Double deckers in other countries?

[nw1]

Wondering what other countries, besides the UK, have double deckers?

I have been to various countries including many in Continental Europe, Canada and the USA and saw no double deckers.

The only other countries I am aware of which have them are:

Ireland (used extensively in Dublin, not sure elsewhere)
Hong Kong

Any others?

 

[station_road]

Lots around the world on site seeing routes - in normal service, I've used them in Singapore, Berlin, Sydney in Australia and Las Vegas

 

[Strathclyder]

In Ireland and aside from the Dublin-based operators, Bus Éireann is a noted user of the double-decker going back to the earliest days with Atlanteans and Bombardier KDs. Then of course you have the numerous independents smattered around the place that have at least one in their fleet.

In the Far East, Singapore is another major user of the double-decker with all major operators there (SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore & Go-Ahead Singapore) having large quantities in their respective fleets.

 

[AM9]

I've used them in Canada, Italy, Netherlands, and seen them in US, Germany and France. OK for longer journeys when settled down but a pain on commuter and metro services as there's always a huddle of standees blocking the doorways and sometimes the stairs.

edit: Ooops! I thought this was a thread about DD trains. I know it's Saturday but I must wake up before noon.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm surprised Malta never really took to them... they used to use old GB buses and with no railways it's not like they need to worry about low bridges much!

 

[Flange Squeal]

PostAuto (Switzerland), Metrobus (Mexico) and BVG (Germany) have fleets of Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 double deckers. I believe the initial order for the latter in Berlin consists of around 200 vehicles, with the potential for that to be more than doubled.

 

[Ken H]

PostAuto (Switzerland), Metrobus (Mexico) and BVG (Germany) have fleets of Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 double deckers. I believe the initial order for the latter in Berlin consists of around 200 vehicles, with the potential for that to be more than doubled.

I have used the BVG double deckers in berlin. Great way to see the city, and they fill in some awkward gaps in the rail based provision.

 

[AM9]

OK back on topic for this thread, I've definitely seen DD buses in the US, often as tourist vehicles. I wonder if there have ever been any attempts to take a DD bus under the notorious 11ft 8in bridge.

 

[nw1]

Interesting - never knew they existed in Germany but I haven't been to Berlin, only various places in the west and south.

And yes.. I meant DD buses
Ironically we seem to be one of the few countries not to have DD trains, which I have seen in much of continental Europe and (IIRC) the Caltrain commuter network in the Bay Area, which I used in 1996. (South San Francisco rail station, one of the rather more unnerving locations I've ever waited for a train at - I generally used the bus when I was there, but one day I decided to sample US trains).

 

[Ken H]

Interesting - never knew they existed in Germany but I haven't been to Berlin, only various places in the west and south.

And yes.. I meant DD buses
Ironically we seem to be one of the few countries not to have DD trains, which I have seen in much of continental Europe and (IIRC) the Caltrain commuter network in the Bay Area, which I used in 1996. (South San Francisco rail station, one of the rather more unnerving locations I've ever waited for a train at - I generally used the bus when I was there, but one day I decided to sample US trains).

Pic for you (Double decker berlin bus in yellow livery)

File:BERLIN BUS MAN DOUBLE DECKER ROUTE X34 NEAR KURPROMANADE SPAUDAU GATOW BERLIN GERMANY JUNE 2013 (9043124014).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

Wiki commons licence

 

[Djb1]

North Macedonia has a fleet of Yutong deckers in Skopje.

 

[Welly]

Stockholm has open top double decker buses and I saw at least one Leyland Atlantean there as well.

 

[BVW]

Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has Enviro500s.

 

[Robertj21a]

India
Jersey
Austria
Switzerland
Turkey

 

[Ianno87]

Singapore

 

[GusB]

Singapore

Already mentioned upthread.

 

[randyrippley]

In India I've seen pairs of double deckers coupled back-to-back and driven as a pair. No need to reverse at destination, driver simply swaps cabs and powers up what was the trailer.

And of course you have these beasties

 

[Tom Gallacher]

Paris uses them for sightseeing tours.

 

[Vespa]

Sherwood Park to Edmonton Alberta Canada have double decker buses fleet made up of Enviro500 and they also regularly runs to the University of Alberta.

 

[Arriva Fan]

Isle Of Man have them.

They used to form the majority of the Fleet, until 2011 when the preferred type switched to Mercedes Citaro.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Stockholm has open top double decker buses and I saw at least one Leyland Atlantean there as well.

There are double deckers in service with a couple of other Swedish regional transit agencies. There are some in Skåne; Transdev drive some for Länstrafiken Norrbotten / Västerbotten on the express route between Haparanda and Umeå, and Transdev already drive a small fleet for SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik). We've even had a couple of bus/bridge arguments. None seem to be in use on urban routes, most are on regional or inter-regional commuter and express lines.

 

[Bayum]

I’ve watched a view bus route videos of Hong Kong and I can’t get over how much like the UK it seems with the variety and similarity of bus bodies!

 

[busesrusuk]

The Enviro 500 is becoming increasingly popular in North America - especially Canada but a large fleet operate operate on local services in Las Vegas; as befits the place one or two of the drivers are real entertainers using the PA system to good effect to keep a happy bus(!).

A number of deckers were exported to the middle East in the 70s to places such as Baghdad and Kuwait who had large fleets of Atlanteans whilst Athens bought 20 or so Leyland Olympians. Istanbul had a fleet of Optare Spectras whilst large numbers of second hand London Buses ended up in South Africa and Ceylon. I believe that Dubai now has a sizeable fleet of deckers to.

Berlin has been mentioned and of course the far east has always been a haven of double deck operation as is Australia. Couple of pics showing a variety from various visits:

Citybus 2295 HK16 | Dennis Trident/Duple Metsec 2295 at Aber… | Flickr
Berlin BVG 3440 Apr 19 | Berlin Hauptbahnhof | Keith Wood | Flickr
Long Win 8536 HK17 | Tung Chung | Keith Wood | Flickr
Topless Tours 10 Jan 17 | Cape Town waterfront, Jan 2017 | Flickr
Liberty Bus 2606 Jul19 | St Helier, Jersey. July 2019 | Flickr
Preserved Carris 255 Aug21 | Buses Festival 2021 | Keith Wood | Flickr

An example of the Vegas buses:
RTC Nevada 180 Oct19 | Bonneville Transit Center, Oct 2019 | Keith Wood | Flickr

 

[LOL The Irony]

I’ve watched a view bus route videos of Hong Kong and I can’t get over how much like the UK it seems with the variety and similarity of bus bodies!

Probably has something to do with the fact it was part of the UK until 1997. They even have double decker trams, like the UK (well, Blackpool).

 

[Robertj21a]

I’ve watched a view bus route videos of Hong Kong and I can’t get over how much like the UK it seems with the variety and similarity of bus bodies!

Presumably because most are British products!

 

[Bayum]

Probably has something to do with the fact it was part of the UK until 1997. They even have double decker trams, like the UK (well, Blackpool).

Yes, but their double decker trams are… Simple, metallic boxes. Literally. Whether it was part of the UK or not doesn’t mean that they would buy the same bodies buses 14 years later!

 

[Cambus731]

Skopje in North Macedonia have those odd looking London inspired Yutong Masters. I think they look like something from a children's merry go-round.

 

[Busaholic]

Nobody's mentioned the Unitrans fleet based in Davis, California which for decades from 1967 featured ex-London RTs and one RTL. I'm not sure whether one or two of them are still owned, or even see occasional service. I believe modern doubledeckers replaced some of these buses.

 

[busesrusuk]

Yes, but their double decker trams are… Simple, metallic boxes. Literally. Whether it was part of the UK or not doesn’t mean that they would buy the same bodies buses 14 years later!

The trams are a bit more than that. Despite their "heritage" looks, the trams are as up to date as any modern tram system in Europe. The electronics are state of the art - they keep updating the "internals" to ensure that they as efficient as possible. They are amazing things to ride on and they are a quintessential part of the fabric of Hong Kong.

Originally, the franchises issued by the HK government had a "buy British" clause in them hence why all the buses in HK were of UK origin. That requirement disappeared in the early 80's (IIRC) and other manufacturers stepped up to the plate such as Scania and various Japanese manufacturers.

The fact that UK companies are still supplying the vast majority of buses speaks of an industry that reacts and listens to its customers to provide exactly what they want. The development of HK buses by ADL has enabled them to use that platform to supply the Enviro500 across the globe.

It will be interesting times ahead as Hong Kong start moving towards electric buses - the Chinese have become market leaders in battery technology and it will interesting to see if the UK manufacturers continue to supply complete vehicles or just supply the bodywork on chassis produced by the likes of BYD. Of course, the ADL bodywork is assembled locally across the border in southern China.

 

[py_megapixel]

It will be interesting times ahead as Hong Kong start moving towards electric buses - the Chinese have become market leaders in battery technology and it will interesting to see if the UK manufacturers continue to supply complete vehicles or just supply the bodywork on chassis produced by the likes of BYD. Of course, the ADL bodywork is assembled locally across the border in southern China.

The E400EV and E200EV are both already effectively bodywork on a BYD chassis. I imagine any hypothetical future E500EV would be too.