London Banter - View Single Post

Martin Rich · May 22nd 08, 08:32 AM posted to uk.transport.london

On Tue, 20 May 2008 19:16:21 -0500, (Mark Brader) wrote:

The "low-floor" buses we're now getting in Toronto are only low-floor
for about 2/3 of the bus, including both doors.

snipped

Are most of the present London buses entirely low-floor, or split in
a similar way, or of some other pattern?

All recent single-deckers, in my experience, have a step part way
along the floor, so, like these Toronto buses, only the front part is
really low-floor. On two-door non-bendies the step is just behind the
exit, which is reasonably intuitive as this is a natural division
within the interior of the bus. But most single-deckers in London
had been like this for many years before the low-floor buses came in
there was a step at each door and a further step towards the back..
Before that, you could go back to the old RF single-deckers, still in
service in the 1970s, which had a high floor along their whole length,
with the engine underneath it.

Some double-deckers have a shallow step just behind the doors. Others
have a flat gangway along the centre of the bus, with raised sections
of floor on either side towards the back. The seats on these raised
sections are higher than those further forward, so they can fit over
the rear wheels.

Martin