The "new" Routemaster, any thoughts?

Going Forward

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2075177/21st-century-version-Routemaster-unveiled-Boris-Johnson.html

An ugly looking thing IMO.

This thing has a front like, well, the back of a bus!
Much greener no doubt:rolleyes:

dublinman1990

The article you have in the OP seems to repeat itself sometimes, very annoying.:mad:

I can't believe there is no new top speed on the routemaster. It sound like when the bus is launched on the day, it would suggest that it will break down in seconds. Which make the passengers go like this >

Cookie_Monster

no top speed means it'll break down straight away


They're ugly looking things, far too rounded

charlemont

I think they look fairly nice, Very modern look to them.

mathepac

dublinman1990 wrote: »

The article you have in the OP seems to repeat itself sometimes, very annoying.:mad: ...

But it's the Daily Mail and their imaginations and vocabulary are sadly lacking. Maybe they will award themselves some kind of green award for recycling within articles.

MarkK

It's a election promise gone wrong, Boris Johnson promised a Routemaster type bus to replace bendy buses as part of his mayor of London election campaign

The 'hop on hop off' door at the back will only be used when there is a conductor on board, which will not be all the time.

I prefer the bendy busses, which are 'hop on hop off' all the time.

L1011

mathepac wrote: »

But it's the Daily Mail and their imaginations and vocabulary are sadly lacking. Maybe they will award themselves some kind of green award for recycling within articles.

David Dimbleby described the Mail perfectly: "a bigoted, sexist, homophobic comic strip".

CIE

MarkK wrote: »

It's a election promise gone wrong, Boris Johnson promised a Routemaster type bus to replace bendy buses as part of his mayor of London election campaign

The 'hop on hop off' door at the back will only be used when there is a conductor on board, which will not be all the time.

I prefer the bendy busses, which are 'hop on hop off' all the time.

Well, it's not like the blueprints for the Routemaster have disappeared. Certainly possible to build new ones with more modern and efficient diesel engines and modern gearboxes, never mind modern running gear as well. Trying to fix what was broken will end up breaking more than you fix.

corktina

it is excellent IMHO. London was always famous for its Red Buses and now that iconic look is back.

Modern efficency and three doors are a huge bounus too.

corktina

MarkK wrote: »

It's a election promise gone wrong, Boris Johnson promised a Routemaster type bus to replace bendy buses as part of his mayor of London election campaign

The 'hop on hop off' door at the back will only be used when there is a conductor on board, which will not be all the time.

I prefer the bendy busses, which are 'hop on hop off' all the time.

there would be no point in building new OLD RMs. They would be too small for modern usage.

munchkin_utd

you might get a better idea of the bus in the video from the UTV news article a few months back when it was launched in Ballymena by the manufacturer. Looks better in the video i think than the daily mail photos

http://www.u.tv/news/Wrightbus-gets-thumbs-up-from-Boris/c7fc8553-cc36-4913-9c39-80a1d841e620

MarkK

corktina wrote: »

there would be no point in building new OLD RMs. They would be too small for modern usage.

The main problems with the old RMs is that they required two people to operate them and they are not wheelchair friendly.
Also, the open platform with no door at the back of the bus is a "health and safety issue".

corktina

two man operation in the central area of a metropolis like London is the way to go (hence the new buses have a rear door for use when they have Conductor aboard). OMO buses are much slower and cause congestion.

As for open doors, yes they are PERCEIVED as a H&S risk nowadays but operated sucessfully for generations with very few casualties and the option to hop on or off at the Traffic lights (etc) makes them more flexible. I'm at a loss to understand the earlier comments about hopping on and off a Bendy Bus, these were even worse for causing congestion as not only were they OMO but their back end blocked junctions etc which a 'decker would not do.

Run_to_da_hills

corktina wrote: »

it is excellent IMHO. London was always famous for its Red Buses and now that iconic look is back.

Modern efficency and three doors are a huge bounus too.

London's iconic look is anything but back, its like comparing the modern front wheel drive VW Beetle to the classic. There is absolutly no comparison and they have nothing in common apart from being red.

These are nothing more than a hideous monstrocity and I hope these things never make an appearance on the streets of Dublin.

corktina

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

London's iconic look is anything but back, its like comparing the modern front wheel drive VW Beetle to the classic. There is absolutly no comparison and they have nothing in common apart from being red.

These are nothing more than a hideous monstrocity and I hope these things never make an appearance on the streets of Dublin.

You miss the point. The Routemaster was Iconic in London as it was designed for London and used (almost) nowhere else (Northern General being the main exception).
The new Bus is unlike almost evey other bus and designed specifiaclly for use in London, giving it an Iconic look from day one that has design references to the old bus.
The Old RM screamed "London Baby" and the new one will too.

thomasj

Interesting!

So whereas dublin bus drivers have been told to stop letting passengers off between stops, london bus have brought back an iconic bus with the option for passengers to hop off between stops in slow traffic!

Is there any insurance implications out of this?

bk

Looks are in the eye of the beholder.

But much more importantly to those who will actually use these, they are one of the best specified buses in the world.

Large vehicle with large capacity. Three doors and two staircase for quick and easy access.

I think only some places in Germany have similar well speced buses.

It is a pity we can't have these route masters here in Dublin.

Lapin

bk wrote: »

Looks are in the eye of the beholder.

But much more importantly to those who will actually use these, they are one of the best specified buses in the world.

Large vehicle with large capacity. Three doors and two staircase for quick and easy access.

I think only some places in Germany have similar well speced buses.

It is a pity we can't have these route masters here in Dublin.

Dublin Bus can't even operate both doors on the buses they have now.
What chance would they have with a three door bus?

I agree though, I'd like to see them in Irish cities.

Going Forward wrote: »

An ugly looking thing IMO.

This thing has a front like, well, the back of a bus!
Much greener no doubt:rolleyes:

You shouldn't talk about poor Boris Johnson like that.

Going Forward

corktina wrote: »

The Old RM screamed "London Baby" and the new one will too.

Hey, we can agree to disagree on that one!!!

I would have liked if they had kept a little of the unique front nose of the old RM, I know they kept the curve on the rear roof but the front on the old one was "friendlier".:)

This new design (frontal, exterior) shows a complete lack of imagination.

It brings to mind the various disastrous attempts by "designers" to come up with an improvement on that other London icon- The London Taxi- they were all hideous when they strayed from the look of the original IMO.

Terrontress

Going Forward wrote: »

corktina wrote: »

The Old RM screamed "London Baby" and the new one will too.

Hey, we can agree to disagree on that one!!!

I would have liked if they had kept a little of the unique front nose of the old RM, I know they kept the curve on the rear roof but the front on the old one was "friendlier".:)

This new design (frontal, exterior) shows a complete lack of imagination.

It brings to mind the various disastrous attempts by "designers" to come up with an improvement on that other London icon- The London Taxi- they were all hideous when they strayed from the look of the original IMO.

The old nose's design acommodated the engine up front and isolated the driver. They couldn't do that on this bus as it will have to be one man operation at some points and the driver needs to interact with the passengers.

I think it is a good looking bus with the glass swathes and round lights. And London is keeping the good people of Ballymena happy with a few extra jobs making them.

antoinolachtnai

I actually got to walk around one of these up in Ballymena last year (although the seating wasn't in). It really seemed like a great design. It looks good, but it also seems very practical.

I presume the idea will be to put conductors on the bus in the central zone, and have them switch buses back towards the centre when they reach the edge of the zone. This will make for an interesting piece of shift management to be sure, but even 100 or 200 conductors should make a big difference to the dwell-time.

I would hazard that these will end up being used on the proposed BRT routes in Dublin but that is just a guess on my part.

Terrontress

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I would hazard that these will end up being used on the proposed BRT routes in Dublin but that is just a guess on my part.

Do Wrights own the design? I thought that TFL had commissioned it by open competition and Wrights simply built it. The normal Wrightbus W is not on the front of it but a TFL roundel instead. If TFL own the design then I'd imagine it won't be used outside of London. If it is successful, Wrights might make something similar for sale to the market.

Lapin

TFL Promo

At first glance I wasn't too impressed with the design but it has grown on me over time.

I'm glad to see the return of hop on hop off buses to Central London.
They're damn handy for getting around quickly.

AlekSmart

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I actually got to walk around one of these up in Ballymena last year (although the seating wasn't in). It really seemed like a great design. It looks good, but it also seems very practical.

I presume the idea will be to put conductors on the bus in the central zone, and have them switch buses back towards the centre when they reach the edge of the zone. This will make for an interesting piece of shift management to be sure, but even 100 or 200 conductors should make a big difference to the dwell-time.

I would hazard that these will end up being used on the proposed BRT routes in Dublin but that is just a guess on my part.

I think people are being a bit swift in the denounciation of the NBFL (New Bus For London).

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/15493.aspx

I'll readily admit to being hugely sceptical about the entire concept,however as the programme progressed from drawing board to Production line I've been steadily won-over.

The amount of solid engineering which has gone into NBFL both from TfL,Heatherwick Design and Wrightbus is significant particularly in the series-hybrid driveline and use of composite materials in it's structure.

With an initial production run of just 8 vehicles,this machine is going to be quite a while becoming the "Standard" London Bus.

Interesting also is the methodology being used in the return of the Bus Conductor whereby the job will NOT entail issuing tickets but now focusing on the customer service element and monitoring the rear platform when running in retro mode.

I see absolutely no problem with operating the three doors in OPO mode at all,and particularly in Central London where the populace are well tuned to speedy boarding and alighting.

3 Oystercard readers....something which the NTA might have considered for Dublin perhaps as a nod towards speeding things up when Kerbside.....oh well...:rolleyes:

Some good photo's here from The Autocar as well as a sortofa Road Test......but quite obviously not by a Busdriver !!

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/260508/

Victor

mathepac wrote: »

But it's the Daily Mail and their imaginations and vocabulary are sadly lacking. Maybe they will award themselves some kind of green award for recycling within articles.

MYOB wrote: »

David Dimbleby described the Mail perfectly: "a bigoted, sexist, homophobic comic strip".

This may well be true, but lets talk about buses here.

---

Does the downstairs saloon come across as a bit 'busy' with the variety of colours? See the leaflet on the TFL link above.

Everything should be readily discernible as either 'a handrail' or 'not a handrail'.

LordSutch

It'll be very interesting to get some feedback once its introduced to the general public. At first sight I thought it was an opportunity missed, I thought it was too big, too bulky, too long, and with one too many sets of doors! . . . However, on reflection I think its going to be a classic in its own right, a modern take on an old classic, (which is now too small & with no wheelchair access). The New Routemaster however does pay homage with the winding staircase at the rear, along with the optional 'Hop on hop off' feature which was a must in the new dsign. Apparently this new version is lighter than existing London busses too, which I find interesting, considering how much bigger the new bus 'seems' . . . .

I think it ticks all the boxes for a modern London, wheelchair access is a prerequisite, and the hop on hop off feature must have the ability to be open or closed (depending on the feature being manned). Anyone got the vital stats? and how does she stack up against the current double deckers Re Height, Length, Weight, top speed, engine power, etc etc etc . . .

Can't wait for a spin on it, upstairs of course

dmcronin

Ugh. Why does everything modern have to be fugly?

robd

LordSutch wrote: »

Apparently this new version is lighter than existing London busses too, which I find interesting, considering how much bigger the new bus 'seems' . . . .

Probably cause all the rounded, sculpted bits require composite materials rather than cheaper aluminum panels.

Given that, cost is a more important factor.

robd

Guess where Wrightbus learn't from their mistakes with Hybrid Technologies.


http://www.irishbuses.com/hybrid.html

Terrontress

robd wrote: »

Guess where Wrightbus learn't from their mistakes with Hybrid Technologies.


http://www.irishbuses.com/hybrid.html

London?

icdg

Nice to note, the London Transport roundel has recently returned to London Buses. It was never really away of course, there were tiny stickers on the front of buses, but now there are proper vinyls applied to the sides of buses again like there were in the 1980s.

Apparently its a knee-jerk reaction to RATP's acquisition of some London Buses routes and a Daily Mail article that the Paris transport operator was allowed have its logo on London Buses, but whatever the reason, it is back.