London articulated bus controversy

The London articulated bus controversy was a series of events and press attention following the introduction of articulated, or "bendy", buses into London, England. While articulated bus operation has been standard in many other countries, the UK had only sparingly tried their use, until the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, using the enhanced mayoral powers to improve bus transport in London through the new executive agency Transport for London, decided to introduce new articulated buses to London. This was in conjunction with final withdrawal of the Routemaster bus from London, going against an earlier mayoral election pledge not to withdraw the Routemaster. After the introduction of the first artics, several incidents caught the media's attention and public comment, continuing into the London mayoral election, 2008. Following this election, it was announced that London bendy buses would be withdrawn, between 2009 and 2013/2015.

Background

Articulated buses have been introduced on several major, high-capacity routes in the 2000s, coinciding with and was possibly prompted by the final withdrawal from passenger service of the iconic Routemaster bus from the streets. Routemasters were not accessible to the disabled, and hard to use by elderly; thus they fell foul of the Disability Discrimination Act. There was also the risk of litigation over accidents involving the Routemaster's rear open platform. However, Routemasters had been refurbished with new engines which could do 8mpg, where the much heavier bendy-buses can only do 5.5mpg.

The Routemaster was previously considered an ideal vehicle for high frequency operation with low dwell times at stops due to its single open rear platform, and several calls had been made for a modern Routemaster replacement, which was an initial pledge in Ken Livingstone's first-term election.

However, articulated buses with their multiple doors and simultaneous boarding arrangements are capable of loading and off-loading many more passengers in less time than conventional double decker buses and Routemasters, although comparisons with double decker buses are difficult as passengers are not allowed to board using the rear doors of a double decker bus. Articulated buses also have a much higher passenger capacity, able to carry over 140 people per vehicle (40 seated; 28%) compared to 77 (75 seated; 94%) in a Routemaster, however a large proportion of the passengers in articulated buses are forced to stand whereas the Routemaster buses were virtually all seated.

Articulated buses take up much more road space (18 metres long compared to 9 metres for a Routemaster and 10 meters for a double decker) which negates many of the other advantages of the type and makes them more likely to block junctions and cause difficulties for other road users, especially cyclists and motorcyclists.

Incidents

Fires

During the initial stages of deployment of artics, between December 2003 and March 2004 there were three similar fires on the new Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, causing concern over the possibility of an in-built risk to the public. The fires caused the temporary withdrawal and modification of the entire fleet of 130 buses, and some fixed standard Citaro buses.] During the televised mayoral debate on 8 April 2008, Jeremy Paxman asked Johnson what the cost of his proposal would be twelve times but received no answer. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EujXtSlOwA YouTube - Boris Johnson has no idea how much his proposals cost ] ]

Planned withdrawal

In August 2008, following the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, it was announced the bendy buses would be withdrawn as their 5 year operating contracts came to an end, starting from May 2009, and completed by 2013 (or 2015 depending on contract extensions)Buses Magazine, August 2008 issue, page 5, Ian Allen Publishing] .

Research by London Travel Watch has indicated that such a withdrawal could prove costly to TfL. A study conducted in September 2008 found that replacing that articulated vehicles on routes 38, 507, and 521, whilst maintaining overall route capacity, would cost an additional £12.6m per annum, due to the additional vehicles necessitated.cite web | title = Consultation on Articulated Bus Routes 38, 507 and 521 (sec. 4.8.1) | url = http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/document/3526/get | publisher = London Travel Watch | accessdate = September 30 | accessyear = 2008 ]

See also

* Articulated bus
* London mayoral election, 2008
* Buses in London
* List of bus types used in London

References

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/ London Bus - Transport for London]
* [http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk - London Travel Watch]