Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

London unveils design for next-gen double-decker bus [w/video]

Northern Ireland's Wrightbus has officially won the contract to build London's next double-decker bus – the new Routemaster – and this is what it will look like. This rendering of the final version comes from the winning entry in the design contest, drawn up by Capoco Design. That drawing was given to Wrightbus and made ready for actual use on the streets of The City.

Although it's roughly ten feet longer than the old Routemaster, it seats two fewer people, but those 62 folks will have a better time of it getting in and out with three points of entry. Also improved are means of accessing all areas of the bus with two staircases inside, and extensive use of glass aims to keep the behemoth from appearing so behemoth-y.

Having been blessed by London Mayor Boris Johnson himself, the new Routemaster will be showing up on London roads in 2012. Follow the jump to look around it for now.

Source/video:
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/20/l...r-bus-w-video/

Nextourer

That "S" shaped window design is pretty unique. Presumably, that's where 1 of 2 staircases reside?

encore888

I also like how it has the rounded look reminiscent of the famed previous double-deckers, since retired for a more boxy shaped one.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Looks very modern chic.

Purists will hate it.

mmarshall

Somebody tell me how those double-decker bus drivers keep from constantly flipping them on their sides, particularly when the upper-deck is filled with people and you have a got-awful center of gravity. They must take every corner at 2 or 3 MPH.

yuenchiu6

In all the places operating the double-decker, it is unlawful for passengers to stand on the upper deck otherwise the bus driver has the right to refuse to drive the bus. Also before entering the service, when getting approval to be on the road, the manufacturer has to do the tilt test which the bus will be
tilted for 28 degree with fully loaded stimulation to make sure the bus will not be flipped under full load condition. In Hong Kong, where 90% of the public buses are double-decker, the bus operators need to report to the Transport Department and have the bus redo the tilt test if they make changes on the seating configuration or make the change on the powertrain.

djyoshi626

iTrader: (5)

If you ever go to HK, I'm scared shiatless because of the speed in which they take the busses! They go probably the equivalent of 10-15 MPH on tight city turns, and whatever you think of bad tailgating here in the states is, it's much worse over there

Gojirra99

I wonder if HK will get these too LOL ...

djyoshi626

iTrader: (5)

They look nice, but it seems like HK already replaced all the older ones with newer/modern ones, unless this bus has significant amount of MPG or KPL difference, I don't see a point IMHO.

yuenchiu6

They are way too small for HK. In HK, we need the buses able to carry 124-128
passengers including standees. At the same time, the buses need to be powerful enough to climbs the hills between Kowloon and NT and driving the compressors of the air-condition unit.

Anyway the builder of the new London bus, Wrightbus, is also the major bus body supplier of HK also.

nthach

They're low floor buses - the lower floor sits about 6" off the ground. I ride buses on a daily basis, and I've seen bus drivers in San Francisco hauling *** in a 60' articulated bus down Geary and taking turns hard. I've been in 45' MCI touring/commuter coaches that almost had close calls with cars. However, the MCI has a self-steering "tag" axle which turns in the opposite direction of the bus up to 15 degrees - think GM's Quadrasteer or Honda's 4 wheel steering on the old Prelude. The 60 footers have a locking articulated join which prevents the bus from jackknifing.

Conventional buses have their floors 1-3" feet off the ground. Newer ones in America have their front section 6" high, with the rear at conventional height.

superchan7

Hong Kong doesn't have a demand for the Routemaster "look," so the bus shape is not constrained and can be optimized for the highest capacity and lowest floor.

However, HK Transport Department requires a 3rd axle for any vehicle over a certain weight. Only after significant R&D by UK bus suppliers have 2-axle double-deckers finally become light enough to return to Hong Kong just this year.

Will be interesting to see this "modern Routemaster" develop further. I can imagine people in London must be fairly interested in putting that model on the roads.

Big Andy

Double-deckers never tip over. They are have a lightweight aluminium body with the engine and mechanicals mounted low on a heavy chassis. Even with the top deck fully loaded they can corner at quite high speeds - in fact if you ever see the tests it's pretty amazing the cornering speeds they can achieve.

The previous Labour London administration started phasing out the double-decker buses and brought in these bendy buses which have been a complete disaster - they are so long they block junctions, cause traffic hold-ups and are completely wrong for London streets. One of the first thing the new Mayor, Boris Johnson, said when he took over was that he was going to get rid of the bendy buses and and order a new double-decker design. I'm pleased he's delivering on that promise.

Just to reassure you mmarshall - here's a an old film of buses being tested at the Chiswick works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2_T4...eature=related

You've got to love the music and accent - where did they find people who talked like that?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i've seen tests done on these buses and they're surprisingly resistant to rollover! in fact i've never seen one tip over.

edit: great video Andy! and hilariously old!