Thursday 1st October 2009

RAC Foundation Defends Bendy Buses

London Mayor's plan to bring back the Routemaster criticised by RAC Foundation

---

Bendy bus attempts to run over a photographer

A report by the RAC Foundation has slammed Boris Johnson's plans to scrap London's unpopular bendy buses and replace them with a 21st-century version of the iconic Routemaster.

The Mayor of London's plans to replace bendy buses with a modern version of the routemaster double-decker - possibly powered by fuel-cell technology - have been branded as misdirected and prohibitively expensive.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said that the "Mayor also needs to rethink plans to re-introduce the Routemaster. Whilst there are routes where bendy buses are inappropriate" he continued, "when it comes to mass transport they carry more people, more quickly than double-deckers ever will. And with TfL facing a reported £2 billion budget shortfall there is also the small matter of where the cash is going to come from to pay for these new vehicles."

Johnson wants to get rid of the Bendy buses, as he claims they are dangerous to cyclists, motorist and encourage fare evasion. The Mayor's transport adviser, Kulveer Ranger, defended the plans, saying: "Unlike the RAC Foundation, the mayor's focus is not only on drivers."

[dwilkie]

That's a surprisingyl good comeback right there...

Shouldn't be forgotten that they have a habit of randomly catching fire in some cases too...

[Ed.]

Since when was the RAC foundations opinion really relevant?

[grumbledoak]

Another little TfL pet project that doesn't like Boris? Well, there's a shock.

[lionrampant]

Ed. said:

Since when was the RAC foundations opinion really relevant?

Since the real RAC stopped giving headline grabbing soundbites, sadly.

[Nickellarse]

"claims they are dangerous to cyclists, motorist and encourage fare evasion. "

Spot on. They kill people and no one pays to use them. They were a brilliant idea!

[mybrainhurts]

Nickellarse said:

They were a brilliant idea!

They were tried...and dumped...in South Yorkshire years ago

[LooseCannon]

"Where's the cash"? So where did the cash come from for these bendy monstrosities then?

[GrahamG]

mybrainhurts said:

Nickellarse said:

They were a brilliant idea!

They were tried...and dumped...in South Yorkshire years ago

Not really accurate - they were used twice in South Yorkshire from about 1980 onwards - The second batch lasted about 14 years if I remember correctly

[NailedOn]

The RAC Foundation is just a sop to the old RAC Club. It was spawned when the Club demutualised RAC Motoring Services and each full Club member trousered £40k. The regular RACMS (roadside assistance) members got sweet FA.
So they speak on behalf of themselves and nobody else.

Edited by NailedOn on Thursday 19th November 12:06

[GrahamG]

Nickellarse said:

"claims they are dangerous to cyclists, motorist and encourage fare evasion. "

Spot on. They kill people and no one pays to use them. They were a brilliant idea!

There have been no accidents with bendies in London where cyclists have been killed, despite public pronouncements by politicians to the contrary! And 'no-one' paying is a pretty remarkable overstatement.

As for 'encouraging fare evasion' what a total cop-out - The fact that it may be easier to get away without paying on a bendy compared to a normal one person operated double decker shouldn't get away from the fact that it is your own responsibility to pay - in exactly the same way that it isn't a shop's fault that some people choose to shoplift.

What bendy buses are good at is moving very large numbers of people over relatively short distances. This one will come back to bite Boris on the arse. Getting rid of them will cause more traffic problems (and probably more accidents too).

Oddly too the issue of a new Routemaster and bendies has been mixed as one and the same here in the same way as getting rid of the old ones was. Simply not true - London has hundreds of bus routes - only three of them saw the old Routemasters replaced by bendies. The new Routemasters aren't due to come on stream for years - by which time, if Boris continues on this path, most if not all of the bendies will have gone.

[Mr Gear]

GrahamG said:

Nickellarse said:

"claims they are dangerous to cyclists, motorist and encourage fare evasion. "

Spot on. They kill people and no one pays to use them. They were a brilliant idea!

There have been no accidents with bendies in London where cyclists have been killed, despite public pronouncements by politicians to the contrary! And 'no-one' paying is a pretty remarkable overstatement.

As for 'encouraging fare evasion' what a total cop-out - The fact that it may be easier to get away without paying on a bendy compared to a normal one person operated double decker shouldn't get away from the fact that it is your own responsibility to pay - in exactly the same way that it isn't a shop's fault that some people choose to shoplift.

What bendy buses are good at is moving very large numbers of people over relatively short distances. This one will come back to bite Boris on the arse. Getting rid of them will cause more traffic problems (and probably more accidents too).

Oddly too the issue of a new Routemaster and bendies has been mixed as one and the same here in the same way as getting rid of the old ones was. Simply not true - London has hundreds of bus routes - only three of them saw the old Routemasters replaced by bendies. The new Routemasters aren't due to come on stream for years - by which time, if Boris continues on this path, most if not all of the bendies will have gone.

I find it amazing that ANYONE is defending bendy buses. I don't need to have an accident with one to know how dangerous they are to two-wheeled road-users. They also block junctions and can't stay in lane. They can fk off and fry in their own self-combustion.

[eddmac]

bendy buses work ever so well in Hamburg
on some routes during busy periods, the frequecy is listed on the bus stop timetable as 'every few minutes.'

it can be a real pain when you miss a bus and have to wait 5 minutes on the next one

[GrahamG]

Mr Gear said:

I find it amazing that ANYONE is defending bendy buses. I don't need to have an accident with one to know how dangerous they are to two-wheeled road-users. They also block junctions and can't stay in lane. They can fk off and fry in their own self-combustion.

Yes - On reflection I feel I should apologise for putting facts in the way of opinion :-)

[Mr Gear]

GrahamG said:

Mr Gear said:

I find it amazing that ANYONE is defending bendy buses. I don't need to have an accident with one to know how dangerous they are to two-wheeled road-users. They also block junctions and can't stay in lane. They can fk off and fry in their own self-combustion.

Yes - On reflection I feel I should apologise for putting facts in the way of opinion :-)

I'm not criticising you for that. I have no idea how many people have or haven't been killed by them. The fact that I have NEARLY been killed by one is enough to put me right off them.
Long sweeping left, I'm on my bicycle, bendy bus comes past, the front bit gets past me OK, but the back thumps me on the arm. No thanks. They take a dangerously long time to overtake cyclists and they take up too much road. That's a fact.

[dapprman]

Mr Gear said:

GrahamG said:

Mr Gear said:

I find it amazing that ANYONE is defending bendy buses. I don't need to have an accident with one to know how dangerous they are to two-wheeled road-users. They also block junctions and can't stay in lane. They can fk off and fry in their own self-combustion.

Yes - On reflection I feel I should apologise for putting facts in the way of opinion :-)

I'm not criticising you for that. I have no idea how many people have or haven't been killed by them. The fact that I have NEARLY been killed by one is enough to put me right off them.
Long sweeping left, I'm on my bicycle, bendy bus comes past, the front bit gets past me OK, but the back thumps me on the arm. No thanks. They take a dangerously long time to overtake cyclists and they take up too much road. That's a fact.

I can join that club - twice, while working in Vauxhall, I was only not hit due to my leaping back out of the way. When they turn round the top of the bus station there, the bendy part crosses the pavement by a good foot.

[Tomi]

Ahahahaha.

Bendy buses have been used for years all over europe without safety issues. You are not just used to them. A bendy bus is just what it is : a long bus. I've lived in several cities in europe and as a cyclist and pedestrian, I've never had a problem with them.

[GrahamG]

dapprman said:

Mr Gear said:

GrahamG said:

Mr Gear said:

I find it amazing that ANYONE is defending bendy buses. I don't need to have an accident with one to know how dangerous they are to two-wheeled road-users. They also block junctions and can't stay in lane. They can fk off and fry in their own self-combustion.

Yes - On reflection I feel I should apologise for putting facts in the way of opinion :-)

I'm not criticising you for that. I have no idea how many people have or haven't been killed by them. The fact that I have NEARLY been killed by one is enough to put me right off them.
Long sweeping left, I'm on my bicycle, bendy bus comes past, the front bit gets past me OK, but the back thumps me on the arm. No thanks. They take a dangerously long time to overtake cyclists and they take up too much road. That's a fact.

I can join that club - twice, while working in Vauxhall, I was only not hit due to my leaping back out of the way. When they turn round the top of the bus station there, the bendy part crosses the pavement by a good foot.

Fair enough - and sounds damn dangerous - Have you told the bus station manager? And no I'm not joking - Make a considered point and I'd be surprised if they don't take some action on signage for the drivers at the very least

[B Oeuf]

NailedOn said:

The RAC Foundation is just a sop to the old RAC Club. It was spawned when the Club demutualised RAC Motoring Services and each full Club member trousered £40k. The regular RACMS (roadside assistance) members got sweet FA.
So they speak on belalf of themselves and nobody else.

You might find RAC funding and the manufacturer have something in common if you dig deep enough. The RAC cares not a jot for the motorist, they're an insurance company

[grumbledoak]

Tomi said:

Ahahahaha.

Have you ever been to London? Despite the Great Fire, and the best efforts of the Luftwaffe, it was never rebuilt in Haussmann style. There are not many wide roads, indeed you could not get any bus down many of the side streets.

The bendy buses work well in the context they were designed for: airports, and they work pretty well in some of the continental cities (wide roads). Here, they are better at bursting into flames than transporting people. Boris is right to try to rid us of them.

[Wetsuit]

Surely, a bendy bus uses twice the road space than a double decker in a city that is so congested that it feels it must charge you for driving there?! If you have ever sat at a box junction that a bendy bus straddles, its limitations are very obvious.