Articulated Bus - Use

Use

Articulated buses have been used in most European countries for many years. Until 1980, they were illegal on the UK's roads. A 1979 experiment by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive with buses manufactured by MAN and Leyland-DAB led to a change in the law, but the experiment was abandoned in 1981 because double-decker buses were generally considered less expensive both to purchase and to operate. The cost and weight of the strengthened deck framing and staircase of a double-decker was lower than the cost and weight of the additional axle(s) and coupling mechanism of an articulated bus. Modern technology has reduced the weight disadvantage, and the benefits of a continuous low floor allowing easier access plus additional entrance doors for smoother loading have led to reconsiderations of the use of articulated buses in the UK.

Articulated buses became popular in mainland Europe due to their increased capacity compared with regular buses. In many cities, lower railway bridge clearances have precluded the use of double-deck vehicles, which have never achieved great popularity there. Overhead wires for trams, trolleybuses etc. are not really relevant issues, as the minimum normal clearance above road level is standard across the EU and is well in excess of the height of a double-deck vehicle. (Otherwise many goods vehicles would encounter severe problems in the course of normal operation.)

In London, articulated buses and their double-decker counterparts have replaced the old double-decker AEC Routemasters on most routes. Elsewhere in the UK, they are generally operated on particular routes in order to increase passenger numbers, rather than across entire networks. With unsupervised "open boarding" through three doors and the requirement for pre-purchase of tickets, levels of fare-dodging on the new vehicles were found to be at least three times higher than on conventional buses where entry of passengers is monitored by the driver or conductor. The only way of checking for free riders was to use large teams of ticket inspectors to swamp the bus and inspect all tickets whilst keeping the doors closed, meanwhile delaying the further progress of the bus. Since the articulated buses were tending to serve areas of relative deprivation it is suspected that this was a contributory factor in TfL turning against the concept. Boris Johnson, the current Mayor of London, promised in the run-up to the mayoral election to rid the city of the controversial buses, and articulated buses on routes 18, 25, 38, 507 & 521 have already been decommissioned and replaced with double deckers. He aims to introduce a new generation of open-platform buses, based on the much loved Routemaster.

In Israel, the use of articulated buses - commonly called long buses - is widespread, particularly in Gush Dan and Jerusalem, the two great urban centers of the country. The long buses are considered reliable and useful, and have been in service in Israel since the mid-1970s. During the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such buses were often targeted by Palestinian terrorists and suicide bombers during rush hours, since a crowded long bus can contain more than 100 passengers. Due to the al-Aqsa Intifada wave of mass bombings, security measures were enforced and today many long buses in Israel are accompanied by a security guard.

An articulated bus is a long vehicle and usually requires a specially trained driver, as maneuvering (particularly reversing) can be difficult. Articulated electric trolleybuses can be difficult to control, with their motors producing momentary peak power in excess of 600 kilowatts (816 PS; 805 hp). The trailer section of a "puller" bus can be subject to unusual centripetal forces, which many people can find uncomfortable, although this is not an issue with "pushers". Nonetheless, the articulated bus is highly successful in Budapest, Hungary, where the BKV city transit company has been operating more than 1000 of them every day since the early 1970s. The Hungarian company Volán also runs hundreds of articulated buses on intercity lines.

Articulated buses are commonplace in such US urban centers as Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Chicago, Denver, Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City, Pittsburgh, Orange County, California, Philadelphia, Phoenix, the Quad Cities, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. In Eugene, Lane Transit District uses articulated buses on some high-traffic routes, as well as on their Emerald Express (EmX) Bus Rapid Transit Service.

In Canada, they are used in Calgary, Edmonton for the routes 8, 9, and 33, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Longueuil, Mississauga, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saskatoon, York Region and Vancouver.

In Asia, many major Chinese cities had fleets of articulated buses prior to the late 1990s. Some of these fleets have since been replaced by single-section units except in a few cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. While in the 2000s a surge in BRT construction has reintroduced or re-purposed the articulated bus fleets for rapid transit usage in cities like Changzhou, Dalian, Guangzhou, Jinan, Kunming, Xiamen, Yancheng, Zaozhuang, and Zhengzhou. In South America, they are used in São Paulo, Curitiba, Santiago and Bogotá.

In Adelaide, Australia, articulated buses are used on the O-Bahn guided busway, reaching speeds of 100 km/h. The first articulated buses to use it were the Mercedes-Benz O305G buses; however, three MAN SG280H buses are also equipped for O-Bahn use. In recent years, it has proven problematic to find suitable low-floor articulated buses to replace the 1984-manufactured Mercedes buses, because the design of the O-Bahn track unfortunately precludes the use of most modern articulated buses.

In Singapore, articulated buses were first introduced in 1996 by Trans-Island Bus Services (now SMRT Buses) with the Mercedes-Benz O405G buses (bodied in Hispano Carrcera (MK1/MK2), Hispano Habit and Volgren CR221L). They were given the moniker "bendy buses", a name which is still in use today. In April of that year, SBS Transit introduced a demonstrator Volvo B10MA bus (registration SBS998Y) fitted with a three-door version of the Duple Metsec bodywork similar to that of Volvo's B10M buses. With a length of 19 metres (62 ft), this bus earned the title of "Asia's Longest Bus". In 1997, SBS Transit purchased another bendy bus, the Mercedes-Benz O405GN (registration SBS999U), again as a demonstrator. This bus had Volgren CR221L bodywork. In March 2006, SBS Transit sold all its bendy buses to New Zealand after encountering drivability issues with the Volvo B10MA bus and air-conditioning problems with the Mercedes-Benz bus, and also deciding that double-decker buses could carry more passengers while taking up less road space, as opposed to SMRT's stance that "articulated buses offer greater accessibility and efficiency". Ever since 3 July 2011, these buses have been used in Malta by the company Arriva on lines 11,12,13,41,X1,X2,X3,X4 and X6.