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Anybody from London? the Bendy bus what do you think?

What's the point of bendy-buses? I find a double decker good enough. I guess bendy buses are just for routes with low bridges?

I don't know what the model is, but on some buses here they have these nice new double deckers which are really nice, LCD bus number/destination displays and stuff, and sometimes even flat screens inside displaying news headlines (and adverts of course).

Damn, I so badly hate those rickety old things you sometimes get though. The bus company always put nasty ones on for the day trips they run, because even though they're the longest journeys they don't want to waste a nice comfy bus on a trip where it's going to spend most of its time parked.

Reply 21

MorbidAngel

11

bendy busses add to traffic problems

1: there longer. the driver tries to get out but cant get the back half round until traffic infront clears. meanwhile the back id blocking traffic in the other direction.

2: there longer and take up space. whats wrong with double decker busses? they take less space and seat similar numbers

3: they need stay to the the opposite side there turning like trucks do so they can get round. they then block both lanes adding to the traffic problems. whereas a normal bus can get round.

4: again, there longer so often cannot fit in standard bus stops to the side of the road without there ass sticking out, meaning people have to then wait for traffic on the other side to clear so they can overtake

Reply 22

thefish_uk

14

MorbidAngel

bendy busses add to traffic problems

1: there longer. the driver tries to get out but cant get the back half round until traffic infront clears. meanwhile the back id blocking traffic in the other direction.

2: there longer and take up space. whats wrong with double decker busses? they take less space and seat similar numbers

3: they need stay to the the opposite side there turning like trucks do so they can get round. they then block both lanes adding to the traffic problems. whereas a normal bus can get round.

Yup... they stink... you rarely see them round here.

I think they're used for routes with low bridges though which a double decker would be... truncated on.

Reply 23

Geeeza

OP

Kingspharm

They're good because they have decent engines in them and go faster than most of the other buses in London.

They're bad, because TfL use them on stupid narrow routes, they always get stuck and cause more congestion (as do all buses) than they relieve. Also, most of the routes they serve are rough and full of pikies, so you get undesirable miscreants on them, vandalizing the buses (which cost about £100k to buy?) and eating their fried chicken and just dropping the bones and other ***** on the floor.

Eww, pikie ****ers.

Due you got that wrong, i use the buses almost everyday, and the bendy buses are way slower than the route master (double deckers) Some drivers cant do alot with bendy buses and just drive reall slow!! I bet any money that a race between a Bendy Bus and a Route Master (double decker) the Route Master will win by miles!!

Reply 24

Paeony

11

I have to say that while the bendy buses and modern and lovely, and are so much more accessible, for totally selfish reasons I'm really, really going to miss the old fashioned buses when they take them off my local routes sometime next month :frown:

Nothing quite beats the thrill of waiting for the driver to speed up then trying to get down the aisle of the top deck ... and the excitment of flying down the stairs and swinging off the pole at the back when the driver hits the brakes ... happy times :smile:

Plus, old they may be, but they do look cool :biggrin:

.

Reply 25

Queen_A

10

I'd have to agree with the post above, and add that I'm wondering why people hven't brought up the abount that the governmnet are losing by using these buses. I used to get the 25 for hours to get into London (the enitire journey took about 2 hrs), and the number of people who hopped on for a couple of stops and had clearly bought no ticket (and frankly, who would?) or bus pass for the journey. OK...do the bus drivers can be duped, but using double deckers does deter some people! WE need all the money we can get to improve the transport system.

*starbuck*

They used to have bendy buses in Sheffield and I loved them! :biggrin:

Yep, we did used to have them in Sheffield..that was back in the 80's I think...I don't think I saw one from the early 90s until about 2 years ago when they started to get a few up here in York.

I never minded the things. It was always a bit of an 'adventure' going on one when I was really young, as they were so strange and weird :biggrin:

Reply 27

ceepee

The problem is that TfL loves to focus on image (why else have they produced roundels for every bit of TfL...? The more conservative might argue that that was a complete waste of money). Do the LCD screens inside buses (including the "articulated" buses) make your journey any better? Nope, but they make you want to feel that it's better because it's all modern. Bendy buses work in Europe in cities such as Bordeaux because the roads are more suitable and they don't have congestion issues on London proportions.

Re: smell problem - I think this is similar to the issue on the Jubilee line. It smells like a urinal despite the fact the trains are only a few years old.

Still, we live and learn. At vast expense. (That said, bendies are exceedingly scrumptious for the occasional fare dodger in each of us... :P)

Reply 28

The Colonel

13

AT82

They have been operating them in Manchester since 1998, nothing new, I don't go on them that much, as for who ever said they are the cause of congestion well lets make the 120 people on that bus all drive a car each instead :smile:

.

DO they ever actually carry 120 people though? That is maximum capacity that is never fulfilled. At least a mum and her 4x4 has one adult and normally a couple of kids

Reply 29

username21537

2

Bendy busses are no more congestion causing than standard busses.

Reply 30

The Colonel

13

MR_JR

Bendy busses are no more congestion causing than standard busses.

Apart from the fact their twice as long :rolleyes:

A double decker can carry the same no. of people.

Reply 31

username21537

2

The Colonel

Apart from the fact their twice as long :rolleyes:

A double decker can carry the same no. of people.

Meaning that they can carry more people. And a lot of the time, they ARE pretty full... Someone else said it first, but lets see the difference when we take everyone on that bus and put them in cars...

Perhaps i should retract that they are just as congestion causing.... but we cant just replace bendys with double deckers - bridges are one thing to worry about and i can think of any other things at the moment...

Reply 32

The Colonel

13

MR_JR

Meaning that they can carry more people. And a lot of the time, they ARE pretty full... Someone else said it first, but lets see the difference when we take everyone on that bus and put them in cars...

Perhaps i should retract that they are just as congestion causing.... but we cant just replace bendys with double deckers - bridges are one thing to worry about and i can think of any other things at the moment...

Ok then have 2 single deckers and run them more frequenctly. They are NEVER full but it would imoprove the timtable and make bus trveling more realistic for many peopel.

Reply 33

username21537

2

^^

2 single deckers.... are bigger than a bendy bus, because the space that the drivers cabin occupies in a single decked bus isnt there for the second half of the bendy bus. Also, it would be cheaper to run the one because of drivers etc.

And obviously youve never seen a bus after school/work/on a weekend...... If thats not full then Martin Luther King was white

Reply 34

The Colonel

13

MR_JR

^^

2 single deckers.... are bigger than a bendy bus, because the space that the drivers cabin occupies in a single decked bus isnt there for the second half of the bendy bus. Also, it would be cheaper to run the one because of drivers etc.

And obviously youve never seen a bus after school/work/on a weekend...... If thats not full then Martin Luther King was white

So what end of the bendy bus does he (martin luther king) have to sit on, is it seperate for black and white peopel? :p:

Reply 35

DaveManUK

10

The Colonel

So what end of the bendy bus does he have to sit on? :p:

there are 2 drivers one for the front and one for the back

Reply 36

Kayz

1

DaveManUK

there are 2 drivers one for the front and one for the back

lol you sure?? I thought there was only one driver at the front?

Reply 37

Seabiscuit

Bendy Buses are the ridiculous. I almost feel like I have to tolerate it because they spent half a million of our cash on it all. What they did with Bendy-buses were to take out the seats because we obviously loved being on our feet for long journeys after a long day and being packed in as much as you can is great for everyones health when you're stuck next to the great unwashed travelling public

Yep, nobody ever pays because the chances of getting caught is very slim indeed. Instead of spending money making little red ticket machines, why didn't they just employ conductors from the Routemasters to bring in revenue instead of little to no inspectors on them.

Very stupid idea - okay in Germany but then again Germany and other European countries know how to run a decent public transport system - we don't and London cannot accomodate them.

Sure you can get on at all three doors and thats quicker, wow but you know what, I'd rather spend 20 more seconds getting on and actually having somewhere to rest my buttocks...

Reply 38

sparklyglitter

10

I've not been on one in London but I catch one almost every day here.I hate them.I always end up standing on the bit which bends and falling everywhere and they are always crowded.I hate buses!