The last bendy-buses.

March51

This much loved(!!) London icon will not be seen again on the streets of the capital after midnight tonight, so get those anoraks on chaps and get over to the White City area to see the last ones making their final appearance. Will anyone regret their passing?

EastStand

Me! I loved being able to get to New Cross for free.

BDL

Me, easier to get on and off.

numberten

I will miss them. They weren't perfect, but I thought overall they were good, and some of the routes will now be impossible to get on as normal double deckers.

- So much quicker for people to get on and off.

- Easier for wheelchairs & buggies

- Number of cyclists killed by bendy buses: 0

I'm honestly quite pissed off about it, I know it's only a bus, but still. They're only being scrapped because it was a Boris election pledge. I actually had to get on the routemaster number 15 the other day, and I can tell you now that all misty-eyed nostalgia went immediately out the window, it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

RIP Bendy

Lincsaddick

exactly .. why have they been discontinued .. are they dangerous ?

 

IdleHans

bloody awful suspension - used to go from Padington to Victoria on the 436, and they'd shake the teeth right out of your head. Double deckers much better on the same roads.

kentaddick

exactly .. why have they been discontinued .. are they dangerous ?

 

everyone was getting on at the back and not beeping in their oyster, so having a free journey basically. My mate used to live between manor house tube and wood green and get the 29 (i think it is?) and never paid in the entire year he lived there.

Lincsaddick

I see .. thanks

se9addick

Does that mean no more free transport around the west end ?

leftbehind

never been on one

Stig

Routemasters are better than Bendies, but only if h&s goes out of the window.  They should stop the conductor from policing the back and let people ride on the tail - those were the days.

Oggy Red

This is the sort of thread that makes Charlton Life what it is ......erm.

Well done, March51

;o)

delroofer

Not sorry to see them go.

Many's the time I have sat in my car at traffic lights or hatched junctions, only to see these buses ignore all regulations and cause gridlock by preventing the rest of traffic moving around them.

soapy_jones

If any of you feel nostalgic for these buses... put Belvedere bus garage into the sat nav and take a gander, they are all parked up there waiting to be disposed of, or not

Oggy Red

"Disposed of" ........ you mean they're up for sale?

You could buy one, drive it round town for a lark.
Imagine the faces of people waiting in the rain at a bus stop as you drove past, empty.



PS: think I'm bored tonight ;o)

EastTerrace

Too dangerous for other road users, too large for London's streets, too free (my mate called it the freebus) and too European (and I'm not a Tory). Looked alright though.

SE10Addick

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

cafc-4-life

They was dangerous for motorcyclists and cyclists on the road. That was one of the reasons. Can easily knock them over.

Salad

what's happening with them - wonder why they can't be used for their budgeted lifespan ?

MuttleyCAFC

Well it was his election pledge and people voted for him so had to be done. There were some routes they were unsuitable for but others where they were best suited. They also had bigger capacity which has now been lost. Shame really. Shows the folly of having a likable oaf in charge of London.

Stu_of_Kunming

Well it was his election pledge and people voted for him so had to be done. There were some routes they were unsuitable for but others where they were best suited. They also had bigger capacity which has now been lost. Shame really. Shows the folly of having a likable oaf in charge of London.

People moan when politicians don't stick to their election pledges, now you want to moan because Boris IS sticking to his.

Can't win.

what's happening with them - wonder why they can't be used for their budgeted lifespan ?

I imagine a large amount of people seeing them as a 'free journey' might have something to do with it!!

Rothko

They was dangerous for motorcyclists and cyclists on the road. That was one of the reasons. Can easily knock them over.

Not a single cyclist was injured by a bendy bus, compared to 9 cyclists killed this year in accidents with HGV's

swords_alive

Very backward move by the mayor, which i fancy was done for dubious sentimental reasons.

Too many people get misty eyed for the Routemaster which was unsafe, with people falling off the back.One slip and you could land in trafiic, as happened to a drunk in Catford that i witnessed. An improved version of the bendy bus would have been the preferable option; maybe more narrow, or as Muttley says, only run on certain trunk routes.

Some media reporting sales of the decommissioned busses to Malta, which will be interesting addition to an ageing fleet. Historians and enthusiasts alike may be interested in http://www.maltabybus.com/

Goonerhater

Great work Boris. 90% on the bendies  never paid. Nitemare in traffic.

wow not a single cyclist injured by a bendy bus --- not a one.

RugbyAddick

Bendy buses have cut me up on so many occasions. I liked riding them but never liked riding around them!! IF you catch my drift.

Salad

it's fair enough to decide they are not the future what I am not sure about is the cost of decomissioning them ahead of schedule

March51

Yes, presumably they're leased and they'll have to be paid for until the leases expire or they can be off-loaded to another company. Impossible to export them except to right hand drive countries such as Malta and it would cost a few bob to convert them to LHD which is probably impossible to do anyway.

tangoflash

As a former bus driver I had a drive in one once. No different to a regular bus really. The problem is not the buses but the congestion in London making them inpratical for the capital...........................

Rizzo

They were a ridiculous idea from the start. Congestion a major problem? Let's make buses that take up twice as much roadspace and can't handle busy junctions. Great thinking!!

Saga Lout

Never thought they were right for London, so I'm glad to see the back of them. However, the money wasted by Boris having a new bus designed was simply ridiculous.

Can't believe the stat that no cyclists was injured or killed by them - they looked like an accident waiting to happen to me.

Lincsaddick

we could buy one and park it across the goal for the rest of the season .. perhaps no-one'll notice