deckers are only to be found at these two services in The Netherlands:
- Route 346 from Haarlem Station to Amsterdam Zuid (currently weekdags only)
TCR 628 - Haarlem, Van Eedenstraat by Daniël Bleumink, on FlickrWouldn't expect an increase in double decker operated services in The Netherlands any time soon however. Route 346 was already seen as an experiment, with buses having to pass under the bridge that links both halves of the VUMC hospital in kneeled position at maximum 15 km/h to fit below the overhead lines of the trams.
- Route 300 from Groningen Station to Emmen Station (although most of the double deckers have not ran since January due to Covid)
Plaxton Panorama
www.alexander-dennis.com
It is a Volvo - in this case a B11RLET, with Plaxton Panorama bodywork.
Interesting. I wonder why Stagecoach does not operate this in the US for their MegaBus brand? Whats the difference between Van Hool's TD and this Plaxton ride and tech wise?Plaxton Panorama
Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is Britain’s biggest bus builder and the world’s largest manufacturer of double deck buses with a strong presence in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand. Alexander Dennis offers a full range of coaches under the...
Historically the UK has preferred body on chassis combinations instead of integral vehicles such as the Van Hool or the Volvo 9700DD. It wasn't that long ago that one of the favourite coach combinations was a Van Hool body on a Volvo chassis. It's better to get part of the sale by providing a chassis for someone else to body than get no sale at all.
Would ADL (Plaxton) not too, if they could get any orders?The difference is that Van Hool sell coaches that comply with US regulations.
Coaches USA | Van Hool
www.vanhool.be
Just to point out that Stagecoach no longer operate Megabus USA anymore. Their entire USA and Canada operations (including Megabus USA) was sold in 2019. A company called Coach USA now own and operate the Megabus USA services.
It allows more local coachbuilders to offer bespoke designs suited to a certain country's needs. Also offers far more variety for operators.
There are plenty of double-deckers already in service in North America, albeit mostly Canada but Las Vegas has a sizeable number of E500s in service. They initially bought a batch of 12m E500's but they subsequently bought further batches of E500s to a longer length (12.8m IIRC).
May I ask what this "Buy America" policy is you refer to? Never heard of it before so just curious?
As I understand it, any products sold in the US have to have a significant US made content. Don't know what the numbers are but buses with Cummins engines in (as a for instance), gearboxes or seats made in the US will go some way to meet the criteria. Without the US content I believe those products will be subject to higher import taxes thus making them less competitive with US manufactured products. By assembling their buses in the US (thus using local workforce), ADL will be able to claim local content and thus not have to pay the higher import duties. Happy to be corrected on this...
Many thanks for the explanation. I had no idea about this policy. I guess this may be why buses and coaches in the USA are so different to the rest of the world.
