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17
TABLE 17
AGENCY-REPORTED CUSTOMER MOST LIKED AND MOST DISLIKED FEATURES OF HIGHER
CAPACITY SERVICE
Type of HC Bus Most Liked Most Disliked
Articulated More seats--less standing Bounce and movement of rear seats at
Less overcrowding highway speeds
More space Low-floor bus ride not as smooth
Ability to carry more passengers, no Seats in articulated joint
one left at the stop Road dust entering passenger com partment
Novelty of articulated joint Longer wait timesa
Smooth ride As a HC commuter busb
Comfortable interior
Double-Deck Comfort and quiet of upper deck Having to negotiate tight stairwell
View from the upper deck
45-ft Ride quality Narrow aisle ways
Comfort of bus for long distance trips Steeper stairwell
Quality of passenger compartment Longer boarding time
Amenities Longer boarding time can in turn have a
Image possible repercussion on the dwell time of
other buses sharing the bus stop
Source: Transit agency survey responses.
a
When bus is substituted for 40-ft buses.
b
When equipped with transit seating and no amenities.
AGENCY-REPORTED OPERATOR ACCEPTANCE weather and does not have access to the radio or other fixed device
communications on the bus.
Similar to the previously discussed customer acceptance,
survey respondents reported that operators generally like HC Several respondents mentioned the time involved for this
buses. This is believed to be especially true for operators of procedure. The second feature about 45-ft coaches that was
double-deck and 45-ft buses; as one respondent with both disliked by operators concerns its large turning radius that
double-deck and 45-ft buses mentioned, operators appreciate results from its long wheelbase; one comment was that "the
the recognition that accompanies being the operator of a very swinging tag axle leads to more corner damage."
recognizable vehicle. In Victoria, senior operators primarily
choose the runs with the double-deck buses and so it is very
ISSUES OR CONCERNS RAISED WITH USE
difficult for junior operators to sign up for these runs. OF HIGHER CAPACITY BUSES
Several respondents indicated that operators appreciate Transit agencies were asked to identify any major issues or
the 45-ft coaches for various reasons, including the smooth concerns that were raised by their use of HC buses. They
ride and operation on highways; effective heating, ventila- were also asked to rank these issues and concerns. Table 18
tion, and air conditioning system; better line of sight from the provides a summary of the major issues and concerns that
high driver platform; dependability, etc. Some respondents were reported. The transit agencies were asked to indicate the
mentioned that operators appreciate the tight turning radius type of HC bus and to rank the major issue/concern, with "1"
of articulated buses. indicating the most important.
In terms of features disliked by operators, the most fre- The following tables identify the major issues/concerns
quently mentioned issue for operators of articulated buses con- reported by survey respondents by type of HC bus: articu-
cerned poor acceleration, which is the main factor explaining lated buses (Table 19), double-deck buses (Table 20), and
the difference between customer and operator acceptance 45-ft buses (Table 21).
(see Table 15). In addition, a few respondents mentioned that
operators were sometimes concerned with operating articu- When reviewing these tables, the one common major issue
lated buses in snow. or concern for all HC buses mentioned by several respondents
is the capital cost of the vehicles.
Two features were disliked by operators of 45-ft coaches.
The first concerned the difficulty and time involved in board- In terms of issues that are specific to types of HC buses, the
ing and securing customers using wheelchairs. As explained articulated buses stimulated various comments. Some respon-
by one respondent: dents expressed concern about the capital cost of retrofitting
facilities, although several admitted that new garage facilities
[T]he wheelchair lift requires two bench seats to be moved forward had been planned with articulated buses in mind and, there-
for each wheelchair: bus can accommodate up to 2 wheelchairs.
fore, did not create any costs for retrofitting. In addition, a few
The seats are difficult to slide due to their limited use. The operator
has to exit the bus and operate the lift from outside the bus and respondents expressed considerable concern over the mainte-
away from the driver console; he/she may have to stand in poor nance and/or operating costs for articulated buses, ranking
