In article , (Mizter T) wrote:

On 27/02/2015 16:52, Mizter T wrote:

On 27/02/2015 16:25, Basil Jet wrote:
I notice that the 125 bus has a new fleet of buses which look a tiny
bit like Borisbuses, but are not. Having spent all that money on
designing a New Bus For London, I imagined that it would replace all of
the double-deckers as they became life-expired, but it would seem not.
Is the Borisbus considered a failure? Have they stopped making them
already? Was it only ever going to be used in touristy areas, and if
so, why?

[big snip]

Regarding the success or otherwise of the NBFL - well, despite some
assurances that all was now well, I think the issue of them getting too
hot in the summer - hence the Roastmaster nickname - is perhaps a
fundamental flaw in the design. They really aren't very pleasant when
it's hot, especially upstairs. Perhaps I'll reserve ultimate judgement
until this summer, but I'm not enormously hopeful.


Just to follow this up - they're still too bloody hot and stuffy.
Yes, yesterday was exceptional, but I didn't get on one yesterday - I
have got on them in recent days and weeks when the weather has been
hot but also just unexceptionally warm.

A friend could only stand it for one stop on Tuesday. If there's a
choice, in warm weather I'll choose a route served by another type of
bus that has opening windows! The forced air circulation systems on
other types of bus seem to do a better job too.

They might look good from the outside (though I grant that's a
subjective opinion) - but they fail in a very basic way in terms of
offering a pleasant or even adequate environment for passengers. And
that's being kind - they offer a deeply unpleasant sauna in summer
months.

The bendy buses could get a bit too hot too - but not like this.

At least the Borisbuses don't catch fire!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 02/07/2015 19:22, wrote:

In article , (Mizter T) wrote:

Just to follow this up - they're still too bloody hot and stuffy.
Yes, yesterday was exceptional, but I didn't get on one yesterday - I
have got on them in recent days and weeks when the weather has been
hot but also just unexceptionally warm.

A friend could only stand it for one stop on Tuesday. If there's a
choice, in warm weather I'll choose a route served by another type of
bus that has opening windows! The forced air circulation systems on
other types of bus seem to do a better job too.

They might look good from the outside (though I grant that's a
subjective opinion) - but they fail in a very basic way in terms of
offering a pleasant or even adequate environment for passengers. And
that's being kind - they offer a deeply unpleasant sauna in summer
months.

The bendy buses could get a bit too hot too - but not like this.

At least the Borisbuses don't catch fire!


The passengers just catch on fire instead!

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:27:28 +0100
Mizter T wrote:
The passengers just catch on fire instead!

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Wonder how they're coping in the 40C heat of a Maltese summer!

--
Spud

wrote:
On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:27:28 +0100
Mizter T wrote:
The passengers just catch on fire instead!

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Wonder how they're coping in the 40C heat of a Maltese summer!

They don't have to, as they didn't last long there, either.

From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malt...282011-2013.29

"In August 2013, the Government of Malta instructed Arriva Malta to remove
the articulated buses from service, pending investigation following three
major fire outbreaks in the span of 48 hours. The fires destroyed the buses
and in one case caused extensive damage to some nearby vehicles belonging
to MaltaPost, the country's postal operator. Nobody was injured in these
incidents. Like in the UK when the same buses had caught fire, these buses
became a popular joke in conversations and social media sites."

On Fri, 3 Jul 2015 08:36:22 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
wrote:
On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:27:28 +0100
Mizter T wrote:
The passengers just catch on fire instead!

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Wonder how they're coping in the 40C heat of a Maltese summer!

They don't have to, as they didn't last long there, either.

From https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malt...282011-2013.29

"In August 2013, the Government of Malta instructed Arriva Malta to remove
the articulated buses from service, pending investigation following three
major fire outbreaks in the span of 48 hours. The fires destroyed the buses
and in one case caused extensive damage to some nearby vehicles belonging
to MaltaPost, the country's postal operator. Nobody was injured in these
incidents. Like in the UK when the same buses had caught fire, these buses
became a popular joke in conversations and social media sites."

Not Mercedes finest hour TBH. Though I still think the idea is far better
than a double decker.

--
Spud

On Friday, 3 July 2015 10:30:06 UTC+1, wrote:

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Not Mercedes finest hour TBH. Though I still think the idea is far better
than a double decker.

Agreed. Certainly better than a double-decker. I miss them, even though I DO like the Borisbus.

But I too have not been on a Borisbus in the last few days, so I cannot tell how hot they are.

I have been on the front upstairs of a standard double-decker 280 bus to Sutton with the sun streaming in the unopenable front window and being reminded of various tortures at Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo.

On Fri, 3 Jul 2015 03:11:45 -0700 (PDT)
Offramp wrote:
On Friday, 3 July 2015 10:30:06 UTC+1, wrote:

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Not Mercedes finest hour TBH. Though I still think the idea is far better
than a double decker.

Agreed. Certainly better than a double-decker. I miss them, even though I DO
like the Borisbus.

But I too have not been on a Borisbus in the last few days, so I cannot tell
how hot they are.

Last time I went on one in hot weather it was warm but not intolerably so.
My beaf with them is the cost and the fact that like most so called hybrids
they batteries seem to be used to move from the bus stop to the middle of the
road at which point the diesel fires up and keeps going until the next stop.
I do wonder just how much fuel these things safe compared to what they were
promised to save.

I have been on the front upstairs of a standard double-decker 280 bus to
Sutton with the sun streaming in the unopenable front window and being
reminded of various tortures at Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo.

Yup, they're good for that. And of course the main problem with a DD if you're
disabled or a pensioner or a mother with a buggy you can write off using the
top deck anyway plus there's officially no standing up there further reducing
carrying capacity.

--
Spud

On 2015-07-03 10:11:45 +0000, Offramp said:

Agreed. Certainly better than a double-decker. I miss them, even though
I DO like the Borisbus.

I like it as well, but absent a proper, full air conditioning system
(rather than a limited cooling system) the windows should have been
openable.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

In message , y writes
On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 19:27:28 +0100
Mizter T wrote:
The passengers just catch on fire instead!

(Modifications to the Citaro bendy buses sorted that problem out.)

Wonder how they're coping in the 40C heat of a Maltese summer!

Although I understand that they now use more-modern buses, the last time
I was in Malta they still had the UK's cast-off 1950s-style buses. IIRC,
most of them didn't actually have doors. The 'air-conditioning' seemed
pretty good.



--
Ian