Ian Hoof, tasy rider
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RE-prototype of the Van Hool-McArdle 34-seat city bus, gned in conjunction with Coras Iompair Eireann (CIE), was ight to Britain last week from the Republic of Ireland and was able to take it for a short drive.
;ing integral construction he body/chassis, the city is powered by a Detroit el 6V71 engine driving an ;on V730 automatic smission mounted at the on their own sub-frame mbly. t ;cess is via a large lift up iet lid retained by coach e city bus is an extremely vehicle to drive, with its automatic transmission. 'ive is selected and the brake lever — situated in t of the gearstick — is to the centre to release ; then just a question of ing the vehicle; the auto makes all necessary ges up and down without eed for the driver to select • 6V71 Detroit, Diesel is matched to the Allison Ind the city bus displayed prising turn of speed, with acceleration to match.
e feature of the bus which 't quite feel right, ver, was the steering.
pick up
✓ normal driving on a surface it was fine, but on rough sections it tended :k up quite badly.
a bus only had a couple of passengers at the time; perhaps a full load would improve the situation.
Inside the Van Hoot, the seating is adequate if not luxurious and there is plenty of room for standees in the wide gangways.
To the rear, a lot of available space is taken up by the engine. cover — which, incidentally, seemed to get very hot.
By the rear wheel arches, the seats are raised on a 76mm (3in) high plinth.
Plenty of handrails — one on each side for every row of seats — are provided and there is accommodation for luggage by the centre exit door.
The front and centre doors have low steps to assist entry and exit.
Externally, the city bus is reminiscent of early Dutch designs, although the front is distinguished by what appear to be six headlamps. In fact, two are driving lamps.
The large two-piece windscreen gives an excellent view of the road ahead and strong-looking twin-armed pantograph wipers cover a good area of the screen.
Although the noise level inside the bus rises quite sharply at high speed, it is generally acceptable for urban work.