When do the new Routemasters arrive?

[Jimlyn]

Indifferent to bend buses however not a fan of the routemaster, in brixton the bus started up when I was mid step off the bus when it started up I fell off into the gutter twisting my ankle and severely denting my pride... wouldnt have happened if there were doors...

 

[Sunray]

Indifferent to bend buses however not a fan of the routemaster, in brixton the bus started up when I was mid step off the bus when it started up I fell off into the gutter twisting my ankle and severely denting my pride... wouldnt have happened if there were doors...

Major cause of injuries to commuters, in todays H&S world, I doubt they would ever have an open platform. Depriving the Routemaster of its one memorable feature.

 

[citydreams]

It does and it doesn't. On a regular bus people get on at the front and off at the back, whereas on a bendy bus when people get on and off the same doors it gets a bit fractious and can take longer. I've seen quite a few scuffles on the 73 and the 149.

See what you mean, but should be no different from the tubes. It's got to be quicker than boarding any of the double-deckers that stop in Brixton. It's usually easier to wait for the 2nd bus.

 

[scifisam]

If he also keeps his promise of putting Conductors back on buses, there should be someone there to help people get on and off the bus.

Would that be enough? or would that be patronising?

It's not a matter of helping people on and off the bus (which, yeah, would be patronising, but also completely impractical, and would delay the bus considerably), but a matter of space. Where would a wheelchair or buggy have fit on a Routemaster?

I can't use stairs for more than a couple of steps, so can't use the upper deck. Bendy buses thus give me twice the amount of potential space as double-deckers. Same goes for lots of people with disabilities, temporary and permanent, and parents with children in buggies, Hell, even people travelling with luggage.

Bendy buses don't look pretty, and they don't have nostalgia value (yet), but they do hold more people and more types of people.

I'm not sure why nostalgia and prettiness should be seen as more important than allowing people to use the bus.

 

[wtfftw]

I don't see why we can't mix it up a bit and have both.

 

[scifisam]

I don't see why we can't mix it up a bit and have both.

I agree. We do that already, though. We still have double deckers. But the Routemasters were phased out for a reason.

 

[paolo]

Simple. You can jump on and off a Routemaster where and when you want and thus don't have to wait chuffing ages to get off while the bus is stuck in a queue 10 yards from the stop.

That.

(Citydreams, not sure if this is who you were thinking of, but I know the think tank PolicyExchange were advocating a new version, with the addition of ramp access at the front, at the time of the phase out.)

 

[citydreams]

(Citydreams, not sure if this is who you were thinking of, but I know the think tank PolicyExchange were advocating a new version, with the addition of ramp access at the front, at the time of the phase out.)

Thanks... found it. Apparently it was commissioned by Autocar
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7149722.stm

Seems a bit strange that a car magazine would want to provide better buses.

 

[blossie33]

What he says.

Bendy buses hold 149 people, probably more when your squashed in. Double decker 90.

Not liking them as a cyclist/driver does not warrant their scrapping as your not using them!? I have no issues cycling past them. Of all the buses the drivers seem much more aware of me than normal buses.

Really? 149 I wouldn't have thought that many. It always seems to me that they carry less than double deckers.

I am not a bendy fan and avoid using them if there is an alternative, probably for the very fact that there are not many seats and everyone is rammed in, not a pleasant way to travel! Will be glad if they go.
I much prefer sitting on the upper deck of buses - far more chilled

 

[g force]

Simple. You can jump on and off a Routemaster where and when you want and thus don't have to wait chuffing ages to get off while the bus is stuck in a queue 10 yards from the stop.

I also preferred real live conductors rather than a harassed driver sealed in behind half a ton of plastic screens.

Oh, and as a cyclist, bendy buses are fucking terrifying things to deal with.

Right...but as Autocar also pointed out the new Routemaster design is actually longer between the axles than a Bendy Bus in order to up the number of passengers it can handle. thus making it's turning circle about the same as the Bendy so sending ot down twisty routes - 25 in particular - isn't going to deliver a great deal of benefit.

It is shorter which is a good thing - no more blocking pedestrians at crossings.

Still not convinced by them TBH...I think the plans need to be carefully scrutinised to ensure they going to work and provide a decent level of access to less able bodied people. The Bendys for all their faults do at least have decent space for buggies and wheelchairs. Right now it just looks quite nice in a terribly retro way.

 

[Sunray]

Really? 149 I wouldn't have thought that many. It always seems to me that they carry less than double deckers.

I am not a bendy fan and avoid using them if there is an alternative, probably for the very fact that there are not many seats and everyone is rammed in, not a pleasant way to travel! Will be glad if they go.
I much prefer sitting on the upper deck of buses - far more chilled

Thats because those buses aren't on the bendy bus routes. Those routes are some of the most busy and if normal buses are restored, you'd not get a seat.

 

[London_Calling]

I think it's important we return to limiting options for mothers, the disabled, the elderly and anyone carrying more than a 'paper in the name of crass, mindless sentimentality for ‘the way we were’.

But no, we’ll “mix it up” and just leave them at bus stops in the rain or freezing cold because it’ll be nice for some to ride along like it’s still the 1970s/80s.

Fucking daft societal luddites.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Can I just point out to everyone who thinks that Route master buses were good.

They weren't. They were SHIT!! Hostile, cold, clapped out death traps that had one good feature and no others.

The bendy buses are fine. They are a mode of transport that gets me, in reasonable comfort, from one point to another.

The end.

Bendy buses block pedestrian crossings in heavy traffic. Bendy buses lose loads of money from fare evasion. Bendy buses catch fire

 

[g force]

Replace the more ancient Double Deckers by all means but scrapping a fairly new bus seems ridiculous when a lot of people on here advocating it are also the ones shouting about sustainability and greener transport options.

 

[editor]

I think it's important we return to limiting options for mothers, the disabled, the elderly and anyone carrying more than a 'paper in the name of crass, mindless sentimentality for ‘the way we were’.

But no, we’ll “mix it up” and just leave them at bus stops in the rain or freezing cold because it’ll be nice for some to ride along like it’s still the 1970s/80s.

Fucking daft societal luddites.

Er, except Boris insists that the new Routemasters will be fully accessible. And don't you think most of the people you've just described prefer to have a conductor on board to help them - and even have a little chat with - instead of having a bus driver resolutely stuck behind a shield of plastic screens?

 

[maomao]

I hate the top deck on routemasters. Very claustrophobic. But always felt bad sitting downstairs on a busy bus because I'm a fit young man. Bendies are great 'cause they're free.

 

[toggle]

Er, except Boris insists that the new Routemasters will be fully accessible. And don't you think most of the people you've just described prefer to have a conductor on board to help them - and even have a little chat with - instead of having a bus driver resolutely stuck behind a shield of plastic screens?

i never found conductors particularly helpful when trying to get a buggy onto a bus, more whining that i was daring to travel on their bus with a small child with and complaining that the buggy wouldn't fold up smaller than a postage stamp and that folding the buggy, getting child into seat was holding up everyone else and on several occasions, trying to insist i had to go upstairs carrying small child, bags and buggy

 

[editor]

Bendies are great 'cause they're free.

But they're not. Everyone else pays for them.

 

[Crispy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7149722.stm

I've got a question. Where does the engine go? A bus diesel engine is not a small thing. Oh and:

The buses would carry 76 passengers

So on current bendy routes, you'd need twice as many buses, and 4 times as many staff to maintain capacity.

 

[scifisam]

Er, except Boris insists that the new Routemasters will be fully accessible. And don't you think most of the people you've just described prefer to have a conductor on board to help them - and even have a little chat with - instead of having a bus driver resolutely stuck behind a shield of plastic screens?

The new Routemasters will not be fully accessible, unless there's a magic lift to the upper deck.

Honestly, what good reason is there to bring back Routemasters? You know you won't be allowed to jump on and off at places other than bus stops, so what's the advantage?

BTW - have a little chat with the conductor? WTF, is everyone who needs an accessible bus a sadsack with no-one else to talk to now?

 

[jæd]

I've got a question. Where does the engine go? A bus diesel engine is not a small thing. Oh and:

So on current bendy routes, you'd need twice as many buses, and 4 times as many staff to maintain capacity.

And you'd have more people actually paying for their ride. And greater security from having more staff... I'd guess more people would use buses once they thought they wouldn't get knifed...

Why does everything have to costed to oblivion these days. What happened to quality-of-life...?

 

[Kanda]

I'm a cyclist - what's so terrifying about them? They're just like any vehicle - stay the fuck behind them and you'll be alright. Routemasters don't have any provision for disabled people or pushchairs. You should only get off them anyway when they're properly stopped. The only reason people like them is because of some ridiculous impractical nostalgia.

^^ This.

They're not terrifying at all Idiocy gets you killed, not a bendy bus.

 

[gabi]

Does this mean that Peter Hendy will be getting the boot? That would be a shame. Decent geezer.

 

[Gixxer1000]

Seeing as it was just about the only bit of Boris's 'policy' that I liked, I can't wait for him to magically find the funds to bring them back sharpish at no extra cost to the taxpayer and passengers.

Well the funds for the bendy buses "magically" appeared didnt they.

 

[Crispy]

And you'd have more people actually paying for their ride. And greater security from having more staff... I'd guess more people would use buses once they thought they wouldn't get knifed...

Why does everything have to costed to oblivion these days. What happened to quality-of-life...?

*shrug* I'm not calling it either way tbh. I'm not a massive fan of bendies - I think they're too large for London streets, and I've seen some nasty almost-accidents caused by bendies overtaking cyclists. However, the current doubledecker design is very good. A new routemaster would never get past H&S (justifyably or not).

As for the cost issue, I don't mind paying a little extra for something that's not the barest essential, but this design would cost a lot more than the one it's intended to replace. That money has to come from somewhere.

 

[editor]

^^ This.

They're not terrifying at all Idiocy gets you killed, not a bendy bus.

Ah. So it's the cyclists fault!

Figures released today by Liberal Democrat Transport spokesman on the London Assembly, Geoff Pope, show that cyclists in London are three times more likely to get injured on a bendy bus route than on conventional routes.

Pedestrians are also twice as likely to get injured on bendy bus routes.

Commenting on the figures, Geoff Pope said:

"Cyclists are three times more likely to get injured on bendy bus routes as opposed to conventional bus routes. Given there are only 345 bendy buses, these numbers are worryingly high.

http://www.glalibdems.org.uk/news/0...to_get_injured_on_bendy_bus_routes__pope.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=486625&in_page_id=1770

 

[Gixxer1000]

Major cause of injuries to commuters, in todays H&S world, I doubt they would ever have an open platform. Depriving the Routemaster of its one memorable feature.

Ban the tube!
with its dangerous leading edge. Live electrics too you say?

 

[g force]

Indeed...bog standard Double Decker does the job at, I imagine, less cost per vehicle.

 

[jæd]

*shrug* I'm not calling it either way tbh. I'm not a massive fan of bendies - I think they're too large for London streets, and I've seen some nasty almost-accidents caused by bendies overtaking cyclists. However, the current doubledecker design is very good. A new routemaster would never get past H&S (justifyably or not).

I think a lot of people are romanticizing the Routemaster. It was fine for its time, but times have changed. I bet people will be doing the same for Bendys, as well

 

[Gixxer1000]

Seems a bit strange that a car magazine would want to provide better buses.

Err no, a lot of car owners do use buses, and are affected by oversized buses taking up to much space on the road stradling multiple lanes, bendy bus stylee.