On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 22:06:06 -0000, "Colin"
wrote:

IMHO the Bendy Buses 'do the business', and if Mercedes are the only
manufacturer then sobeit. snip

They aren't; Wright-bodied bendies are preferred by most of the
FirstGroup operations that use bendies (e.g. Manchester). The
Mercedes product, however, (as with their rigid single-decker
products) has an air of much higher quality, even with a
PurplePinkPuke(f) interior. I think it's this, rather than price,
that is influencing TfL in their choice.

I think that, were Mercedes in the business of mass-producing
double-deckers with their own body style, they would be very much in
evidence as well[1]. That said, the newer deckers with the rounded
upper and lower windscreens, large upper windows and generous seat
pitch that TfL use in most of their advertising (can't remember who
makes them) are a pretty high-quality product compared with most other
British deckers.

[1] Deckers are rare in Germany, probably Mercedes' largest target
markets for buses, mainly because road/rail bridges tend to be much
lower. The only place I've seen them in any quantity is Berlin -
where absolutely huge long-wheelbase double-doored deckers with two
staircases operate many routes.

Neil

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