Why don't buses have offside cab doors anymore?

[Christmas]

Just like the question says really. The last buses I remember with cab doors that opened into the road were the Tayside Citybuses or the various Mercedes minibus bodies. So I wonder why they have fallen out of favour? Which was best, the sliding door or the hinged type? What do drivers think?

 

[JonathanH]

So I wonder why they have fallen out of favour? Which was best, the sliding door or the hinged type? What do drivers think?

Driver doors were never in favour on one person operated vehicles. The driver needs access to the inside of the vehicle. Putting a door on the driver's side means less space for functions / switches that are placed on that side of the vehicle - eg the handbrake and gear selector in some cases.

 

[Flying Snail]

More openings to let in draughts and more bits not properly screwed down to rattle.

Driver controls are usually placed on the side bulkhead and the space below is used for equipment with low floor vehicles in particular having very little space to squeeze in the necessary parts without impinging on passenger space.

They were mostly only necessary for front-engined buses and coaches as the engine gets in the way of the driver stepping out of the cab inside the bus.

 

[Geordie driver]

The various mini buses with driver side doors were like that as they were adaptions of normal vans. Real buses don't need them.

 

[CN04NRJ]

Whenever I had an Ailsa I just used to climb over the engine instead, the sliding doors (as opposed to swing doors on Northern Counties ones) on the ex-Merseybus ones I drove were great in summer though.

 

[cnjb8]

The various mini buses with driver side doors were like that as they were adaptions of normal vans. Real buses don't need them.

Exactly. They are around today if you count the Sprinter City or EVM Cityline vehicles as buses!

 

[Tom Gallacher]

Just like the question says really. The last buses I remember with cab doors that opened into the road were the Tayside Citybuses or the various Mercedes minibus bodies. So I wonder why they have fallen out of favour? Which was best, the sliding door or the hinged type? What do drivers think?

Probably because every bus since the demise of the Ailsa nowadays is rear or mid engined - apart from van conversions obviously.

 

[AndrewE]

a) cost (an opening and a closure that can be avoided)?
b) safety - no possibility of emerging into passing traffic?

 

[northernbelle]

a) cost (an opening and a closure that can be avoided)?
b) safety - no possibility of emerging into passing traffic?

I think the safety argument is a sound one - I've heard stories in the past of drivers being killed by jumping out of a half cab into moving traffic.

 

[Caleb2010]

Whenever I had an Ailsa I just used to climb over the engine instead, the sliding doors (as opposed to swing doors on Northern Counties ones) on the ex-Merseybus ones I drove were great in summer though.

Me too, till they installed a security screen- which was basically an ECW cab window on top of the engine cover!!!!