Valiant Effort or Mongrel?

When we wrote yesterday about the New Bus for London, we knew there was something afoot. We weren’t sure what to expect. Say what you like about TfL’s morning launch yesterday, it’s gotten people talking about buses. Surely a good thing. And say what you like about the politics behind the project, you have to admit that Wrightbus has come up with something strikingly different, brave, courageous even. Whatever this bus is, it isn’t just another double deck—though notwithstanding the large open platform, it’s still a large glass & metal box which means, without aircon or hopper/ventilators, it will certainly do what double decks tend to do: steam up in winter and boil passengers in summer.

The off-side looks more striking than the nearside. Indeed, the glazed stairwell is the most striking featue of all. Seen from the kerb, this could be any old bus, though it’s from this view that the remarkable features are found: two stairwells and an open rear platform
The first thing that struck me was that it looks a little like those beautiful Alexander J/AL type bodies on Bournemouth Atlanteans & Fleetlines from the 1960s. Plus it has something of that je ne sais quoi about it, perhaps an element of those strange, raked Dublin Metsec bodies used by CIE. Add a side profile of the Nottingham specials of the 1970s, with part glazed stairwells and the frontal asymmetry of a Gateshead hybrid single deck and you have quite a mongrel. In short, it wasn’t so long ago on this blog that we were discussing that curved designs make better buses. If that’s indeed true, here we have something very much in that mould (some might say “jelly mould”) that passengers will love and respect, though we suspect it will polarise opinion. Mind you, the rear curves & dome look just a little over cooked.

Video walkthroughs and paper designs as on display by TfL often show products off to best advantage. Things do change when you see a mock up or a production design. Good examples of where paper didn’t quite translate to reality include the Plaxton Elite and the Optare Rapta.

What’s left to say about it that the media haven’t? Not a lot. One thing is for sure, though, a new Routemaster it is not. For one thing, it’s wider and far larger and longer, and may have trouble weaving through London’s traffic. For another, there’s a considerable wheelbase there and overhangs front and especially rear. The RM had no such front overhand, of course. And it won’t have a rear platform with conductor at slacker times. Presumably this includes the evening, just when passengers might benefit from a second crew member. Ah well.

Whatever this bus is, it isn’t just another double deck. We stand by our comments yesterday about whether London really needs a bespoke design. If it’s to have one, though, this may as well be it. Better than the designed-principally-for-London Titan and DMS, that’s for sure. The New Bus for London has the appeal and gravitas that came with the RT and RM, only in an updated and modern package. Thankfully, it has shunned the TfL competition winners. Though, as we’ve said before more than once, the more outrageous the design, the quicker it dates.