Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They appear in many places around the world but are presently most commonly used as mass transport in cities of Britain and Ireland, in Hong Kong, and in Singapore.[1][2]
The earliest double-decker horse-drawn omnibus appeared in Paris in 1853 and such vehicles were motorised in the 1900s.[3] Double-decker buses were popularised in Great Britain at the start of the 20th century[4] and today the best-known example is the red London bus, namely the AEC Routemaster.[5] Double-deckers in urban transport were also in common use in other places, such as major cities of India[6] and in Berlin, but were mostly diminished or phased out by the end of the 20th century. However it has been maintained and remains common in Britain as well as Ireland and Hong Kong, while in Singapore and Dhaka they have been introduced and expanded into large numbers after British colonial rule.
A typical double-decker bus used for urban mass transport
Double-decker articulated coach (concept)
Open-top double-decker, used for tourist sightseeing
An early double-decker omnibus from c. 1904
There are several types of double-decker buses as shown in the imagebox below:
Early double-deckers put the driver in a separate cab. Passenger access was via an open platform at the rear and a bus conductor collected fares. Modern double-deckers have a main entrance door at the front and the driver takes fares, thus halving the number of workers aboard, but slowing the boarding process. The rear open platform, popular with passengers, was abandoned for safety reasons, as there was a risk of passengers falling when running and jumping onto the bus.
Collisions with bridges[edit]
There have been a significant number of incidents in which a double-decker bus has collided with a low bridge, often a railway bridge. This is often caused by the driver making a wrong turn, driving a route they are unfamiliar with, or being used to driving single-decker buses and forgetting to allow for their vehicle's extra height when driving a double-decker.
A collision with a railroad bridge by a Megabus in September 2010 at Syracuse, New York, killed four passengers and injured 17.[164]
In recent years in the United Kingdom, six people had minor injuries after their bus hit a railway bridge at Stockport in July 2013.[165] An empty bus had its roof removed after hitting a railway bridge in Birkenhead in December 2014.[166]
In March 2015, a bus carrying 76 children hit a bridge at Staines-upon-Thames. Eleven passengers were taken to hospital but none were seriously injured.[167] In the same month, an empty bus had its roof removed after hitting a railway bridge in Isleworth West London.[168] A Stagecoach Highlands bus collided with a railway bridge at Balloch, Highland, Scotland in April 2015. There were no casualties, one top-deck passenger narrowly escaped injury by throwing himself to the floor.[169]
A bus operated by Bluestar had its roof removed after colliding with a railway bridge at Romsey in May 2015.[170] An incident in July 2015 in Norwood, London also resulted in the removal of the bus' roof; seven people were injured.[171] Similar incidents occurred in September 2015 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester (seventeen were injured)[172] and in Bournemouth in April 2016, with all thirty passengers escaping without injury.[173]
On 11 September 2020, a bus carrying 72 children hit a bridge, taking the complete roof off, in Winchester, Hampshire, on the way to school. Three children were seriously injured and required surgery whilst a further 12 suffered minor injuries.[174] The bus was operated by Stagecoach South.