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(詳細はArticulated buses, popularly called "bendy buses," were introduced to London in October 2001 when six Wright Eclipse Fusion bodied Volvo B7LAs were hired from First Hampshire & Dorset for a trial on 207 between Shepherds Bush and Uxbridge.〔('Innovative' bendi buses ) ''BBC News'' 8 October 2001〕 In June 2002 new Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530Gs were introduced on Red Arrow commuter services 507 and 521.〔(London transport - with a twist ) ''BBC News'' 5 June 2002〕 While articulated bus operation had been standard in several other countries for over 20 years, their use in the United Kingdom had been limited with their introduction in London gaining a lot of press attention.〔(Firebreathing buses threaten London ) ''The Register'' 24 March 2004〕 They were later introduced on routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436 and 453. During the 2008 Mayoral campaign, Boris Johnson pledged to withdraw articulated buses on the grounds that they were unsuitable for London, and to introduce a modern version of the AEC Routemaster.〔(Scrap the bendy bus and bring back Routemasters, says Boris ) ''London Evening Standard'' 11 September 2007〕 Withdrawals began in July 2009, when articulated buses on routes 38, 507 and 521 were replaced with conventional single and double decker buses, and a prototype for the New Routemaster was promised to be on the streets by 2012.〔(A New Bus for London – Next steps ) Transport For London〕 The last articulated buses were withdrawn in December 2011. ==Background== Articulated buses were introduced on several high-capacity routes in the 2000s, coinciding with withdrawal from passenger service of the AEC Routemaster. The Routemasters, involving a step upwards and poor accessibility did not conform to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There was also the risk of litigation over accidents involving the Routemaster's rear open platform. Articulated buses with multiple doors and simultaneous boarding arrangements were capable of loading passengers in less time than conventional double decker buses and Routemasters. They had a much higher passenger capacity, being able to carry over 140 people per vehicle compared to 77 in a Routemaster, although with far fewer seats. Articulated buses took up more road space per vehicle (18 metres compared to 9.1 metres for a Routemaster and 10 metres for a double decker), although in terms of road surface used per passenger, there was little difference between double decker buses (which stack passengers vertically on two floors) and articulated buses – 11.8 cm road surface length per Routemaster passenger against 12.8 cm per articulated bus passenger: 8.7% more. The increased vehicle size meant they were more likely to block junctions and cause difficulties for other road users. Press coverage regarding cyclists and motorcyclists was generally negative due to the reduced viewpoint of the driver and greater likelihood of cyclists to enter blind spots. The routes converted to articulated bus operation were: (1) Route 453 transferred from Selkent to London General on 16 February 2008 after tender renewal 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Articulated buses in London」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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