Odd question

markpb

I was on a Luas on a particularly sunny day last week and it occured to me that one of the reasons* the Luas is so nice are the large windows and glass doors. The whole carriage is very light, feels very spacious (much more-so than on a bus) but because the windows are tinted, it doesn't get very warm unless it's quite hot outside.

So my question is... why aren't buses like that? Are the windows smaller because the buses are double-deckers?



* Obviously things like reliability, speed, etc are much more important than comfort.

Borzoi

markpb wrote:

So my question is... why aren't buses like that? Are the windows smaller because the buses are double-deckers?
.

I think alot is do do with the interior height. A low ceiling will always make a place seem small - buses, in particular, double deckers have very low ceilings - to still allow them under most normal bridges etc. LUAS isn't so constarined, so will fell more airy

Wishbone Ash

Becuase the Luas runs on rails, it is is not subjected to the same pressures and contortions that uneven road surfaces and cambers would exert on the framework of a bus. Very large windows on a bus would be unlikely to widthstand these pressures without breaking.

Zoney

markpb wrote:

I was on a Luas on a particularly sunny day last week and it occured to me that one of the reasons* the Luas is so nice are the large windows and glass doors. The whole carriage is very light, feels very spacious (much more-so than on a bus) but because the windows are tinted, it doesn't get very warm unless it's quite hot outside.

So my question is... why aren't buses like that? Are the windows smaller because the buses are double-deckers?

Well, the low-floor single deck buses that the regional cities have had since about 2000 do have far larger windows than old buses and the Dublin Bus double-deckers. They feel less clausterphobic than the rather narrow Luas carriages too - though the ample standing room is often well used which acts against the extra space. They aren't much fun either given they're used on routes the likes of UL-city centre that at least need double deckers (and if it had them, the extra patronage of knowing you'd always get onto the bus and not have to wait for the next one would bring things back to the same state again - really high frequency double-deckers with a bus corridor should be order of the day).

What are the brand new Dublin Bus double-deckers like - the tri-axle ones and the other ones?

Fratton Fred

Dont forget that every 5 minutes half of one side opens up and lets fresh air in as well.

The Luas is a nice way to tavel, it could just do with being a bit faster in my opinion.

markpb

Zoney wrote:

What are the brand new Dublin Bus double-deckers like - the tri-axle ones and the other ones?

As things would have it, I was on an EV last night and thought it was quite nice but not a huge improvement on the older AV/AX buses. Removing the barrier in between the seats and the wheelchair area makes it feel a lot roomier.

I've been on VTs a few times and hated them, really narrow middle door, long narrow aisle, felt very cramped and uncomfortable.

It just occurred to me that the AW bendi-buses have the same small windows and they're (thankfully) not double decker - yet