The bendy buses are going!

Hi all

What do you think of ‘bendy’ (articulated) buses in London?  A love/hate thing?  Well it has been quite a debate…at one time, there was an idea of putting such vehicles on the road to replace some of the double decker buses and to increase passenger room for those who use the routes…it was also supposed to allow anyone to enter anyone of the entrances of the bendy buses…unless you needed to pay the bus fare!

Then there have been disasters with bendy buses…firstly, in late 2003 to early 2004, it was reported that some buses had caught fire meaning a temporary withdrawal until it was discovered that pipework in the engine had to be modified.

Second on the list was fare evasion!  With other entrances other than the front door to enter the bendy buses, this could allow a passenger to jump in without paying the fare and jump off on the next stop if they wished.

Third is that the bendy buses as just too long!  This problem arises because they can potentially block roads and the difficulty in turning the bus around as they need a large amount of space to maneuver!

And finally, the most dangerous thing is the fact that they can cause more injuries on the road than a double decker bus.  It can potentially put a cyclist at risk.  In fact, bendy buses have been involved in 75% more accidents than double decker buses.

And that’s where the new major Boris Johnson has come in…to scrap bendy buses altogether!  Below pictured in a bendy bus on route 507.  This along with routes 38 and 521 were the first ones to be replaced by double decker buses for good.

 

 

What do you think of bendy buses?  Do you love them or hate them?  Are you happy to see them disappear from our London streets?  Let me know!