Bendybus goes on fire...again.

Two things I don’t understand about bendy-busses:

1.) Why so many seem to catch fire yet ‘normal’ busses don’t seem to?
2.) How something so long can be used in a city with so many narrow streets?

Its turning radius is the same that the 12 m bus has.

I gather that this is the fifth?

Plenty of room to sit/stand and easy to get on and off.

and I gather that less-scrupulous passengers get on via the rear doors to avoid paying.

I imagine with Travelcards including free bus travel everywhere and Oyster fare capping, and free travel for kids, the amount of lost revenue isn't huge.



I'm sure they do, it just isn't reported widely because it isn't a "thing". Also, this is the first bendy to catch fire in ages.



The only really narrow streets are in the middle, and even then there's enough wide ones that bendies never encounter them - they're mainly deployed on trunk routes from the middle to the suburbs.

I think the reason was actually the distance the coolant had to travel from the engine to the radiator. It is a stupid design fault that Colin Curtis has described as very poor!

You'd be most unwise to stand close to the edge on that particular corner when one turns, they often mount the kerb there, despite claims the rear will move in the same path as the front, it doesn't !

Passengers holding passes or pre-paid tickets ARE allowed to board a bendy through ANY door, however this seems to have led to a notion you may board any bus through the middle doors, which you may not. When entering oyster cards are supposed to be swiped, but clearly are not, see them all rush to swipe when an inspector is sighted !

Whilst there have been some mechanical related fires on normal buses, the number on bendys is disproportionately high when compared to the numbers of various bus types in service. Most fires on double deckers are down to arson.

Another failing, is the driver, who has legal responsibility for ensuring the bus does not exceed it's authorised carrying capacity has no control and no idea how many passengers are actually on their bus.

Essentially most of the public hate them and politicians ignore public opinion at their peril !

The really simple way to severely cut back on fare dodging, disruptive passengers and overloading, while still having multiple entrances is to employ a second person on each bus. This person would have the responsibility and authority to check tickets/Oysters, remove disruptive passengers from the bus, avoid overcorwding and (with the driver) ensure the safety of the bus and its passengers. This will also reduce some delays by letting the driver drive rather than having to sort out passengers, etc.

Every job these days must have a snazzy title, and this one is no exception - I suggest this second person be known as a "conductor"...

Money before service again

What exactly is the licenced capacity of a Bendybus? They have about 50 seats and at 18 metres long, I cannot imagine cramming in more than 60 standees, giving a total of 110 passengers. Now, I have also heard the point of a bendybus is having a higher passenger density per square metre, thus allowing a more efficient use of road space. I therefore reckon the licenced capacity of a Bendy is far higher than 110 (so drivers need not worry about overloading!). Going by my practical max capacity of 110 passengers at 18 metres, this compares unfavourably with 90 passengers on a 9 metre double decker or 120 passengers on a 12 metre double decker.

Another issue is the lack of available road space in central London. You see busses blocking back in Oxford Street (since someone mentioned it) all the time. Nothing is more annoying than seeing up to three #73s or #25s close to empty in a short distance!

Yet another personal gripe about these busses is the general comfort level. Bendybusses are the most comfortable busses in London, if they are almost empty! Nothing beats the German chassis and refinement. This defeats the point of the bendybus however, as it is an inefficient use of road space when empty (which most routes are off-peak, minus the #25). When it is actually using road space well, conditions are extremely claustrophobic, and the 2-way flow of passenger traffic hopping on and off adds to the discomfort. At least, double deckers are still bearable when full because of the one-way flow of passengers.

If 12 metre double deckers indeed have the same turning radius as a bendybus (as someone mentioned), bring the tri-axles in! Half the ones in Hong Kong are made in UK afterall!

I may sound like a bendy-bus hater but I have seen them work well in the Chinese City of Xiamen which is full of triple carriageways and low overhead clearance. London is unfortunately different.

Couldn't find any details of the total passenger capacity for a bendy bus, but if you want to be seated on your journey

These details relate to First London Buses

Mercedes Benz Citaro (arctic) 49 seats
TN Class 9.9m Trident (short double deck) 59 seats
TNL Class 10.5m Trident (standard double deck) 65 seats
RML Class Routemaster (open platform double deck) 72 seats

Sadly the driver of a Mercedes Artic can not monitor the behaviour of passengers for the most part he can't see them at all.

My friend reciently had her purse stolen on a bus and upon reporting to the police, their first question "was it on a bendy bus?" apparantly they are a thieves paradise !

From a drivers perspective, yellow box junctions are a nightmare, if the rear of your bendy is in the box, you get a penalty ticket mailed to your employer, for you ! BUT you need such a long gap on the far side of a junction to get into, cars & taxis in the lane next to you simply go across and fill any gap before one of bendybus length appears. This is a big problem for a normal length bus, worse for an Artic driver. Oxford Street has consecutive yellow box junctions less than an Artic length apart so you need to wait for two junctions to clear to move.

On the plus side the cabs of these buses are a touch more luxurious than the standard fayre !

At the end of the day the driver has the keys to the bus - if he switches it off and refuses to move, people will get the message.

PA system on buses?! What happened to the driver shouting? That's what I always see happening for things like places ("Racecourse! Get off here for the racecourse!") or keeping the chavs under control ("GET YER FEET OFF THE SEATS!").

Having more than one door is difficult, Lothian are removing the back doors when they have time. They previously specified double doors but fare evasion was a problem. Also as bus stops and stations are laid out for a conventional layout the second door will often be either a way from the kerb, or right in front of a lamppost / bin.

The other problem with multiple doors is if the driver forgets he's on a dual door bus and opens the front doors out of habit, leaving people standing at the back door. Thankfully though back doors are fitted with emergency buttons.

Finally w.r.t. fire safety, has anybody ever seen a typical bus fire extinguisher? A few months ago after a recurring fuel leak our school bus almost caught fire - pulled up with smoke entering the saloon. The driver went to open the back and shut the engine down / pull the fuel cutoff lead, I broke open the extinguisher cabinet and took it to the back of the bus, the extinguisher itself was minuscule and would probably have had trouble putting out a match. Thankfully in this case it was just some smouldering and after yet another layer of gaffer tape on the fuel tank we were sent on our way...

I can assure you that having the keys means nothing - I have been in a situation where I was overloaded (a tube strike day of all things ;D) - I asked, then instructed people to leave the vehicle. They refused. I then switched off the engine and called the old bill. We finally got underway some 30 minutes later after the police had to physically remove people from my vehicle.

Yes that was an extreme situation (not helped with buses & taxis being the only way to get around) - but bus passengers can be that resilient - even more so I suspect, if they're not paying. If I were still a bus driver today, you couldn't pay me enough to drive a bendy.

If you can shout louder than 100+ people crammed into an 18 metre long bus, good luck to ya!

A fire extinguisher is never designed to put out a fire completely - yes, it's very a poor choice of name - a fire extinguisher is simply a first aid device to buy you time. Leave firefighting to those that know what they're doing...........I know I would!

I'm affraid your view is typical for someone who has never driven a bus in service, especially in London. I personally like two door buses - they speed loading and unloading, and to quote one driver, "You only have to see the tw*ts once!".

When I joined First Northampton, we had a mix of single and two door buses, I never heard of anyone forgetting to open the middle doors. All of the two door buses I have ever seen have had perfectly good mirrors for observing the exit door. The only passenger/ step accident I have ever had was when a drunk OAP fell down the step on a single door double deck Volvo D10M, knocking himself out in the process!