1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
Passenger counters on show at Earls Court
Page 50
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• An important aid to drivers and passengers on one-man operated double-deck buses is a passenger counter to indicate the number of seats available on the top deck and to indicate when the top deck is full. Various types of counters, representing two manufacturers, are fitted to o-m-o doubledeckers at Earls Court.
SBK Electronics Ltd., of Belfast, has developed three models, the first being the NM 101, which, working on the "count up" principle, shows the driver the number of passengers on the upper deck at all times, on a two-digit display for dashboard mount ing. The second model. NM 104, is the "count down" version, which has two single-digit displays, one for dashboard mounting and the other incorporated in a remote display for passengers.
This latter display reads "upper deck (NO—if fully occupied) seats available". Alongside the word"seats" is an indicator which starts to register when only nine seats are left vacant. This counts down to zero, when the word "NO" lights up on the passenger indicator, the driver's indicator counting down from 9 to 0. The two Leeds buses and the Sheffield bus are fitted with
the NM 104 Autocount equipment (see illustration of passenger indicator on the Sheffield bus in the p.s.v. technical review, page 128).
A more sophisticated device is the NM 200, however, which'is fitted to the Leyland / Park Royal Atlantean demonstrator. This combines the "count down" passenger indicator and the two-digit display beside the driver, showing the number of seats occupied at all times. The sensing system which operates the counter can be by stair pads, photo-electric cells, ultra-sonic device or proximity switches.
The latter device, fitted to the Leyland demonstrator, works when anyone comes into close proximity. Its advantage is that the steps can be fixed, the device (housed in a 6in. by 3m. container) being fitted beneath two steps, to show direction of passenger movement.
Deans and Lightalloys Ltd. have combined with A. M. Lock and Company Ltd. to market the Lock electronic passenger counter. This works in a similar way to the SBK counters, except that the passenger and driver indicators both show how many seats are available at any time on the top deck. The Park Royal-bodied Daimler Fleetline is fitted with the Lock device.