On Tue, 01 Oct 2019 14:31:56 +0100, Trolleybus
wrote:

On Tue, 1 Oct 2019 10:05:41 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

David Cantrell wrote:
On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 12:22:22PM +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

And today Boris's latest idea is to spend (or is he expecting someone
else to spend) ?220m on new buses (and all contactless payment) because
the Roastmaster was such a success, apparently.

I don't get this antipathy to the Boris buses. I'm a passenger,
frequently. They do their job well, combining the benefits of a normal
double decker with the one benefit of the bendy monstrosities - quick
boarding - without the humungous downsides of the bendies taking up too
much road space and blocking junctions.


They're very heavy, which limits their capacity as does the rear platform
and second staircase, the hybrid system has never worked properly, perhaps
because of the very limited space for the power unit under the rear stairs,
like the bendies they have double the fare evasion of normal buses, and
they cost almost twice as much as a conventional double decker (£350k vs
£190k). They acquired their 'Roastmaster' nickname because their
air-cooling didn't work and they lacked ventilation, which had to be
retro-fitted.

So, we have a bus that's 84% more expensive, with less capacity, longer and
heavier than a normal double-decker, less comfortable, worse fuel
consumption and whose entire reason for existence, the open rear platform,
is not used. No wonder the hoped-for sale of the design to other cities
never happened.

Yes, all granted. But apart from that, they're fine.

Actually I really dislike them. I can't really say why, but they seem
cramped. And, as I normally have a paper ticket (an ODTC from outside
London) I can't take advantage of the mid/rear dors.

You can rejoice, as soon you'll be in the same position as all the
other passengers: the current proposal is to ban boarding from the
mid/rear doors, so they'll be exit-only. Everyone will have to board
from the front door, just like all other London buses, thus removing
the one supposed advantage of the bus, faster boarding.

This is to reduce the high level of fare evasion, more than double the
rate on the much cheaper, more economical, more reliable, more
comfortable conventional buses.

https://londonist.com/london/transport/routemaster-buses-trialling-boarding-by-the-front-door-only

I wasn't aware of this other problem with them:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38800789

I wonder what will happen to the manufacturer's guarantee and software
support if Wrightbus is shut down?

It's interesting that Boris apparently regards this as the triumph of
his mayoralty, along with the overseas trade missions for London that
included his otherwise unqualified, pole-dancing American mistress.