257% Improvement - 4.5 to 11.6 MPG
 

A few years ago the old "iconic" London Bus (the Routemaster) was phased out as it was getting a little old (being first made in 1954) in favour of modern alternatives. The replacement "bendy" buses proved unpopular because they just don't fit in the street space available. And now they are being phased out.

Their replacement is an Electric / Diesel hybrid double-decker (i.e. with an upper floor) which gets 11.6 MPG compared to the 4.5 of the bendy ones.

Bendy buses here, the new bus is here.

And a video of experts "drifting" buses, narrated by a man who calls his hands "hends" - from when we in Britain were "top nation". ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVq9Gk08lLo

EDIT - the new "Routemaster"

http://orderorder.files.wordpress.co.../boris-bus.jpg

That's 64% too high :P Or 100%-points if you will.

Too big for London, but about 1/3rd of all busses here are of the bendy variety !

Here in Belgium these bendy busses drive through the smallest of villages.

Am I mistaken or is that Boris at the wheel of the new Routemaster ?

Peter.

Warsaw also has them in large numbers. The only thing that kinda works when the rail and tram systems are neglected:rolleyes:
A 18-meter articulated bus fits on a small roundabout (as long as the center is paved;)), while the shorter yet unarticulated 15-meter busses don't.

Mercedes has a 20-meter, 4-axle articulated bus.

Warsaw had a doubledecker for the tourist line, but it had to go through lots of red tape just to be able to drive, because it was 6cm too tall (406cm vs the 4m limit).

The best improvements are usually found on the worst vehicles.
Nice write up.

You are correct - its lucky I don't write software for banks.

No, hang on...:eek:

There have been many many complaints about safety but the stats have not been all that reliable IMHO - like I have any room to tap about maths.. :rolleyes:. They were briefly tried in Edinburgh but the streets in the centre (the old and new town) are narrower than a lot of London's.

Yep, thats the blonde bombshell himself ;) He promised to get rid of the bendy ones in his first term and has managed it - just about.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh7fQz4xzW4

some other big boys at play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6kdyO2Nb8I

I worked briefly (when I was a student) for Leyland - not the ill fated car manufacturing concern, but the highly profitable commercial vehicle makers who were conned by uk.gov into buying the car making bit.

At the time they were pioneering the use of various technologies such as a regen braking and acceleration assist system based on compressed air - batteries were even less developed in those days.

They did unfortunately combine that with a fixed head diesel engine of very poor quality - a case of a reasonable idea done badly.