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The buses cost the city proximately 250,000DMs out £63,000) each
Page 42
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and are ,875 metres (55.4ft) long. rr Gepraigs told me that this he maximum practical length' Ulm — although the legal ximum length for artic buses Germany is 18 metres 1.1ft).
No special driving licence er than the normal psv type nce is required in Germany i no direct increase in acents attributable to articutd buses has been exienced in Ulm.
)riving the buses I found no of manoeuvrability; in fact Kassbohrer artic drivers they are easier to handle the Magirus-Deutz rig ids. he rear trailer axle on the es is steered through the table that causes the buses )end, and means that the er always follows the exact of the main body of the
: does, of course, take time et used to driving an artic I must admit that at first it -itened me. But the local ers always knew exactly re the trailer was and what it going to do.
n the return to the main Tort depot the true worth of rehicle was shown when a cularly tight turn into the nises presented no prois at all.
ritish transport managers note that the Ulm bus Ttaking — it charges a flat of 1DM — suffers from alism to the tune of two or seats a day and incurs an al loss of approximately six )rt Deutschmarks. In Ulm loss is written off against no from electric light and ills, which also come to the council and make a handprofit.
nong the features I found 71 which would be unusual itain are electrically powblinds on destination indi; and a team of roving in:ors who charge fare
spot. Also many passengers take advantage of being able to buy monthly or weekly books of tickets in advance. This keeps the 100 per cent one-manoperation as speedy as possible at bus stops: I was impressed with the workshop facilities at Ulm where I saw artic buses and rigid buses as well as trams being prepared for their annual inspections by the Federal authorities. In Germany psv are subject to stringent annual checks as well as spot-checks — about four per vehicle per year.
The next undertaking I visited was the Munich passenger transport authority. Munich runs a fleet of trams, underground railways and 335 buses. The fleet consists of 280 MAN 11-metre (36ft) buses end 55 artic buses which are either Kassbohrer Setras or MANs similar to the latest articulated visitor to Sheffield.
I took a MAN artic bus for a short test drive in Munich. I was very impressed by the ease in which the big vehicle could be handled in tight situations and the flexibility of the MAN engine coupled to the Voith D851 transmission.
Munich has a bus fleet equipped 100 per cent with Voith transmissions. The Voith 0851 is particularly suitable when many standee passengers are carried as it gives very smooth charges and also has a built-in retarder which assists in smooth braking.
Munich's transport organisation has zoned fares allowing a distance to be travelled for certain flat fares. Tickets are interchangeable between trams, bus routes and the new Underground system. A system of kerbside conductors and ticket machines on some buses and trams and in Underground stations is used to sell tickets.
Clear signs in German, English, French and Italian give details of how to buy tickets. A number of one-letter symbols are used: these are I for information; K to buy tickets; and E for cancelling tickets. These multilingual signs are displayed on every bus.
Like Ulm, Munich fines evaders 20DM on the spot.
In Munich too, buses are replaced when they are between eight and ten years old. Very few spare vehicles are left and the total fleet is only eight per cent larger than the undertaking's peak-hour requirement.
While in Germany I was able to visit the Heidenheim and Munich works of the Voith Engineering company, which manufactures the D506 and 851 transmissions used on the Munich and Ulm buses. The DIWA851 transmission used is built in a computerised plant just outside Munich.
Each transmission is tested for over four hours before dispatch. Voith also holds a full and comprehensive stock of spares at Munich, and it is at present looking for a workshop near London to set up a spares and after-sales service in the UK.
I was able also to test drive a MAN SR 750 11-metre bus which serves for a mobile test bed for the Voith company. TM: bus was fitted with three position gear selection contro buttons instead of the norma two. I took the bus over a hilly test route in Heidenheim snowy conditions.
The bus was fitted with t hand retarder control in additior to the brake pedal control. "the retarder made the automatic half-laden bus easily controllable in the difficult conditi prevailing.
Looking at articulated bu in their operating environm showed me that in certain c ditions they have advanta over double-deckers. Altho obviously larger than dou deckers they are not as cum some as they look. Bei single-deck they are able carry more standi passengers, as all passengers are on one deck, and loadih6 and unloading at bus stops tends to be quicker.
Three-door configurations are used by both operators which also help to lessen time lost at stops. Engine and transmissions and vehicle weights are not excessively greater than for conventional British double and single-deckers and maintenance and driver training shouid present no great problems for' British operators.
Both types of articulated. vehicles I looked at in Germany were powered by the same 11.334-litre MAN naturally aspirated diesel engine and the Leyland DAB Saurer that. awakened British interests in artics is powered by the familiar Leyland 680 unit.
The only disadvantage with the artics I found was that the underfloor engine necessitates a' four-step entrance — difficult for less mobile passengers. However, while the artic buses could never replace conventionail British-type double and singleideckers they could complementl
British urban bus operations. '
In London, for example, artic buses, I am sure, could be used usefully on Red Arrow-type London stations routes where large numbers of passengers are ; carried on fairly short journeys for flat fares. • Noel Millier,