• London's New Pay-as-you-board Bus Has Rear Entrance
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WF. have already pointed out, when dealing with pay-as-you-board" vehicles put on the road by London Transport, that the Board is carrying out a series of experiments with the object of finding out the best type of machine from all operating aspects.
Following up this policy, yet another bus—the fifth of its type to be put out during the past seven months—went into service last week on route 65.
This new machine differs from previous types, in that it has a conventional rear entrance. The sliding doors, however, are similarly operated by an air engine under the control of the conductor.
The rear platform has been completely redesigned and is sufficiently spacious to accommodate 19 people while waiting to pay their fares. This they do at a small counter on the left of the entrance. In order to secure this space, a staircase of a new type has been introduced.
From his position opposite the foot of the stairs, the conductor has a clear view of the whole of the platform and
of the interior of the bus. He is so positioned that all passengers, whether they intend to travel in the lower saloon, or on the upper deck, must pass him.
A point worthy of special note is that the total seating capacity has been reduced to 51) passengers-30 on the tipper deck and 20 on the lower.
There is greater difficulty in arranging sliding doors behind the rear wheel, if the legal minimum width of the entrance, which is 3 ft., is to be maintained. This, however, was overcome by using two sliding doors, each being half the width of the opening. These are arranged to run on parallel tracks, so that the inner door encloses the forward half of the doorway, and the outer door completes the closing.
Irt order to allow the two doors to travel sufficiently far forward to provide an entrance of adequate width, the rear corner pillar was removed and set about 6 ins, inside the bus. This enables the doors, which are mounted on the outside of the bus, to pass it on the outside, and advance up to the rear wheel arch. By this means it has been possible to
provide a clear entrance width of 3 ft. 4 ins.
This bus has the distinction of being one of the few double-deckers in which all passengers sit facing forward. The vehicle is one of the RT series, the chassis being of the A.E.C. Regent Mark III oil-engined type.
An experimental " pay-as-you-board " trollel,bus, that, for a few weeks, has been on route 604—Wimbledon Station and Hampton Court—has a new-type staircase, and an additional step-light to facilitate boarding and alighting. The vehicle seats 64 passengers, as against the normal 70 people for this class of Machine.