closed. Despite this, accessibility to major components in the front
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section is as good as in other mid-engined single deckers in the fleet. MAN has given an undertaking on parts supply for the buses which share some components with goods vehicles on sale in Britain. Midland Red North is also finding that by talking directly to German suppliers parts can be identified and supplied quickly.
The company is considering modifying one pit at Cannock to allow the vehicles to be accommodated with the doors closed and it is likely that this can be done cheaply either by extending a door framework or moving 'stops' at the front of the pit.
Fleet engineer Les Birchley thinks the vehicles will be in ser
vice for around 10 years, although it is possible that a major accident to one could result in its being written off and cannibalised. The repair of its welded body structure might prove prohibitively expensive. Minor body repairs to the structure are no problem and the buses are showing no sign of corrosion or deterioration despite their age.
One disadvantage apparent with the buses from the 1977 SYPTE evaluation was that to utilise capacity fully a large number of passengers have to stand. In fact the vehicles have only 53 seats and can carry 65 standing. When they were first supplied they had 66 seats but these were reduced to carry the heavy loadings of short distance riders on the Sheffield City Clipper service. Les wants to increase seating capacity, but one problem is that they are not standard British bus seats so it would be useful to get hold of the original seats that were removed.
The story of articulated buses in Britain is not one of spectacular success. These MAN SG220 vehicles are successful examples of the concept, but despite their reliable service no immediate plans have been made to purchase more whatever the make.
When I tested the first of the SG220s in late 1978 I concluded that articulated buses in Britain are nothing to worry about, yet offered limited and few advantages over traditional deckers.
Experience in Cannock suggests that this is so. The concept is attractive for short distance flat-fare routes where there is no constraint on available road space but offers few advantages on normal urban, inter-urban or rural routes unless a combination of high capacity and long bridges preclude the use of double-deck buses. In very busy areas a large number of articulated buses could contribute to traffic delays — particularly dynamic delays resulting from the extra time taken when joining traffic streams from side roads.
In the Cannock environment the buses seem at home. The five buses will remain a novelty and seem set to provide sensible Cannock bus services. However they were acquired as a commercial opportunist purchase and in marketing and operational terms this opportunity has proved a worthwhile one. It does not seem likely to lead to any major investment in articulated buses.
The future for the concept in Britain seems as limited as it did in 1978 although it is perhaps significant that South Yorkshire has borrowed one of the Midland Red North buses back to re-evaluate the idea in its area and this could lead to a reintroduction of artics in this metropolitan area.
For Midland Red North the buses demonstrate an awareness of the importance of the package in marketing. A limited use of a different package can increase product awareness. As the bus is the package and travel the product the use of Bendibuses is a worthwhile initiative and is helping to promote the Midland Red North services in Cannock operated under the Chaserider brand name. The first two Bendibuses have now been repainted in Chaserider livery and this seems to have increased their marketing importance.
It does not seem likely that such a marketing initative would have proved worthwhile if the MAN buses had not been available at a bargain price. Cannock deserves praise for its initiative but the foreseeable future for the. articulated bus concept in Britain seems limited.