In message of Fri, 30 Sep
2016 16:34:43 in uk.transport.london, Paul Corfield
writes
On Sun, 18 Sep 2016 15:16:41 +0100, "
wrote:

I had the distinct ... erm ... pleasure of riding on Roastmaster (a.k.a.
Borisbus) the other day.

I am neither a designer nor an automotive engineer, but I think that it
is safe to say that this is a poorly designed vehicle pretty much by
anybody's standards and that this is also what happens when you push
through a vanity project. Where was the oversight committee on this?

I was on one bus that had openable windows on its upper deck, though I
still felt extremely nauseous. I did this after the heatwave and I don't
easily get motion sickness, thus making me wonder if there are issues
with exhaust venting.

The seats were extremely narrow and uncomfortable; While it would
probably benefit me to lose a couple of kilos, as with many people, I am
not grossly overweight.

The promised A/C doesn't work, and fare evasion can be rife. Indeed, I
thought that one of the many reasons for being rid of Bendis was to
combat fare evasion.

I also understand that the cost of these busses came in well above what
something like a Volvo would cost.

IMHO, this has to be one of the worst passenger vehicles plying London's
roads these days, making the bendibus look good in comparison.

The design that they have now should have either gone through several
additional iterations, been a mock up as part of an exhibition called
"Transport of the Future" in some place like London's Design Museum or
simply remained a concept drawing as part of a design studio's PR action.

In any event, the fiasco that is the current Roastmaster has likely
killed off any prospect of getting a new Routemaster on London's road
any time in the foreseeable future.

Oh well nice to see I am not alone in finding Roastmasters nausea
inducing heaps. I refuse to use them so my central London travels and
bus usage have fallen off a cliff as a result. Still I am in the
position to make that choice but many people are not.

Even though we are nearing the end of NB4L production (hooray) the
wretched things are to be inflicted on two routes, 48 and 76, that I
do use from Central London if I don't fancy a train or a tube ride. So
that's two more bus routes that I can't use come next year.


Where do you find the plans to change 48 and 76 to NB4L?
I don't like them. I find mountaineering into seats at the back of the
lower deck unreasonable. The handle bars on the front stairs have a
horizontal bar, which forces one to let go and try again.

I can find the registration numbers of approaching buses with the "Bus
Times" Android app. It is better than 90% reliable.
Do you know how to locate a particular bus?
I reported a fault, yesterday. (The registration number did not appear
on either deck's comments poster.) I trust I will get a "fixed" response
and want to check it.
--
Walter Briscoe