EVs (new Dublin Bus type) enter service (inc pics)

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Wishbone Ash wrote:

(Articulated buses have 10 wheels - 2 on front, 4 in centre and 4 at rear).

why do they use Articulated buses?

shltter

DesF wrote:

I love this new bus, comfortable and, best of all, quiet.

Personally I think they are ****e

The entrance door is too low anyone over 5'10 is going to take the top off their head

The seats at the back downstairs are ridiculous you nearly have to crawl out of them

And my personal favourite is the crazy restraining bar for the wheelchair spot that extends lethally into the gangway in the way of entering and alighting passengers particularly dangerous for younger children it is only a matter of time before some child has their faced smashed on this device particularly as the brakes are a bit tight on these as well.


Some good features like a reversing camera are outweighed by the bad design features.


And they are all quiet when they are new;)

MiniD

Ahmad Orange Pumpernickel wrote:

why do they use Articulated buses?

They can carry more people than a double decker. I think the type in service with Dublin bus carry 143 passengers.

The problem with articulated buses in Dublin, is that there was no on-street planning given to these vehicles. Bus bays were not extended and these buses often shared a stop with other frequent routes, making it near impossible to let people on or off safely. Because of this, the centre doors were not used by drivers, and passengers were forced to squeeze up through the whole bus to get off, delaying dwell time at stops.

As a result, Dublin Bus have swapped these buses from route to route, and despite being in service for years, there is still no priority given to this vehicle type, or the stops they serve. It is not uncommon to see the end of Grafton Street blocked by the tail of an AW picking up passengers on the number 4. Although, route 4 seems to suit these buses a lot better than the 10, where they ran for a few years.

This type of bus is used in other cities and operated much more efficiently using both doors with properly designed bus stops.

Wishbone Ash

MiniD wrote:

used in other cities and operated much more efficiently using both doors

Especially the Mercedes Citaro which has 3 doors.

Zoney

The articulated buses with multiple doors (or even the double-decks with twin doors) don't suit Dublin Buses ticketing and fare-evasion mitigation methods. Thus they end up with the same crazy queuing at the one entrance which is even worse if the bus is higher capacity like the articulated ones are. No reason a Luas-type ticketing approach with the random checks couldn't be used with articulated buses.

Bus Éireann plan to use fancy new articulated buses in the regional cities on high traffic routes; I fully expect it to be a disaster if they don't have new ticketing methods (not to mention the street design aspect). It'll be a disaster anyways in Limerick (UL->city centre) thanks to plonking retail parks, shopping centres and hotels and extra junctions/traffic lights along the clogged arterial routes that don't have bus lanes. Putting bus lanes in would be interesting, considering part of the route already has 3/4 lanes of normal traffic that get jammed solid at random times depending on how many people are using the retail parks.

BTW - these new DB double-deckers look like any others but prettified (read uglier) and less practical.

RuggieBear

i try to get the 4 as much as possible. i love the long buses. i do however suffer the problem of having to fight your way down the entire length when getting off a crowed one.

This bend in ballycoolin....is that the sharp narrow bend with the garden wall protruding right out on the 40D route? Now that's a mad bend!

I like to sit at the bottom rear of the buses as you get more leg room. these new buses are defo not going on the 40D route? Right? don't think my fat arse could cope with tose dart like bucket seats

Actually could someone explain the plaement of the bars at the bottom rear of soem of the slightly older buses...makes it uncomfortable to sit two people on the rear right seats facing backwards and on the left seated forwards...

markpb

Zoney wrote:

The articulated buses with multiple doors (or even the double-decks with twin doors) don't suit Dublin Buses ticketing and fare-evasion mitigation methods.

Fare evasion is always given as one of the reasons why the middle doors aren't used by DB. I can vouch for the fact that a lot of drivers on the 17A do let people exit by the middle doors on a regular basis and it's much faster for it. No-one in their right mind could accuse a bus travelling through Finglas, Ballymun, Coolock and Kilbarrack of being posh so I can think we knock that one on the head and go on to blame DCC and the Gardai for poor parking enforcement instead.

As an aside, I totally agree with you that DB should be moving towards pre-paid ticket machines and much higher ticket enforcement levels.

Wishbone Ash

RuggieBear wrote:

could someone explain the plaement of the bars at the bottom rear of soem of the slightly older buses...makes it uncomfortable to sit two people on the rear right seats facing backwards and on the left seated forwards...

Extra support for the upper deck??

RuggieBear

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Extra support for the upper deck??

yeah i suppose but there must be a more practical/elegant solution...:)

Victor

If you mean at waist level over the wheel arches its to stop people breaking the windows.

antoinolachtnai

markpb wrote:

Fare evasion is always given as one of the reasons why the middle doors aren't used by DB. I can vouch for the fact that a lot of drivers on the 17A do let people exit by the middle doors on a regular basis and it's much faster for it. No-one in their right mind could accuse a bus travelling through Finglas, Ballymun, Coolock and Kilbarrack of being posh so I can think we knock that one on the head and go on to blame DCC and the Gardai for poor parking enforcement instead.

As an aside, I totally agree with you that DB should be moving towards pre-paid ticket machines and much higher ticket enforcement levels.

My understanding was that insurance is the issue, rather than fare evasion.

KC61

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Extra support for the upper deck??

Nothing of the sort.

There has to be a grab bar available for someone getting up from a corner seat that they can hold onto and that was the reason.

Newer buses have grab rails in alternative locations.