On Thu, 20 Dec 2007, Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

is guilty of subscribing to the orthodox media opinion when she claims
that London's "bendy- busses" (sic) are "loathed and problematic" - the
opinion of Londoners on these buses is by no-means universally hostile
as is often portrayed in the press (though I certainly know a few
non-transport enthusiast normal people who detest them, but many more
who find them quite acceptable).

It's quite possible that opinions vary given the actual bendy bus people
are likely to use. The number 25 serves QMUL (and also my home) and I'm
hard pressed to think of *anyone* with a good word to say about bendy
buses in general.

A quick online quiz of my friends (not all native english speakers, i
should mention) yielded the following comments:

"they are rubbish, I hate them. i prefer the one with the double floor"

"dodge fare heaven...!!! Route 29 Rules..!!!!"

"I like them. But maybe only cos I get to go on them but rarely, so
they're still a novelty. I like that you can get on at any door you like."

"1. Bendy buses are relatively low in the no. of passengers to road space
usage ratio. -- waste space

2. It is more difficult for a bendy bus to go round corners. -- waste
time

They are not helping with the congestion. Double deckers are much more
efficient."

"i hate them"

"meep"

I'll let you know if anything more sensical comes in.

And of course there is the fact that these would be two-man buses,
requiring a conductor. As great as conductors may be, that is a very
significant expense - London's bus network is already subsidised, so
unless the subsidy is increased there would have to be cut backs
elsewhere. If the network was less frequent, less comprehensive or more
expensive to the passenger in terms of fares, then ridership would be
likely fall.

That's a good point but I think too many people overlook the level of
faredodging on the bendy buses - how much would ticket insepctions claw
back? I don't doubt that it probably wouldn't reach the cost, but
passengers also find the bendies in particular to be scarey to travel on
(again this may be a 25 specific problem) and having a member of staff
on board who isn't locked away in a booth at the front would reassure
many.

I've often heard it suggested that these problems are linked: the
dodgeability of fares means they attract people we might charitably
describe as 'low-life scum', who then make travel a bit frightening for
everyone else.

tom

--
File under 'directionless space novelty ultimately ruined by poor
self-editing'