VOL. 111 APRIL 22, 1960 No 2853 Ins and Outs
Page 41
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SAFETY and speed in loading and unloading are important problems associai.ed with the large-capacity double-deck bus. In the face of the trend towards the front-entrance double-decker, the use of a rear entrance by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., in .. their latest design, the D.9 72-seater, calls for comment. The vehicle has a number of advanced structural and mechanical features, which may make the open rear platform seem incongruous. Immediately before the war all Midland " Red" buses had front entrances, as have the singledeckers in current use. Why, then, have the company taken what might to some people appear to be a retrograde step?
A test which B.M.M.O. recently conducted showed that a D.9 could be unloaded in two-thirds of the time required by a front-entrance bus. There are, of course, other advantages of a rear entrance. The platform can be made larger, without any great sacrifice of seats, than if it is at the front, and the segregation of streams of passengers to and from the lower and upper decks is facilitated. There is also more accommodation for folding prams, baggage and parcels.
Moreover, drivers generally do not welcome passengers standing alongside them when drawing to a stop. The half cab possible with a rear entrance also affords better all-round vision than is provided by a full-fronted bus, irrespective of the entrance position.
It is significant that London Transport, who experimented with frontentrance double-deckers before the war, have retained the open rear platform in their latest model, the Routemaster, which is to be built in large quantities. Their reasons are that loading and unloading are speeded up, and the position of the staircase helps to avoid congestion inside the bus. Mr. A. M. M. Durrant, London Transport's chief mechanical engineer (road services), has made the point also that a front or central entrance would have to be enclosed by a door, which would slow down passenger movement.
It is possible that interest in entrances ahead of the front wheels has been artificially created because, with a rear or underfloor engine, the space alongside the driver of a stage carriage cannot be used for seats. To avoid wasting it, what could be more natural than to place the entrance there? This is undoubtedly why front entrances are normally incorporated in underfloor-engined single-deckers.
Whatever the reasons underlying its adoption, however, the front entrance has an important advantage in allowing the driver to supervise loading and unloading while the conductor is collecting fares and is engaged in other duties inside the bus. This is a particularly valuable feature on busy town routes, where the collection of fares is a full-time occupation for the conductor.
It is impossible to be dogmatic about entrance positions. Each has its own merits, depending on local conditions, but it is clear that the old , open rear platform is by no means out of date.