Cold buses

[TheGrandWazoo]

It seems a bit mad but I it wouldn't surprise me. Since 1986 bus travel has become a second class system for people who have no choice. Hopefully things will start to improve with deregulation. That said I was on a Stagecoach yesterday while it was a bit cold the heater was working.

I must have different recollections of pre-1986. Vinyl seated Leyland Nationals with a noticeable lack of heat below the knee, or perhaps a Bristol RE or LH with a couple of box heaters feebling whirring away...

 

[Enthusiast]

- a couple of weeks back I rode on a Stagecoach service and was mildly horrified to see the first hopper window still had some sort of nonsense sticker on it about “protecting” everyone with fresh air, and was open accordingly - it was freezing!

Many London buses are similarly adorned and unfortunately many passengers obey those instructions.

I must have different recollections of pre-1986. Vinyl seated Leyland Nationals with a noticeable lack of heat below the knee, or perhaps a Bristol RE or LH with a couple of box heaters feebling whirring away...

Indeed. Before the advent of London's "Routemasters" the principle double deck class was the RT family (RT/RTL/RTW):

Countrybus.org

www.countrybus.org

These open platform buses had no heaters (apart from a very few buses used for "Green Line" service, which had a very rudimentary heater retro-fitted in the lower saloon). They were absolutely freezing. The Routemasters were scarcely much better. They had a grill at the front of the lower saloon and two small grills at the bottom of the top front windows. These dispensed a small flow of lukewarm air and were more draught producers than heaters,

Passengers don't know they're born today! They need to man up!

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

Give first Glasgow theit due this year the E200EV, E400 MMC and EV and even the Geminis I have been on are pretty warm and nothing was excessively warm in the summer this year.

 

[Geordie driver]

A cold bus on a winters day isn't the end of the world, people are wrapped up anyway, plus with the door opening every couple of hundred yards there is only so much you can do.

You could choose to have a separate diesel heater fitted, I seem to recall some coaches had these. But that costs money.

A bus purposely sent out with the saloon heaters jammed on at the height of summer is a disgrace. I have seen people close to passing out.

I got a bus blacked ( union refused to use it) due to it's heaters being jammed on. It soon got fixed.

 

[Busaholic]

Many London buses are similarly adorned and unfortunately many passengers obey those instructions.

Indeed. Before the advent of London's "Routemasters" the principle double deck class was the RT family (RT/RTL/RTW):

Countrybus.org

www.countrybus.org

These open platform buses had no heaters (apart from a very few buses used for "Green Line" service, which had a very rudimentary heater retro-fitted in the lower saloon). They were absolutely freezing. The Routemasters were scarcely much better. They had a grill at the front of the lower saloon and two small grills at the bottom of the top front windows. These dispensed a small flow of lukewarm air and were more draught producers than heaters,

Passengers don't know they're born today! They need to man up!

No wonder so many bus conductors perched on the front nearside seats during evening duties, particularly in winter, and many wore fingerless woollen gloves and scarves. Only bus drivers were issued coats, and they were verboten for the poor conductor.