Chariots Of Fire
We mentioned that London was set to get rid of those monster buses, but I thought I’d push out one more piece of data on that matter:
Bendy buses cause more than twice as many injuries as any other bus, according to official figures seen by the Standard.
More than 90 pedestrians and cyclists were injured by the new vehicles last year.
Two people, including a 12-year-old girl, Blessing Olayiwola, have been killed by bendy buses in the last six months alone, even though there are only a few hundred of them.
The figures will be seized on by critics who want Transport for London to scrap the 60ft long vehicles. However, the Standard has learned that TfL may introduce them on even more routes. The statistics, released by the Mayor to London Assembly member Geoff Pope, show the new buses caused 115 per cent more pedestrian injuries than other types of buses per million miles operated.
Bendy buses were involved in 1,751 accidents over the year - 75 per cent more than other buses, the figures reveal.
This is an average of nearly five a day, and more than five accidents a year for every bus in the fleet. The vehicles caused 170 per cent more collisions with cyclists - nearly three times as many as conventional buses.
Mr Pope, chairman of the Assembly’s transport committee, said: “These figures are alarming and worryingly high.
“There appear to be defects in the design of the bendy bus, but there’s no sign these can be overcome. TfL should urgently review whether all the routes currently operated by bendy buses are suitable for them.”
Lynda Lynch, whose 79-year-old mother suffered “horrific” injuries after becoming trapped in the doors of a bendy bus, said: “How can TfL expect one person to drive two buses joined together and man three doors? They are a death trap.”
Charlie Lloyd, of the London Cycling Campaign, said: “We are very concerned to see this. Buses cutting into cyclists are one of our members’ biggest complaints.”
Blessing, 12, died instantly when she was struck by a No 12 bendy bus in Peckham Rye, near the junction with East Dulwich Road in December. Her father Jonathan, 50, was driving another No 12 that evening and heard about the accident, which happened close to the family home in Nunhead, over his vehicle’s radio.
Today’s figures show that bendy buses cause 5.6 pedestrian injuries per million miles operated, compared with 2.6 for all other buses.
They are involved in 2.62 collisions with cyclists per million miles, compared with 0.97 for other buses. And they have 153 accidents per million miles, compared with only 87 per million on non-bendy routes.
Bendy buses were introduced from 2002 onwards, often to replace London’s popular Routemasters.
Levels of fare-dodging on the new vehicles, which have unsupervised “open boarding,” are about three times higher than on conventional buses.
TfL claimed bendies had more accidents because they “encountered more road users” than non-bendy buses.
TfL is also pressing ahead with new purchases of bendy buses. Around 30 vehicles are being bought for the 453 service, raising the possibility that the route’s existing bendy buses will be redeployed on to other routes.
That’s the whole article, and it’s from about a year ago.
Apparently, London’s bendy buses have been very good at catching on fire - first four years ago - and then at least once more recently - I’m having trouble keeping track.
I’m telling you - that English sense of humor - killing me. The 14-year old kid, James Galbraith, had that great quote, with a smirk on his face:
The bendy bus safety record does leave a lot to be desired. They do keep bursting out in flames.
It seems like it’s Mercedes buses that are the ones bursting into flames all around the world. Volvo buses just lose their brakes. Actually, I might prefer fire to that.
I read a comment somewhere that said our bendy bus BRT routes would not use overhead wires. That’s cool. At least I’ll be able to hear those killers coming up behind me. And I think that whole ‘global warming’ thing is a bit overrated anways.
There are whole campaigns, apparently, to get rid of bendy buses - for a whole host of reasons.
Some have argued that bendy buses ‘design in’ crime.
Bendies tearing at the seams.
I’m not exactly sure what it will take for people to start getting indignant about having these killers roaming our streets - maybe you just have to witness horror:
A woman who saw the lifeless body of a man dragged a mile by a bendy bus today told of her horror.
Lee Beckwith, 21, fell as he got off a bus in Ilford High Road and became trapped beneath the wheels of the Number 25. His body became dislodged a mile away in Romford Road, Manor Park, and passers-by alerted police.
Mr Beckwith, a tiler who lived with his partner in Brentwood, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Krisztina Keresztes, 26, was on the Number 25 bus behind the one that killed Mr Beckwith when it was stopped by police. The waitress of Ilford, who was on her way to work in Hackney, stepped off the bus and saw the aftermath.
She said: “Police stopped us and said we had to get off because someone had been hurt. When I got off I could see a man’s body lying in the road and a trail of blood behind it.
“The trail went up the street where he had been dragged and there was also blood on the road that had been left by the wheels.” She added: “I don’t understand how he could have been dragged so far without anyone knowing he was there or stopping the bus. It’s so terrible and I only hope he didn’t know too much about it.”
We can’t expect bus drivers to stop being human just because they get behind the wheel of a bus — they’re going to make mistakes — lots of them — especially if they work for Muni.
London has 8,000 buses, and carries 1.8 Billion people annually. Yes, you read that correctly. And some in the UK are calling for real transit. Leeds, too.
Bendy buses - one of the most hated sights on the streets of London.
This article has some interesting takes on everyone’s favorite BRT, Transmilenio!
Anyone who has visited Bogotá in recent years will have seen them, those big red articulated buses that seem to dominate the streets. At first, this public transport system may be a little intimidating so here are a few tips to get you started.
Funny you mention that, Jonathan, that’s exactly the case I’ve been trying to make — that even if our BRT bendy buses don’t run us cyclists over, they’ll do a good job of scaring us off the streets, and preventing new folks from taking up cycling.
But there’s more:
Once the bus arrives, make sure that no one can get past you because there will certainly be people trying to do so.
…
4. Getting into the bus can be a minor war. Do not think about others, just about yourself. Remember that everybody else is doing the same and nobody is going to offer you a seat. Be fast, try to get a seat, and try not to hurt anyone in the process.
6. Be very careful. While Transmilenio is relatively save, there will always be people trying to take advantage of travelers not paying attention and pickpocketing unfortunately still occurs. Keep your hands on your pockets or better, make sure that your possessions are well covered and hard to reach.
7. While some rules should be followed, one that really doesn’t need following is the ‘don’t stand near the doors’ rule. When the bus is very full and you’re trying to get in, you just have no choice. The doors turn inwards and as long as you turn along with the door (keep your back towards the door), nothing bad can happen.
Basically, a substantial part of the article is about how packed the buses are — one of the major criticisms of BRT systems — they just can’t handle heavy loads without passengers being subjected to extreme conditions, like being packed in like sardines. This, of course, is uncomfortable, it has writers telling you to only look out for yourself, pickpockets have a field day, etc.
Seoul is getting out of the bendy bus game, too.
Can’t believe they’re sullying the name of the best movie ever. Blasted English!
…Be careful out there:
…We already know these things are disasters in the ice and/or snow, and probably just any kind of slippery condition at all:
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