Winter Tyres

Cool Mo D

Is it time to consider fitting all scheduled buses with winter tyres between November and March? Winter tyres are made of softer rubber, with deeper grips than normal tyres. This means they wear out faster while it's warm, but they do not harden, and lose grip in cold weather. Winter tyres perform better in all weather below about 5degC, so they are not just good in the snow. Buses become the backbone of the transport system when we get weather like this, and they should really stay running as long as possible. Winter tyres would keep moderate hills and icy estates on bus routes, and buses running during all but the heaviest snow.

The cost would not be huge - winter tyres are a little more expensive than normal tyres, but the improved reliability would be worth it long term. Bus operators are buying tyres at the moment anyway, and I can't imagine that tyres are a massive expense for bus operators anyway.

dowlingm

Cool Mo D - I wouldn't underestimate the costs here. Remember, the existing tyres would have to be stored assuming there was some life left at the switchover time and then remounted/rebalanced. When Quebec made winter tyres compulsory for all vehicles a few years back, Canadian winter tyre supply got very tight as not enough supply had been obtained by the distributors. That said, I think there is a good case to make as long as supply has been guaranteed - fewer crashes could make the money back. Only problem then is - with the bus having better tyres the cars without winters may not maintain sufficient stopping distance. One thing at a time I suppose!

Cool Mo D

Storing and equipping tyres might be a problem for smaller operators alright, but I'd imagine that Dublin Bus could store their tyres out in Harristown or somewhere there is plenty of space, and they have the facilities in the depot to install them, I'm sure.

I would imagine it would be a gradual thing - build up a supply of tyres over a couple of years, and have them fitted to buses over the course of October and November.

To be honest, I doubt it would cause issues with drivers - most Irish tyres don't even know what a winter tyre is, never mind being able to tell if a bus is equipped with them.

Winter tyres wouldn't just prevent crashes - more importantly they would allow buses to keep serving currently off-limits areas, and run a full service into the evening in snowy conditions, rather than stopping at 8 or 9 pm.

CIE

Maybe tyre chains should be considered in the short term.

Ardennes1944

CIE wrote: »

Maybe tyre chains should be considered in the short term.

they are really for deep snow/ice and are overkill for the snow we get here imo