How old should buses be at withdrawal.

[northwichcat]

On the age of buses, I don't think this is much of an issue from a passenger viewpoint - as long as the bus isn't obviously decrepit, a bus twenty years old looks remarkable similar to one just out of the factory these days.

The level of noise from the engine gives it away though. There's a route near me which is mainly operated by 64 reg Enviro 200s. Sometimes a 10 year old DART fills in and while the sound is similar, the noise level of the DART is much louder.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The level of noise from the engine gives it away though. There's a route near me which is mainly operated by 64 reg Enviro 200s. Sometimes a 10 year old DART fills in and while the sound is similar, the noise level of the DART is much louder.

Yes that is another quirk with the populace of today - the roar of an Atlantean being too much for the delicate hearing of modern homo sapien (although shoving miniature speakers in to your ears and turning up the volume to the same decibel level as an Atlantean engine is fine).

 

[kevjs]

Just found this:



http://www.expressandstar.com/news/...urish-firm-ran-unsafe-buses-in-wolverhampton/

Oh, well that's Travel Express dealt with, anyway...


As for Banga Buses, the last thing I can find about them is a news article from years back, again from the Express and Star, saying that they were considering changing their name...

apparently a few of ncts non-dda compliant solos have been made compliant and gone to Banga.... All there aincent 2001 and earlier solos seem to have been withdrawn from service

 

[northwichcat]

Yes that is another quirk with the populace of today - the roar of an Atlantean being too much for the delicate hearing of modern homo sapien (although shoving miniature speakers in to your ears and turning up the volume to the same decibel level as an Atlantean engine is fine).

As someone who has sensitive hearing I don't choose to listen to music at loud levels as doing so would hurt my ears. However, I can't ask the driver to turn down the volume of an engine on an old bus but that doesn't mean the old bus can't irritate my ears if I'm on it for too long.

Remember in the olden days many workers in factories and mills had suffered hearing loss due to the noisy machinery at their work place, so if they caught the bus to/from work they wouldn't hear the bus engine as loud as most people today would hear it.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

As someone who has sensitive hearing I don't choose to listen to music at loud levels as doing so would hurt my ears. However, I can't ask the driver to turn down the volume of an engine on an old bus but that doesn't mean the old bus can't irritate my ears if I'm on it for too long.

Remember in the olden days many workers in factories and mills had suffered hearing loss due to the noisy machinery at their work place, so if they caught the bus to/from work they wouldn't hear the bus engine as loud as most people today would hear it.

As we get older the nostalgia takes over and we often hanker for things which although may not have been better in actual terms seemed better to us.
One such is the 'last bus exodus' which the distinctive roar of Atlantean engines will resonate with many of a certain age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuliHoofMwo

 

[Busaholic]

As we get older the nostalgia takes over and we often hanker for things which although may not have been better in actual terms seemed better to us.
One such is the 'last bus exodus' which the distinctive roar of Atlantean engines will resonate with many of a certain age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuliHoofMwo

God, I still miss those horse buses.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

God, I still miss those horse buses.

Clop Clop Clop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7wvatHTJo

 

[fgwrich]

Look at Transdev's B10BLEs - they don't come across as 10-15 years old!

Or even quite a lot of First's. I find it quite interesting to see how much difference in Vehicle Specifications have paid off over the years, With First still running a sizeable and still rather modern in appearance Volvo Wright Renown's and the equivalent Scania's in many areas, whereas you don't see many similar aged Stagecoach vehicles left in service with Stagecoach bought around the same time - (the ALX Dart and early batches of Plaxton Pointer's for example). I know Stagecoach has had a fair amount more of money to spend over the years, but both the Wright Renown & Solar / Eclipse bodywork has lasted very well over the years, apart from the reg plate you could almost be hard pressed to tell you might be travelling on a 1998 produced bus - If it has been looked after rather well of course!

 

[AM9]

The design of buses has just evolved to keep pace with the changing population. How many 'modern-sized ' people can sit two abreast on the double seats of an RT? They are also designed with the general dumbing down/compensation culture elements - as in no rear platforms to fall off etc. and for the terminally lazy who believe it is their right to wheel a pram laden with cans of dog food in to the wheelchair space at the expense of spaces for other passengers. The buses we have now are fine for the people they serve.

Well as far as I recall, the seats on the RTs and the RTWs were the same size so they would have a similar amount of room to modern bus seats. Also they did had more legroom, - that was noticeable when the RMs came in. Modern buses are rubbish for legroom.

 

[Busaholic]

Well as far as I recall, the seats on the RTs and the RTWs were the same size so they would have a similar amount of room to modern bus seats. Also they did had more legroom, - that was noticeable when the RMs came in. Modern buses are rubbish for legroom.

The 7'6'' RT had the same seats as the 8' wide RTW, but ony 4 inches of the extra width in the latter was used in the gangway. The other 2 inches were used to provide a 1 inch wall spacer on each seat either side of the gangway, so the impression of extra space was always there, especially for a person sitting on the gangway side of a double seat. It was also better for the conductor and the up-to-five standing passengers.