Double Decker Buses

spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
I had the pleasure of riding a Red and White Ottawa Transit double decker bus the other day. Not quite the same Green and White as the GO buses that are plentiful around South Western Ontario, but I think they are very similar. Anyone like or dislike double decker buses? Seems previously they really weren't as popular (except in the UK/Europe) as they are now. They were in Victoria BC as early as almost 30 years ago (perhaps based also on linkage to UK).
 
howarmat

howarmat

Member
Only DD bus I road in was in LA doing the tour of famous people's houses back in the day. Not sure they still do that now. I wouldnt mind riding in one in London or whatever though as they are pretty cool.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
I was looking for a dedicated site/page for the OCTranspo DD Buses. Had to settle for the descriptions on the OCTranspo page about their vehicles/fleet. Unfortunately, have to also wade through their other vehicles.

Vehicles | OC Transpo

www.octranspo.com www.octranspo.com

Here's a promo video from a few years back.


OCTranspo DD Buses were involved in two significant accidents thus far, from what I can remember. More on those later.
 
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Chuck Finley69

Chuck Finley69

Active member
I hate public transportation. Occasionally, I have to park somewhere in Tampa and use trolley for short 5 minute ride but I hate the bus.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
Public transportation and the densification of cities and current population centres is the future, for a fossil fuels free new world.
 
SteinwayTransitCorp

SteinwayTransitCorp

Active member
spARTacus said:
Public transportation and the densification of cities and current population centres is the future, for a fossil fuels free new world.
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fossil fuel free world....LMAO never going to happen in mine or your lifetime. As for DD buses been their done that, I have the tee shirt. They do not work in the public sector any longer with crime being a problem. You want real transport, subways and busses will work just fine.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
You're probably right about both of us being dead before the world is free from using fossil fuels. In fact, I assume it will never be completely free from such use.

DD Buses seem to be working in these cities:
  • London
  • Berlin
  • Colombo
  • Ottawa
  • Seattle (Sound Transit)
  • Hong Kong
  • Victoria (BC Transit)
  • Las Vegas (limited use I think, the Deuce)
  • Greater Toronto Area (GO Transit)
Why did DD Buses not work in the past for some areas due to crime? Too much risk of crime on the top deck, where the driver could not monitor the passengers?
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
Here's the wiki about the Deuce in Las Vegas.

en.m.wikipedia.org

The Deuce (transit bus service) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

I can proclaim I have ridden one of these, from south of the south end of the strip all the way up to the Fremont area in the north, and then later back again. Maybe the CB2 management team also rode it recently for their Vegas trip?

deuce.jpg
 
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SteinwayTransitCorp

SteinwayTransitCorp

Active member
Sorry in NYC and other places they no longer work. London is out for other reasons, but truth is a 52 passenger bus is the most efficient way to go.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
As of March 2022, there were 6328 double decker buses operating in London, representing about 70 percent of their total bus fleet. They sure seem to like those double decker buses for their needs. Here is a pic of the Routemaster, one of the newer DD models they use.
RoutemasterDDBus.jpg
 
Paul Reichert

Paul Reichert

Member
The security issue makes no sense to me unless you're in Detroit. Plus consider the beneficial cultural impact of double decker buses. Example;

'Found my upstairs and had a smoke. And somebody spoke and I went into a dream'.

Takeaways x 2: it is safe for a world famous pop star to ride the double deckers, and London is a big city with all the attendant risks.

And the most significant musical composition of the 1960's would not exist were it not for a lonely pop star who spent his lonely hours riding peacefully on these vehicles.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
Chuck Finley69 said:
The obvious is driving on the correct side of the road, so much even the Canucks follow the USA instead of their monarch leaders
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What does that have to do with the benefits or drawbacks of Double Decker Buses? (...and BTW, it's the US that follows Canada for driving on the right side of the road, since in Canada that influence stems from Upper and Lower Canada's background from France, whereas the 13 Colonies where only background from Britian).
 
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SteinwayTransitCorp

SteinwayTransitCorp

Active member
spARTacus said:
That doesn't seem to make any sense. What better choice for their situation are you guys in the US more informed about?
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wow a little sensitive are we? In transit we had double decker busses 50 years ago in most major cities. We found they did not work out and they became more a tourist thing.
 
spARTacus

spARTacus

Active member
SteinwayTransitCorp said:
wow a little sensitive are we? In transit we had double decker busses 50 years ago in most major cities. We found they did not work out and they became more a tourist thing.
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No sensitivity was involved. Still not now either. And, I also still can't follow the point you were earlier making, since it seems the double decker buses are working out great for them.
 
SteinwayTransitCorp

SteinwayTransitCorp

Active member
spARTacus said:
No sensitivity was involved. Still not now either. And, I also still can't follow the point you were earlier making, since it seems the double decker buses are working out great for them.
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Ok let me spell it out, they are mandated by the city. When we had them on NY they turned out to be more trouble than it was worth that’s all.
 
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