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A multi-axle bus is a bus or coach that has more than the conventional two axles (known as a twin-axle bus), usually three (known as a tri-axle bus), or more rarely, four (known as a quad-axle bus). Extra axles are usually added for legal axle load restriction reasons, or to accommodate different vehicle designs such as articulation, or rarely, to implement trailer buses.
An early example of a multi-axle bus was a one-off three-axle Crossley Condor, shown here, built for the 1932 Scottish Bus Show. [1]
Usually vehicle licensing authorities of different countries will set legal limits on the amount of weight that can be put on each axle. In the UK, a recent [ when? ] extension to the legal limit on the length of rigid buses and coaches has led to the increased use of three axles to accommodate the heavier chassis and passenger load. Certain countries apply exceptions to vehicle rules for specific operations.
Extra axles may also be provided on shorter buses and coaches to accommodate extra equipment loads, such as passenger lifts, or comforts such as toilets, televisions, climate controls. In addition, in some cases the need is bus cargo transport, when large cargo compartments and heavy weight of cargo needs extra axles.
Adding axles to chassis designs is done for specific reasons such as weight or legalities, as having extra axles means extra costs for the operator in terms of tyre replacement, and to an extent, higher fuel consumption.
In some buses the rearmost axle is connected to the steering, with the rear most set steering in the opposite direction to the front axle. This steering arrangement makes it possible for the longer triple axle buses to negotiate corners with greater ease than would otherwise be the case.
A bus with a single, rigid chassis, is known as a rigid bus, as opposed to an articulated or bi-articulated bus.
Tri-axle rigid buses can either be tag-axle buses or twin steer buses.
A twin steer bus is a rare type of tri-axled bus; where the double axles are in the front and steer, as in the Bedford VAL or Bustech CDi.
By far the most common type of tri-axle rigid bus is the tag-axle bus with one axle at the front for steering, and two axles at the back; the main drive axle and a trailing non-drive axle.
Tri-axle double-decker buses are common in high capacity operating environments where articulated buses are not used, such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Tri-axle buses also see high volume use in Dublin, Ireland. Imported tri-axle buses were used initially by Megabus for high capacity low cost intercity travel in the UK.
Tri-axle double decker coaches have been used to accommodate the extra weight. Models are also being introduced on high capacity inter-city routes, such as by the operator Megabus.
The Neoplan Megaliner was the first quad axle double decker coach, and is used in Japan. Further examples include the Scania K380IB 8x2.
Tri-axle is the standard arrangement of two-part articulated buses.
Quad-axle arrangement is sometimes employed on articulated buses to accommodate the extra weight of coach bodies, such as in this quad-axle articulated coach Volvo Articulated Coach [ permanent dead link ], and the quad-axle double-deck articulated coach, the Neoplan Jumbocruiser. Quad-axle arrangement is also the exclusive arrangement for three-part bi-articulated buses.
A rare reason[ citation needed ] why a bus may have multiple axles is in the case of a trailer bus, where the bus passenger cabin is built as a body semi-trailer towed by a separate tractor unit.
A bus is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but less than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for charter purposes, or through private ownership. Although the average bus carries between 30 and 100 passengers, some buses have a capacity of up to 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with double-decker and articulated buses carrying larger loads, and midibuses and minibuses carrying smaller loads. Coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus, are free. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special large vehicle licence above and beyond a regular driving licence.
A semi-trailer truck is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called a fifth wheel.
A road train, also known as a land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a semi-truck used to move road freight more efficiently than single-trailer semi-trucks. It consists of one semi-trailer or more connected together with or without a tractor. It typically has to be at least three trailers and one tractor.
A coach is a type of bus built for longer-distance service, in contrast to transit buses that are typically used within a single metropolitan region. Often used for touring, intercity, and international bus service, coaches are also used for private charter for various purposes. Coaches are also related and fall under a specific category/type of RVs.
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.
An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a single-decker, and comprises two or more rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint (articulation) enclosed by protective bellows inside and outside and a cover plate on the floor. This allows a longer legal length than rigid-bodied buses, and hence a higher passenger capacity (94–120), while still allowing the bus to maneuver adequately.
A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK, Australia, South Africa and India the term applies to off-road construction plants only and the road vehicle is known as a tip lorry, tipper lorry, tipper truck, tip truck, tip trailer or tipper trailer or simply a tipper.
The Neoplan Centroliner is a series of low-floor transit buses which was first unveiled in 1997, and mainly built by Neoplan Bus GmbH for the European market. At the time when it was first released, it adopted contemporary technologies like Controller Area Network.
A tractor unit, also known as a truck unit, lorry unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, semi-truck, semi-lorry, tractor cab, truck cab, lorry cab, big rig tractor, big rig truck or big rig lorry or simply a tractor, truck, lorry, semi, big rig or rig, is a characteristically heavy-duty towing engine that provides motive power for hauling a towed or trailered load. These fall into two categories: heavy- and medium-duty military and commercial rear-wheel-drive semi-tractors used for hauling semi-trailers, and very heavy-duty typically off-road-capable, often 6×6, military and commercial tractor units, including ballast tractors.
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a semi-trailer truck.
A bi-articulated bus or double-articulated bus and sometimes train-bus, tram-bus, trackless tram or double bendy bus is a type of high-capacity articulated bus with an extra axle and a second articulation joint, as well as extended length. Bi-articulated buses tend to be employed in high-frequency core routes or bus rapid transit schemes rather than in conventional bus routes.
An articulated hauler, articulated dump truck (ADT), or sometimes a dump hauler, is a very large heavy-duty type of dump truck used to transport loads over rough terrain, and occasionally on public roads. The vehicle usually has all-wheel drive and consists of two basic units: the front section, generally called the tractor, and the rear section that contains the dump body, called the hauler or trailer section. Steering is made by pivoting the front in relation to the back by hydraulic rams. This way, all wheels follow the same path, making it an excellent off-road vehicle.
The Scania K series is a series of chassis in Scania's city bus and coach range with longitudinally, straight-up mounted engine at the rear, replacing the K- and L-type (L94) chassis of the 4 series. The K series was first presented on Busworld 2005 in Kortrijk, Belgium, and models were available from 2006.
The Scania 4-series low floor city bus and coach range was introduced by Scania in 1997 as a successor to the 3-series bus range.
A trailer bus is a trailer vehicle designed specifically for the transportation of passengers. Trailer buses typically comprise one of two forms:
The Neoplan Skyliner is a double-deck multi-axle luxury touring coach built by German coach manufacturer Neoplan. It was introduced in 1967.
MAN Truck & Bus SE is a subsidiary of Traton, and one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, MAN Truck & Bus produces vans in the range from 3.0 to 5.5 t gvw, trucks in the range from 7.49 to 44 t gvw, heavy goods vehicles up to 250 t road train gvw, bus-chassis, coaches, interurban coaches, and city buses. MAN Truck & Bus also produces diesel and natural-gas engines. The MAN acronym originally stood for Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG, formerly MAN AG.
A rigid bus is a vehicle used in public transportation services with a single, rigid chassis. A bus of this type is to be contrasted with an articulated or bi-articulated bus, which will have two or more rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint, also with a trailer bus, which is formed out of a bus bodied semi-trailer pulled by a conventional tractor unit.
The Scania 3-series bus range was introduced by Scania in 1988 and was superseded by the 4-series bus range in 1999.
A bruck is a type of bus or coach built to combine goods and passenger transport where it is most profitable or most convenient compared to separate vehicles. The word bruck was used in North America. In Australia they were known as passenger-freighters. In Europe they are known as Kombinationsbus (German), seka-auto (Finnish), kombibuss (Norwegian) and godsbuss (Swedish), with even the nickname skvader. They have for practical reasons mostly been built on front- or mid-engined chassis. In North America and Australia this type of bus was introduced in the late 1940s as a replacement for unprofitable railway lines, while in Europe they have been around since the first buses.
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