Interesting idea for Ken. Perhaps this should be emailed for his attention.
Whether the internal design will meet EEC rules relating to internal access and disabled access remains to be seen.
The design of the front of the bus was very old fashioned, but no doubt could be improved to satisfy Londoner's tastes.
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Considering Hong Kong used to run Routemaster and Leyland Titans etc!
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Where I live, Arriva has a fleet of very smart LPG single decker buses; they are mainly used to operate the Park and Ride service (the town where I live almost certainly invented this concept many years ago), but are also used on regular bus routes.
There is no discernable difference riding on one of these LPG buses than on the normal versions.
Apparently Arriva also (or has) operated similar LPG pwoered buses in Scotland, one route being between Glasgow and its airport.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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What annoys me with the London congestion charge, or any other UK city congestion charge that is planned, is the way they go about it.
The charging scheme is announced, and to counter criticism from people, we are told the revenue raised will go to improve public transport, the very transport they want you all to use, by way of charging you to drive into the city. So what they are saying is that the present system can't cope with the increased use. Great, so they charge you and hope they force you onto transport that is not up to the job.
So how long is it before the money they make from the charge actually reaches public transport and makes a difference? A while at least. So people see no other viable alternative than to pay the charge and continue to use private transport.
Do it the other way round-improve the public transport first so the public can see they would be daft to drive into the city. A little bit of encouragement will go a long way!
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So how long is it before the money they make from the charge actually reaches public transport and makes a difference? A while at least.
New trains/tubes/trams etc take a long time, but increased bus capacity can be brought online very quickly -- there has been a big expansion of it in London in the last few years.
Cars account for a lot of the road usage, but a very small proportion of overall journeys in London. So a big drop-off in car use can covered by a proprtionally much smaller growth in public transport.
Do it the other way round-improve the public transport first so the public can see they would be daft to drive into the city. A little bit of encouragement will go a long way!
So far as buses are concerned, you won't get people voluntarily onto the buses unless they move more freely (and hence more quickly). Hence all the bus lanes etc which have accompanied the introduction of the congestion charge.
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Comparing London Transport on my last few visits to when I lived there in 1988 I can only see marked improvements. Yes it's busy, but it always has been. Outside of the peak periods the tube is certainly cleaner and more pleasant and the new rolling stock is a vast improvement. Only thing missing is aircon in the carriages.
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Especially those wonderful Hong Kong trams. Ancient they may be but such an efficient way of cutting across the city. Then you have an MRT station just a short walk away from wherever you are.
And what a testament to transportation efficiency is the MRT. It's what the Tube ought to be but isn't.
Even better, the covered elevated walkways criss-crossing the city which protect you from the elements and mean you can practically walk the whole length of HK island above and away from the traffic with suitable exits to the main centres. Manila where I live is thank goodness is also copying this.
Singapore is not far behind but I would venture to suggest that the efficient movement of mass people (and HK has wall-to-wall people) is nowhere better exemplified than in Honkers.
But just don't look for a taxi in the rainy season on a Wednesday afternoon when the races are on in Happy Valley.....
One wonders whether the Livingstones and their ilk ever look at this. Seems to me his response is always a negative/controlling one whereas the Asians rise to the challenge of increasing transportation needs and make life easier instead of more difficult.
Just my $0.02 worth.
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I'm a relatively infrequent visitor to London, but as an 'outsider' it does seem to have got better over the last year or two.
Several German cities have had LPG (and also CNG) busses for several years now and I think the Dutch also use them - its not just in Hong Kong.
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