* Pink tape
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British operators frequently feel that they are enmeshed in red tape, but one only has to travel abroad a little to discover that ours is pale pink by comparison with some. For example, in Italy recently I was hearing a little about type approval problems. To take one instance, the articulated buses which Viberti builds have to be submitted as three separate vehicles. First the front section, with the gap at the rear blanked off, has to comply with all the requirements for a twoaxle road vehicle, then the trailer, with the front blanked off, has to be passed in full compliance with the relevant trailer regulations, and finally the whole outfit has to be submitted for approval.
One of the resulting oddities is that the front part has to be equipped with a full set of rear lights, winkers and maximum-speed plates—which, of course, are never seen!
Mind you, there are also some amusing loopholes. For example, articulated road trains over 14 metres long have to have four axles, yet many 18m articulated buses in Italian cities have only three axles. The reason is that individual road authorities can make special dispensations for vehicles exceeding the legal limits; and since the road authority is also a municipal transport operator it arranges dispensations for its big artic buses. But they can only be operated within the city limits, and the outer suburban services have to comply with the national regulations.