Double Deck Buses

[Mutant Lemming]

Are there more double deck buses in London than the rest of the world put together?

 

[306024]

Strange question, but taking it at face value there are about 5,000 double deckers in Hong Kong alone, so perhaps not The world is quite a big place.

 

[fowler9]

Loved the buses in Hong Kong. I pretty much only recall one single decker and we were on it one evening.

 

[Titfield]

Double Deck buses are not "universal" as such.
They tend to be found mainly in the UK and countries which had long historical associations with the UK from the days of Empire.
However having said that they are also found in the USA and Germany to name but two.

 

[fowler9]

There are a tiny number in Australia. I had a ride from the Bustech factory down the Gold Coast Highway on the first Bustech CDi which I believe is the first double Decker designed and built in Australia. That was pretty cool. Australia hardly rivals London for numbers though, ha ha.

 

[richw]

Loved the buses in Hong Kong. I pretty much only recall one single decker and we were on it one evening.

There are some ex Hong Kong darts with First in the southwest here now.

 

[Y961 XBU]

worth noting is there is only One Double Decker in Belgium and that is ex London, dont know what they use it for.

 

[RT4038]

There are double deck buses in Johannesburg too.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

worth noting is there is only One Double Decker in Belgium and that is ex London, dont know what they use it for.

I don't think that's right. Given that I've been on City Sightseeing around Brussels and there's another two firms who also operate fleets of ex Berlin deckers

 

[richw]

worth noting is there is only One Double Decker in Belgium and that is ex London, dont know what they use it for.

Near meer on the Belgium holland border there is a ex crosville Bristol flf Lodekka advertising Diana's sauna and exclusive men's club. I can't remember whether Meer is on the holland or Belgium side of border though.

 

[Andyh82]

Im sure there are more double decks in England outside of London than there are in London, never mind the rest of the world!

 

[edwin_m]

Many cities now have double deckers on tour bus duties. Originally a lot were bought from British operators with doors added on the offside where necessary - I recall finding some ex-Nottingham Volvos in Seville in 2001. However most now seem to be custom-built.

The European standard for maximum road vehicle height is lower than the British one. I suspect this is due to our tradition of having double decker buses and it probably causes some problems for people who want to operate them elsewhere in Europe.

 

[Deerfold]

Im sure there are more double decks in England outside of London than there are in London, never mind the rest of the world!

I would't be so sure. Many parts of the UK have few or no double deckers (when did "decks" replace "deckers"?).

There's 42,000 buses in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/243776/bus0601.xls

8,600 of these are in London, 5000 of these are double deckers.

So of 35,400 buses in the rest of the UK are more than 1 in 6 double deckers?

My personal experience is that the vast majority of bus journeys I make outside London are on single deckers.

 

[richw]

I would't be so sure. Many parts of the UK have few or no double deckers (when did "decks" replace "deckers"?).

There's 42,000 buses in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/243776/bus0601.xls

8,600 of these are in London, 5000 of these are double deckers.

So of 35,400 buses in the rest of the UK are more than 1 in 6 double deckers?

My personal experience is that the vast majority of bus journeys I make outside London are on single deckers.

In Cornwall for First at least it's about a 50% split due to them having a massive college contract that requires at least 30 double deckers. Those deckers can then turn up on absolutely any route outside of the am and pm college trip.

 

[306024]

Loved the buses in Hong Kong. I pretty much only recall one single decker and we were on it one evening.

We were visiting a bus garage in Hong Kong a few years ago as part of a transport study trip. Even the garage was multi storey. Anyway right outside the depot we saw a double decker had tried to leave the road and nose dive into the harbour.

You had to feel sorry for our hosts who wanted to show us their operation, but had to explain why they had parked a bus at such an odd angle

 

[edwin_m]

So of 35,400 buses in the rest of the UK are more than 1 in 6 double deckers?

My personal experience is that the vast majority of bus journeys I make outside London are on single deckers.

I would have thought the proportion outside London would easily exceed 1 in 6. While single deckers will be running many services in rural areas, I would have thought the non-London market is dominated by the PTE and other major urban areas, where double deckers seem to be in the majority.

 

[moogal]

In many larger towns and cities where you'd once have seen many double deckers you now mostly see single deck vehicles. This seems to stem from where you might previously have had a double decker every 20-30 mins on main routes, now you'll get a single deck every 8-15 mins to give a better "turn up and go" frequency.

 

[40129]

Living in the West Midlands my observations are that National Express (west Midlands and Coventry) still operate substantial number of double deckers. Arriva and Stagecoach also operate some though not as many as Midland Red did. On my occasional visits to Manchester (last time was May 2014) I noticed a large number of Stagecoach double deckers

 

[Rapidash]

I imagine its down to population density - the more people there are, the more financially vable they are

All the 'main' routes in Torbay are DD's these days, apart from the 66, IIRC. Even the 32 has gone up in the world! Similar story in Exeter as well.

The primary reason the suburban routes like the 18/FOX are run by Solo's is because the roads are a bit too tight in some locations.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Cardiff, despite being the capital of Wales and the ninth largest city in the country, has only twelve double deckers (a fleet of Scania N230UD/East Lancs Deckers), of which many of them are used on school runs in the peaks.

Ideally we need more.

 

[Andyh82]

There's probably about 800 double decks in West Yorkshire, First operate about 500 alone, which is about 50% of their fleet.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I imagine its down to population density - the more people there are, the more financially vable they are

.

In cities like Liverpool and Stoke-on-Trent double deckers are almost extinct while a number of rural services in Suffolk, like Sudbury to Hadleigh. Stowmarket to Bury St.dmunds are operated by double deckers. I didn't know Hong Kong (and also mainland China now too) had such large fleets so London is far from having most double deckers but would reckon it is a close call as to whether it has more than the rest of the UK put together - would say it does have more than the rest of England put together though.
It does seem difficult to get a full breakdown with out working it out from a pack of fleetlists though.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Would say it does have more than the rest of England put together though.

I wouldn't, as First, Stagecoach, Arriva and National Express West Midlands have very high quantities of deckers.

 

[fowler9]

In cities like Liverpool and Stoke-on-Trent double deckers are almost extinct while a number of rural services in Suffolk, like Sudbury to Hadleigh. Stowmarket to Bury St.dmunds are operated by double deckers. I didn't know Hong Kong (and also mainland China now too) had such large fleets so London is far from having most double deckers but would reckon it is a close call as to whether it has more than the rest of the UK put together - would say it does have more than the rest of England put together though.
It does seem difficult to get a full breakdown with out working it out from a pack of fleetlists though.

I wouldn't say they are almost extinct in Liverpool myself. Certainly not down my end of the city.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Liverpool has loads of double deckers, as have Leeds, Brum, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester & Edinburgh

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Liverpool has loads of double deckers

Would disagree - there is a handful on the some of the South end routes (79, 82, 86) and some of the cross river services. Virtually every other major arterial route including key high frequency services like the 10, 12, 13, 14 , every single route in the East and North of the city, most of the cross town services along with the rest of services down the South end are single decker operated. Double deckers operate literally about 4 or 5 routes and even then not exclusively.

Also some of the provincial fleets are not as big as people would imagine. Nottingham is England's largest municipal operator and only has a total of 363 vehicles not all of which are double deckers.

 

[6Gman]

Would disagree - there is a handful on the some of the South end routes (79, 82, 86) and some of the cross river services. Virtually every other major arterial route including key high frequency services like the 10, 12, 13, 14 , every single route in the East and North of the city, most of the cross town services along with the rest of services down the South end are single decker operated. Double deckers operate literally about 4 or 5 routes and even then not exclusively.

The original remark was that deckers were "almost extinct" in Liverpool, which is clearly incorrect.

 

[Hornet]

I think Dublin Bus is now a totally Double Decker service fleet.

 

[Deerfold]

I think Dublin Bus is now a totally Double Decker service fleet.

And most definitely not part of the UK

 

[Hornet]

And most definitely not part of the UK

OP mentioned rest of the world, so my point is valid.