SouthEastBuses
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I am curious to hear all of your thoughts of whether a low floor bus (with wheelchair ramp) or a step entrance bus/coach (with wheelchair lift) is better and more suited to rural routes.
It very much depends. My own local route (Stagecoach Bluebird 32) is a rural run which goes from one village, through three others and ends up in town - 11 miles is the distance from end-to-end. Although I do personally prefer it when a coach turns up on the route, they're not popular with the older folks who have to negotiate steps and often tend to have shopping trolleys. They're not handy for the buggy brigade either. Low-floor buses are definitely preferable on this sort of route. I'm not aware of any regular disabled passenger who use the route, but on the odd occasion where a coach has turned up it hasn't had a wheelchair lift fitted.I am curious to hear all of your thoughts of whether a low floor bus (with wheelchair ramp) or a step entrance bus/coach (with wheelchair lift) is better and more suited to rural routes.
Most disabled bus passengers, myself for instance, are not wheelchair users anyway and I'd hate to see a return to some of the step entrance buses and coaches formerly used. Both the general population of the country and the proportion of regular bus users is increasing in age, which equates to less mobility.Depends on the type of passengers I guess. If you have a high proportion or disabled people then the low floor bus would be better rather than spending all day getting the manual lift operating.
Quite, I'm sorry if I inadvertently implied that all disabled people needed the wheelchair facility.Most disabled bus passengers, myself for instance, are not wheelchair users anyway and I'd hate to see a return to some of the step entrance buses and coaches formerly used. Both the general population of the country and the proportion of regular bus users is increasing in age, which equates to less mobility.
I didn't interpret it that way, so no need to apologise as far as I'm concerned.Quite, I'm sorry if I inadvertently implied that all disabled people needed the wheelchair facility.
Well, yes. You can either fit a standard low-floor bus shell with comfier seats, or there's the Plaxton Panther LE which has a bit of low-floor and a bit of high-floor, but not suitable for a lot of routes due to its length. The latter has already been discussed on a number of threads!Is there any reason you can’t have low floor combined with coach type comfort?
I can see a virtue to a low floor bus, namely that it's easy to get on and off. What would be the virtues of a step entrance bus/coach that might lead us to prefer it?I am curious to hear all of your thoughts of whether a low floor bus (with wheelchair ramp) or a step entrance bus/coach (with wheelchair lift) is better and more suited to rural routes.
I can see a virtue to a low floor bus, namely that it's easy to get on and off. What would be the virtues of a step entrance bus/coach that might lead us to prefer it?
Wheelchair lifts are next to useless on rural routes and need a fairly wide Pavement to be operated . Therefore the only answer to this question is low floor
I think the Panther LE is a step to what we need - a solution that suits both the disabled and the journey type, in that order of priority.
Something like an accessible Panorama would work get us closer to a solution I reckon.
Issue with that is what operator will splash on that over say a E200 that can run the same route?
They haven't arrived yet.Carousel’s Chiltern Hundreds Route linking High Wycombe with Heathrow was relaunched at the start of the year with coaches displaced from the X90 Oxford - London service. Whilst undoubtedly more comfortable and offering more luggage space for the (negligible) airport passengers, the local passengers preferred the low floor buses used previously.
Covid saw the route curtailed at Uxbridge and the coaches sent off to Go North East for some routes radiating from Newcastle. Not sure how they are doing there.
We've had this discussion a million times! The Panther LE can't fit enough passengers or luggage for the vast majority of coach routes.I think the Panther LE is a step to what we need - a solution that suits both the disabled and the journey type, in that order of priority.
Something like an accessible Panorama would work get us closer to a solution I reckon.
Issue with that is what operator will splash on that over say a E200 that can run the same route?
I was planning to take a trip on that route when the weather improved in the spring. Knowing how many shopping trolleys my local service carries I did suspect that the vehicles would prove unpopular.Carousel’s Chiltern Hundreds Route linking High Wycombe with Heathrow was relaunched at the start of the year with coaches displaced from the X90 Oxford - London service. Whilst undoubtedly more comfortable and offering more luggage space for the (negligible) airport passengers, the local passengers preferred the low floor buses used previously.
Covid saw the route curtailed at Uxbridge and the coaches sent off to Go North East for some routes radiating from Newcastle. Not sure how they are doing there.
I think we are talking about bus routes.We've had this discussion a million times! The Panther LE can't fit enough passengers or luggage for the vast majority of coach routes.
The Elite Interdeck and Van Hool Altano are somewhat ideal as they have 3 seats lower deck and no need for a wheelchair lift as there is also a wheelchair space there and also can fit lots of luggage however it also has the issue if those seats are full then any more with reduced mobility will still have to climb the steps and the fact they are still pretty large for most routes as they are both long tri axles.
I was planning to take a trip on that route when the weather improved in the spring. Knowing how many shopping trolleys my local service carries I did suspect that the vehicles would prove unpopular.
Does anybody know what the popular reaction has been to the transfer of the 853 from Swanbrook, using coaches, to Stagecoach, using low floor buses?
I think we are talking about bus routes.
If a Bus is done to a standard like Stagecoach Gold there no reason a low floor bus is not fit for any route.
The problem is more that luggage space is needed for certain routes, especially more long-distance inter-town/city routes, Also comfort levels for longer routes is still not great even tho its a higher specification.If a Bus is done to a standard like Stagecoach Gold there no reason a low floor bus is not fit for any route.
I think what is meant by 'rural routes' needs to be better defined. The last thing the truly rural routes round here need are coaches blocking the lanes and leaving some places unserved because of accessibility problems, even if there were no other considerations.