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BODYWORK FOR LONG-DISTANCE BUSES.
Page 96
Page 97
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The Standard of Comfort Called for is that Already Provided on Main-line Railway Trains.
THE use of the bus, or saloon coach, for regular journeys of fifty, a hundred, or more, miles daily is a practice which, so far, is yet in its infancy in this country. Buses of this description are not run in direct competition with the railway, although they may ply for hire between towns already connected by a good service of trains. If the service should run more or less parallel to the railway the idea is to provide additional, or alternative, facilities for those who may prefer to take the journey by road and thus to have a better opportunity of seeing the countryside and noting points of interest on the way. A journey between two towns some distance apart may only be undertaken at long intervals, and the passenger is desirous of obtaining the maximum of enjoyment from the trip, or, if he be a frequent traveller, he may wish occasionally to vary the method of getting to his destination and ,is attracted by the change and greater variety of scene offered by the bus service.
Apart from these considerations, the bus may call at smaller towns and villages which have no railway station in their immediate vicinity, or the terminal points may be more conveniently situated than those of the railway for some passengers. It is probable, too, that, In the near future, services will be inaugurated, which will open up new and more direct routes between certain towns, forming, in some instances, a natural development or extension of existing Inter urban s e rvices. At the present time, when the traveller is making a crosscountry trip, there are many occasions when a very roundabout journey has to be undertaken by rail, with long waits at junctions. Generally speaking, the railway offers facilities for travelling along routes which radiate from a busy centre. Many bus services are run with a similar object in view, because in this way a good revenue may reasonably be expected ; but, on the other hand, there is always scope for the service which cuts directly across these radiating lines or tends to encircle them. The new route may run through one or two large towns, but this is not its most important purpose, which is rather to provide direct communication between points which are not already so connected and to open up new districts which hitherto have enjoyed little or no public transport facilities.
Maximum Seating Comfort Essential.
The bus which is intended for long journeys should be designed to give extra seating comfort. The seats must not be so closely coupled as in an ordinary town or country bus, but be spaced out more generously in the way that is frequently found in the coach running on pleasure trips. The enjoyment of riding for a lengthy period does not depend so much on the luxuriousness and resilience of the cushion and back squab as on a properly related set of seating dimensions, and, In addition, the opportunity that may be afforded of
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varying one's position slightly from time to time. A railway journey is often tiring because, although the cushion may be wide and the back squab high, these have little or no slope, whilst the floor is horizontal and the chance of stretching one's legs depends on the number and position of the passengers on the opposite seat.
Seat Dimensions.
A good seat for a long journey is one which is moderately high, say 161 ins, from the floor to the top of the compressed cushion in front, with a pronounced rake to the cushion of 3 his. to 3i ins. The back of the seat has an equally good slope, forming an angle of 105 to 110 degrees with the top of the cushion. The back measures some 21 ins, high from the top of the cushion, making the seat about 32 ins, overall from the floor at the back. A 'rake to the cushion throws the passenger, without any effort on his part, against the back-rest, and if this be high and at the right angle he is getting the full measure of comfort which the seat provides. A hollow-shaped back to the seat is more restful than a straight one and, by paying particular care to the general contour of the seat surfaces with which the passenger comes into contact, much of the usual thickness of cushion and squab may be avoided.
Thick cushions require low seatboards, which cause the space under them to be restricted and leg and kneeroom to be curtailed. Thick squabs take up valuable space, each measure of which may seem small reckoned individually, but, when the thicknesses of several squabs in a large bus are added together it may entail the loss of a row of seats. When seats are arranged in pairs, not only should the backs be hollow, but separate cushions should be provided. A further refinement is to make each seat independent, although the clearance between such a pair of seats need only be sufficient to allow of separate movement. If this be done, ,there is the opportunity of providing some simple form of seat adjustment such as can be readily operated by the passenger himself, the method of operation being indicated by a briefly worded 'label of instructions.
A footrest is made up as part of the structure of each seat for the convenience of the passenger sitting behind. The passengers on any row of seats immediately behind a partition must not be forgotten; a footrest must be provided for them; even if it entails making a special recess or some slight modification of the general seating Nan.
Another item which adds to the comfort of a long journey is a small folding table for each passenger. This can fold neatly against the back of the seat in front. If , the back of the seat be curved, then it should be designed with an exterior flat surface so as to accommodate the table when not in use, preferably in a recess, so that it folds away flush. The table is made as thin as possible. Suitable material for this purpose is armoured plywood with the metal side uppermost and painted with cellulose. Made in this way, and with hinged side struts, the table is strong, easily cleaned and kept in a presentable condition. With this table at hth disposal, the average passenger feels at once at his ease. He can lay his book or papers on it, make notes or partake of a light meal; in short, it is a valuable item which is calculated to lend variety to the journey—an important factor to be considered if the long journey is to be a pleasant one, and the passenger is to be tempted to repeat his experience of this special form of road travel.
Armrests are undoubtedly items of comfort, especially when they are mounted at the right height (about 11 ins, from the top of the cushion) and are parallel to the slope of the cushion. Armrests can be fixed at the sides of the body without interfering much with the seating accommodation ; but, when used on the gangway side, or to divide a pair of seats, they take up too much room in a vehicle which seats four in a row with
gangway between. Armrests can, of course, be used if the number of seats per row be reduced to three (two seats on the off side and one on the near side). Then the dividing armrests of a double seat can be wide enough to take a pair of elbows and each seat )f a size to take an adult of good physique. But, )ven when so arranged, there is always the danger of he stout passenger upsetting the calculations of the lesigner and causing some embarrassment, whereas, without armrests, there is more scope for making adrustments when occasion arises. As a compromise, all cangway and middle armrests should be made to fold m or be detachable. A gangway side armrest could )e arranged to hinge right over and under the seat. .f the choice has to be made between folding tables and trmrests, then the bus proprietor will be wise if he rotes for the tables.
Headroom.
The long-distance bus must be well ventilated, wcause many of the passengers, will be riding for four ir live hours, or even more. Not less than 6 ft. headcorn is allowed above the gangway, with a moderate amber to the roof, so that there is still plenty of headsons above the seated passengers. The main windows ire arranged to drop, and there are ventilating frames a" louvres above them, particular attention being paid
o the ventilation above the windscreen and in the ipper part of the front partition, as well as the back if the body, with four or six air extractors fitted in he roof. The floor is well fitted so as to prevent the access of any exhaust gases into the interior ; but, at the same time, as the vehicle is to work regularly all the year round, a well-controlled exhaust system may be used as a means for heating during the winter months. The electric lighting must be adequate and in keeping with the general level of comfort provided by the seating and other equipment of the body, and must, of course, include headlights for driving along unlit country roads.
Luggage Disposal.
It must be expected that passengers taking a fairly long journey will wish to take with them some sort of hand luggage. It is not possible for these bags to be placed under or beside the seats. The simplest plan is to provide a luggage compartment at the rear, and, as the bus has a fixed roof, this rear compartment may he the full height of the body and have a middle shelf, access being provided from the inside and by means of sliding doors, giving the passenger the opportunity of getting at his bag if necessary during the journey. In America, where the use of the long-distance bus is spreading rapidly, two unusual methods for the disposal of luggage have recently been put into practice. One plan is to raise the floor on each side under the seats, keeping the floor at the normal level in the gangway. Below the raised portions of the floor are lockers, with doors made in the lower part of the main panelling. T h e overall height of the body not being unduly increased, the seated passenger has only a few inches headroom above him. In this connection it is interesting to note that a British patent, granted early in 1920, provided for the disposal of luggage under the floor of the vehicle. A more ambitious scheme consists of designing the rear portion of the bus so that It resembles a double-decker, but the floor of the upper deck is not raised to the full height of the roof level of the main portion of the body. The luggage compartment is then formed in the space under the raised seats.
The semi-double-decker type of body has the advantage that good headroom is afforded for all the passengers when seated, the observational or sightseeing value of the vehicle is enhanced, whilst the overall height is kept within reasonable limits, and, if mounted on a modern low load-level chassis, the bus should he able to negotiate many existing overhead bridges which would form an obstruction to a double-decker with full headroom throughout the lower deck. This type of body also affords more scope for providing lavatory accommodation without unduly increasing the overall length of the body or its rear overhang.
The long-distance bus should have, so far as possible, the degree of comfort and convenience which the railway traveller expects to enjoy on a railway journey. Some of these refinements may not be present on local and branch lines, but the bus proprietor should keep in view the main-line standard of luxury. Both the body builder and bus oWner, however, will be wise to recognize that, under the existing legislation and road conditions, there are well-defined limitations. A railway coach is often 9 ft. wide and extra comforts are provided, not by making the utmost use of every inch available, but by the use of additional coaches.