Articulated buses, popularly called "bendy buses," were introduced to London in October 2001 when two Wright Eclipse Fusion bodied Volvo B7LAs were hired from First Hampshire & Dorset, one of which was repainted into First London's red livery, and six Wright Fusion bodied Volvo B10LAs from First Glasgow for a trial on route 207 between Shepherd's Bush and Hayes-By-Pass. [1] [2]
In June 2002, new Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530Gs were introduced on Red Arrow services 507 and 521. [3] [4] While articulated bus operation had been standard in several other countries for over 20 years, their use in the United Kingdom had been limited, with their introduction in London gaining a lot of press attention. [5] [6] They were later introduced on routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436 and 453, which were among the busiest routes of the TfL bus network. [7]
During the 2008 mayoral campaign, victorious Boris Johnson pledged to withdraw articulated buses on the grounds that they were unsuitable for London, and to introduce a modern version of the AEC Routemaster. [8] Withdrawals began in July 2009, when articulated buses on routes 38, 507 and 521 were replaced with conventional single and double decker buses, and a prototype for the New Routemaster was promised to be on the streets by 2012. [9] [10] The last articulated buses were withdrawn in December 2011. [11]
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Articulated buses were introduced on several high-capacity routes in the 2000s, coinciding with withdrawal from passenger service of the AEC Routemaster. The Routemasters, involving a step upwards and poor accessibility did not conform to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There was also the risk of litigation over accidents involving the Routemaster's rear open platform. [12] [13]
Articulated buses with multiple doors and simultaneous boarding arrangements were capable of loading passengers in less time than conventional double decker buses and Routemasters. They had a much higher passenger capacity, being able to carry over 140 people per vehicle compared to 77 in a Routemaster, although with far fewer seats. The low-floor design of the buses also improved access for disabled people. [14]
Articulated buses took up more road space per vehicle (18 metres compared to 9.1 metres for a Routemaster and 10 metres for a double decker), although in terms of road surface used per passenger, there was little difference between double decker buses (which stack passengers vertically on two floors) and articulated buses – 11.8 cm road surface length per Routemaster passenger against 12.8 cm per articulated bus passenger: 8.7% more.
The increased vehicle size meant they were more likely to block junctions and cause difficulties for other road users. [14] Press coverage regarding cyclists and motorcyclists was generally negative due to the reduced viewpoint of the driver and greater likelihood of cyclists to enter blind spots. [14]
The routes converted to articulated bus operation were: [2]
Route | Commenced | Ceased | Operator | Replaced by |
---|---|---|---|---|
12 | 6 November 2004 | 4 November 2011 | London Central | double decker buses |
18 | 15 November 2003 | 12 November 2010 | First London | double decker buses |
25 | 26 June 2004 | 24 June 2011 | East London | double decker buses |
29 | 14 January 2006 | 25 November 2011 | Arriva London | double decker buses |
38 | 29 October 2005 | 13 November 2009 | Arriva London | double decker buses |
73 | 4 September 2004 | 2 September 2011 | Arriva London | double decker buses |
149 | 24 April 2004 | 15 October 2010 | Arriva London | double decker buses |
207 | 9 April 2005 | 9 December 2011 | First London | double decker buses |
436 | 8 February 2003 | 18 November 2011 | London Central | double decker buses |
453 | 15 March 2003 | 23 September 2011 | Selkent London General (1) | double decker buses |
507 | 5 June 2002 | 24 July 2009 | London General | single decker buses |
521 | 5 June 2002 | 31 August 2009 | London General | single decker buses |
(1) Route 453 transferred from Selkent to London General on 16 February 2008 after tender renewal
During the initial stages of deployment of the articulated buses, between December 2003 and March 2004 there were three similar fires on the new Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, causing concern over the possibility of an in-built risk to the public. In one incident, a bus caught fire on its delivery route to its operator. [15] The fires caused the temporary withdrawal and modification of the entire fleet of 130 buses. [16]
The buses were brought back into service after engineers replaced and modified problematic pipework in the bus engines. A later fire was ruled out as unconnected. [15] The problem resurfaced with ex Arriva London buses in Malta in August 2013. [17] [18]
The introduction of articulated buses increased fare evasion as passengers were able to enter through any door, leading to the buses becoming known to Londoners as "The Free Bus". On other UK buses (including articulated buses outside London), entry is only permitted via the front entrance, which is monitored by the driver and thus discourages evasion. As a result, Transport for London recruited an extra 150 Revenue Protection Inspectors to police revenue collection. In 2006 it was reported that conventional buses (i.e. single and double-deckers) accounted for £3,636 of fare evasion in a year, compared to articulated vehicles at £6,333 per year. [19] [20] [21]
In September 2007, Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party candidate for the 2008 Mayor of London elections, said that his first act as mayor of London would be to "scrap" articulated buses and replace them with a "modern-day AEC Routemaster" with an open rear platform and a conductor. [8] The New Routemaster first entered service in February 2012.
In August 2008, following the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, it was announced the articulated buses would be withdrawn as their five-year operating contracts expired, starting from May 2009, and completed by 2013 (or 2015 depending on contract extensions). [22] This was brought forward to December 2011.
Research by London TravelWatch indicated that such a withdrawal could prove costly to TfL. A study conducted in September 2008 found that replacing articulated vehicles on routes 38, 507, and 521, whilst maintaining overall route capacity, would cost an additional £12.6m per annum, due to the additional vehicles necessitated. [23] Additional cost was also incurred with the need to pay early termination fees on leases.
The first articulated vehicles to be replaced were on routes 507 and 521, which were replaced by twelve-metre long single-deck buses in July and September 2009 respectively. Articulated buses were replaced by double-deckers on route 38 in November 2009. Route 207 was the last route to operate articulated buses on 10 December 2011. [24] [11]
Withdrawn buses have found their way to other parts of the UK. Some went to Arriva Midlands in Leicester and Arriva North West in Liverpool. Go-Ahead Group transferred some to its Brighton & Hove, Go North East and Go South Coast divisions. Some were sold to CT Plus, Bristol and McGill's Bus Services, Glasgow. Arriva also exported 81 to Malta in 2011 for use by its Arriva Malta subsidiary. [25] [26] [27]
One articulated vehicle, MAL15 from the Red Arrow batch, has been preserved by the Bromley Bus Preservation Group. [2]
The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.
Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn omnibus service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London bus has become a symbol of the city.
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They appear in many places around the world but are presently most commonly used as mass transport in cities of Britain, in Ireland, in Hong Kong, and in Singapore.
Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva subsidiaries Grey-Green, Leaside Buses, Kentish Bus, London & Country and South London Transport. Operations are split between two registered companies, Arriva London North Limited and Arriva London South Limited.
A bus conductor is a person responsible for collecting fares from bus passengers. Bus conductors may also be responsible for helping passengers to board, keeping the bus route on schedule, attracting potential passengers to the vehicle, and announcing bus stops.
London Buses route 25 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Ilford and St Paul's station, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
London Buses route 29 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Trafalgar Square and Wood Green station, it is operated by Arriva London.
London Buses route 38 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Clapton Pond and Victoria bus station, it is operated by Arriva London.
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1970 until 1986, when it was split up and later sold as part of the bus deregulation programme.
London Buses route 73 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Stoke Newington Common and Oxford Circus, it is operated by Arriva London.
London Buses route 521 was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Waterloo station and London Bridge bus station, and was operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 507 was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Waterloo station and Victoria bus station, and was operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 207 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hayes Bypass and White City bus station, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.
London Buses route 436 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Lewisham Shopping Centre and Battersea Park station, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 159 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Streatham station and Oxford Circus, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.
Articulated buses, colloquially known as "bendy buses", were rarely used in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, until the turn of the millennium. This was due to a preference for the double-decker bus for use on high capacity routes. In June 2006, there were over 500 articulated buses in the United Kingdom, although they were still heavily outnumbered by double deckers. The majority of this fleet was used in London, although these buses would be withdrawn by end of 2011.
Red Arrow was a brand name given to several former London bus limited stop routes used as high frequency commuter services in central London. The last Red Arrow services to operate were routes 507 and 521, with the brand being retired altogether in September 2009, only being briefly revived in May 2016 to commemorate its 50th anniversary. On 29 April 2023, routes 507 and 521 were both withdrawn.
Buses were introduced to Malta in 1905. As well as providing public transport across the country, up until 2011, the traditional Malta bus served as a popular tourist attraction due to their unique appearances grounded in the bus ownership and operation model employed in the country; by the end of this traditional operation, Malta had several bus types no longer in service anywhere else in the world.
The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus, it is notable for featuring a "hop-on hop-off" rear open platform similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible. It first entered service in February 2012 with Arriva London on London Buses route 38.
There are 3,835 hybrid buses, 950 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses operating in London, as of March 2023, out of a total bus fleet of 8,643 – this is around 56% of the bus fleet.
But there were a few dissenters who turned out Friday, including disability rights protesters who held placards saying: "Routemaster good riddance."
Critics argue that on too many occasions the 18 metre vehicle just gets in the way ... For some users though bendy buses are a dream, offering a real boost to their mobility around the capital