This bus is on loan to New York from Belgium. (Photo courtesy of NYC Transit)
Outside of red telephone booths, nothing screams “London” quite like a double-decker bus. The ubiquitous vehicles line the streets of England’s capital day in and day out, and they are positively European.
Four months ago, NYC Transit President Howard Roberts mused about the return of double-decker buses to New York City. His dreams, it seems, will become a reality.
In an effort to increase bus capacity and respond to ridership demands, the MTA is set to audition double-decker buses on the streets of New York. The first prototype, a bus on loan from a Belgium-based transportation company, will hit the streets on Thursday and will run as part of a 35-day test as the transit authority attempts to assess how these buses navigate New York City streets and traffic, what level of maintenance they require and how they handle loading and unloading.
“This is not for show. This is not just to titillate the New York public. We really like this bus,” MTA CEo and Executive Director Elliot “Lee” Sander said during a press conference yesterday. “There is a very real chance that New Yorkers will see this in the future. We hope it passes the test.”
Pete Donohue of The Daily News has more on this unique bus:
The agency will seek rider opinions, which likely will include notice of low ceilings. The first level measures 71 inches – 5 feet 11 inches – from floor to ceiling. The upper deck is just 67inches, or 5-feet-7. The average American man is 5-feet-9.
Except for tourist buses, double-deckers haven’t been a regular feature of the city streetscape since the early 1950s, when Dwight Eisenhower was President, gasoline was 20 cents a gallon and television shows were in black and white.
A double-decker with 81 upholstered seats and tinted windows will start making runs on Thursday. The largest bus currently in service, the so-called accordion or articulated bus, has 62 seats. During the 35-day test, the double-decker is expected to be deployed on several routes, most likely including the x17 express between Manhattan and Staten Island, the M5 Limited and the M15, officials said.
It’s tough to get a sense of how much standing room these buses have. But it sounds as though these buses will more than complement the buses currently on the street. Notably, these double-decker buses are more fuel-efficient than the articulated buses current running on the crowded Manhattan streets. As they also take up less horizontal space, it’s a win-win situation for both the MTA and other Manhattan drivers.
On the down side, these buses can’t handle cross-park traffic. The transverses in Central Park don’t feature clearance high enough to allow these double-decker buses to run across town through the park.
In the end, it’s hard not to like this idea. It combines practicality, environmentalism and nostalgia all in one. These buses, if they pass the test of a public not so keen on the buses, would be a welcome addition to the New York City public transit system.
11 comments
I saw one the other day up here in Inwood. I have to say, they look really good.
A lot of cabbies claim that one of the major causes of cross town gridlock are the so called accordion buses so anything that will get rid of those monstrosities gets a thumbs up from me. However its not completely new, I see those tourist double decker buses every day, the giant red ones.
These buses will be best on the express routes. It will take a long time to load and unload these buses especially if they aren’t part of the new Special Bus Service. Even though they don’t offer much head room, they offer 30% more seats than the largest single unit buses. With the same footprint on the road and in garages.
Sedgwick Avenue is misspelled on the front sign.
Remember the British Leyland double deckers the TA tested in the 1970’s? Those worked out real well, didn’t they? They couldn’t stand up to the rigors of NYC popothole-riddled streets.
As a 5-foot, 11.5 inch person, I am not thrilled by this implementation of the double-decker bus idea. I think any bus should have at least 6 feet of space on the lower level.
It’s worth noting that London has been phasing out double-decker buses on a lot of routes in favor of articulated buses, a change that a lot of people oppose. I’m not sure what the rationale for it was.
Maybe TfL heard that we were considering double-deckers again and wanted to sell theirs to us 🙂
[…] The MTA’s double-decker bus prototype made its maiden voyage yesterday, and The Daily News’ Matthew Lysiak and Pete Donohue were on board soliciting rider feedback. They found that everone liked it. The only complaints focused around the fact that headroom on the lower level is just 5′11″ and on the upper level a meager 5′7″. This bodes well, at least initially, for the MTA’s plans to bring more of these buses to New York. […]
I can see two problems with these buses, as much as I love them.
1. Some bus drivers are already twitchy about not staying at a bus stop long enough to let all the passengers off unless they’re standing right in front of the door. Aren’t they going to have to park at the stop longer to make sure the slower passengers who’ve ended up on the upper deck have made their way down and out? I mean, really, I can guarantee that there’s going to times when a family including little toddlers is going to be up there, and then Mom and/or Dad is going to have to take the little barely-walking kid by the hand and slowly lead them step by step down the stair. I’ve seen it already on the low-rider buses, and that’s just two steps in the back.
2. The upper deck — welcome to the new temporary clubhouse for every teenager and tween assemblage in the city. They’re going to count on the bus driver not being on the same level as them. Noise levels will go up and bad behavior will rise, because they’ll feel distant from their enforcer and other passengers.
[…] last we saw the double-decker buses, the MTA was gearing up for a test-run along some busy city arteries. Since then, however, New York City Transit has run into a little problem: As predicted, the bus […]