Double-decker bus

[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.

However they remain 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.

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.

But traffic problems caused RATP to definitively abandon this vehicle in 1977, because this type of bus was found to be poorly suited to the structure of the Paris network, the stops being too close to each other, preventing people from going upstairs.

[24] During the 1960s and 1970s, major cities like Turin, Milan, Rome, Florence, Verona, Bologna, Rimini, Naples, Bari and Palermo adopted Fiat double decker buses.

[27] Their introduction was not entirely without issues since their route initially had to be diverted to avoid passing under a dangerously low tram overhead wire near the VU Medical Centre stop.

They were most commonly Portuguese-produced vehicles, including rebodies of regular service buses (for example, the Volvo B10R from Carristur), as well as some from former companies, such as the MAN SD202 from BVG Berlin, many of them still in circulation.

[49] Like in other countries across Southern Africa, double-decker buses are often utilized by private companies for intercity transport connecting major population centers, as well as linking South African cities with hubs in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

Besides Guilin and Nanning, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Dalian, Foshan and Kunming also have those buses in service, particularly on routes during rush hours.

Skyliner, and the other imported buses: Van Hool Astromega TD824, Drögmöller E440 Meteor, and a few MAN coaches inspired Japanese bus manufactures, who developed three domestic models in the mid-1980s: "Nissan Diesel Space Dream", "Hino Grand View" and "Mitsubishi Fuso Aero King".

The Megaliner has also been converted for a low-price overnight highway bus service between Tokyo and Osaka called "Seishun Mega Dream-go," with special authorisation.

[citation needed] In 2015, a fleet of 20 double-decker buses was introduced for commuters making the journey between the capital Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province and nearby Incheon city in 2015 as a pilot project.

[55] In 2002, 50 Volvo B10M/Alexander buses were procured to operate in Dhaka and quickly making up most of the fleet,[56] but due to a lack of maintenance and unavailability of spare parts, they were slowly taken off the roads before being completely phased out in 2010.

In 2020, West Bengal Transport Corporation reintroduced double decker buses in Kolkata after an absence of 30 years,[73] on routes where wide road space was available, i.e. no over-head cables, low bridges or flyovers.

[85] Between 1984 and 1996, the Jakarta municipal bus service, Perusahaan Umum Pengangkutan Penumpang Djakarta (Perum PPD) operated a fleet of 180 Volvo B55 double-decker buses, connecting various corners in the city.

By that time, the remnant of double-decker bus body were sold and repurposed as bus-themed clothing store in Blok M and restaurant in Senayan (now SCBD) area, but now the establishment has been demolished.

[87][88] As 2016 there are 18 double-decker buses in Jakarta, and the service is expanded to include Kota Tua and Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan area via Sudirman avenue.

[92] After the completion of Trans-Java highway section connecting Jakarta and Surabaya in 2018, some intercity bus services began operating fleet of double decker buses.

The successor of the GTC, Sri Jaya, experimented with a reintroduction of double-deckers in 1989 by leasing a Singapore-assembled, 102-seat Leyland Olympian for use within Kuala Lumpur for 6 months,[94] but found that street conditions were problematic as before and discontinued the use of the bus after the trial.

In November 2019, Prasarana ordered a further 90 Gemilang Coachworks-bodied Volvo B8Ls as part of Rapid KL's bus fleet replacement programme,[95] with the first batch of buses entering service in June 2020.

Those are being ordered by LTA, and newer units introduced from 2018 onwards are also Euro VI-compliant and are equipped with USB charging ports and Visual Passenger Information Displays.

In March 2017, the first three-door, two-staircase 12.8m long double-decker bus in Singapore was introduced by Tower Transit with the registration plate SG5999Z for a six-month trial period.

[113] First double-decker (built by Neoplan) arrived to Israel on 26 August 1984, and during the trial period it performed 434 test drives on four different lines, passed 195583 kilometers and gathered public attention and interest.

[118][119] From March 2009 to June 2012, three imported Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-decker buses similar to those in Victoria were used on OC Transpo express routes on the Transitway in Ottawa, Ontario.

[123] After completing a year of testing between September 2010 and October 2011,[124] a firm order of 14 Enviro500s was placed in 2013 for their service between Sherwood Park and downtown Edmonton, with the first arriving in late August.

[citation needed] Double-decker buses, built mainly by Comil or Marcopolo, are common in long-distance services interstate and international connecting whole South America.

[citation needed] The first double-decker intercity buses arrived from Germany at the end of the 1970s to serve national long-distance routes and international services, mainly to Argentina, for the Varmontt, Flota L, Chile Bus and Tas Choapa lines.

However, on several occasions, the safety and low comfort provided by these vehicles have been a strong subject of discussion; however, the increase in passenger capacity makes them quite profitable for interurban companies.

[163] The only three-decker with a full-length third level ever built is the Knight Bus that John Richardson created for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by combining two AEC Regent III RTs.

[173] Similar incidents occurred in September 2015 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester (seventeen were injured)[174] and in Bournemouth in April 2016, with all thirty passengers escaping without injury.