Worlds longest bus seats 256 passengers

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/world-longest-bus-seats-256-people-222517479.html

by ghshephard • 14 years ago

5 9 14 years ago

news.yahoo.com

derekp7• 14 years ago

The article states that the main draw of this bus is it caries a large number of passengers, yet is cheaper than a train. But is it much cheaper than buying 3 regular size buses? Other than the cost of two additional drivers, that is?

tokenadult• 14 years ago

Other than the cost of two additional drivers, that is?

I can't speak for the situation in Germany, but in several cities of the United States (I live in one of them), the salaries of bus drivers are ASTOUNDING, and their total compensation packages are a big part of the expense of providing public transportation. So, yes, if you think public transportation provides important externalities to a whole community, and you also are not interested in trying to hire new bus drivers who will work for less than the current contract rate negotiated with the bus driver union, then what you try to do is find a way for one bus driver to serve more riders.

bunderbunder2• 14 years ago

I wouldn't say astounding; at least not in all capitals. In Chicago, which has some of the highest-paid drivers in the nation, bus drivers make about $60k plus benefits.

In the USA, that's right on the nose for a white male with some higher education under his belt. It's mainly an outlier if considered along with certain demographic elephants in the room.

dalke2• 14 years ago

The BLS at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes533021.htm says the mean annual wage for a bus driver is $37,440 and the 90 percentile is $57,410. The mean annual wage for Spokane is $54,040, Olympia is $52,510, greater NYC is $49,050, Santa Barbara is $48,350, San Francisco is $47,280, and so on.

Those don't sound so extravagant. The annual mean wage for all occupations in NYC is $56,210, so the NYC bus driver is making below average for the city. The industry category 'Transportation and Material Moving Occupations' average is $37,840/year, in part because 1/4 of the people in that category are 'Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand' ($29,410/year).

Similarly, for San Francisco the overall average salary is $61,370, and the industry sector average is $40,320.

I don't see those numbers as being ASTOUNDING. What do you think they should be making?

snogglethorpe• 14 years ago

As the other comment mentions, staffing is a significant cost in many systems, especially those with lower ridership numbers (though presumably if this city needs such a large bus, it's not really in that category).

Of course, as large as this bus is, it's still nowhere near the capacity of many trains. Commuter trains in places like Japan can carry upwards of 3,000 people on a single train (and of course then there's India...). When you really need capacity, the costs of the dedicated infrastructure for trains start to become worth it.

mc32• 14 years ago

I can't see this working in San Francisco. Too many turns (there are enough bus-on-ped accidents) and hills (a lot of braking power to stop a full load). The only case scenario where I can see this working is as a BRT in a straight boulevard with a dedicated lane so there is no need to pass or "cut off" any other vehicles.

wherewhenwhy• 14 years ago

And yet SF MUNI runs those double-section buses (hello, 38 Geary). I don't see the point of those, BTW. Unless they're meant to turn the tight corners.

With the dedicated lane you almost have BART.

Worlds longest bus seats 256 passengers

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