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Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

ianvisits.co.uk

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Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#11

Post by ben_w »

1ba9115454 wrote: post #4
tom_ wrote: post #3

Most interesting part of the article for me: > and being of considerable utility, they are remarkably undamaged. It seems that sticking chewing gum in things only applies when the vandal feels they wont personally lose out (assuming this is actually true, and not another in a long local tradition of overly rose-tinted journalistic views of our grim North Sea shithole)

- grim North Sea shithole Spend some time in other coutries and you'll yearn to return. Trust me.

Four months continuous in Germany, only reason I came back was mum’s Alzheimer’s getting to the point of needing more care than my family and inlaws could provide themselves. When she gets too bad for me to be of any use, I’m off again.

I’ll miss chips and the NHS. I’ll miss my friends. I won’t miss the country — especially not in the current toxic political situation.

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#12

Post by ljcn »

nothrabannosir wrote: post #8

> Londoners might not dream of electric buses, … Every single cyclist dreams of electric busses, believe you me. Huffing nitrogen stationary-bus-fart oxides turns any public road here straight into an express lane to lung cancer, without even the courtesy of a nicotine rush. I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London. Nooo sir. Between the long term certainty of whatever smokers like to aim for, and th…

> I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London.

Not according to this Cambridge study two years ago. They found the health benefits of cycling in London always outweighed the risks.

http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/blog/walking-cycling-air-pollu...

It got quite a bit of media coverage, e.g.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/05/benefits...

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#13

Post by superflyguy »

1ba9115454 wrote: post #4
tom_ wrote: post #3

Most interesting part of the article for me: > and being of considerable utility, they are remarkably undamaged. It seems that sticking chewing gum in things only applies when the vandal feels they wont personally lose out (assuming this is actually true, and not another in a long local tradition of overly rose-tinted journalistic views of our grim North Sea shithole)

- grim North Sea shithole Spend some time in other coutries and you'll yearn to return. Trust me.

Oh yes. My trips to countries such as Thailand, Italy, Holland, Japan, Denmark, the US (Pittsburgh, LA, NY) and Spain can never end quickly enough. The thought occurs to me that you've only visited France and whatever they're calling Czechoslovakia this year.

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#14

Post by jeffwass »

nothrabannosir wrote: post #8

> Londoners might not dream of electric buses, … Every single cyclist dreams of electric busses, believe you me. Huffing nitrogen stationary-bus-fart oxides turns any public road here straight into an express lane to lung cancer, without even the courtesy of a nicotine rush. I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London. Nooo sir. Between the long term certainty of whatever smokers like to aim for, and th…

As a London pedestrian I am fully in favour of electric buses.

The NoX fumes are horrible for pedestrians too. Especially when the buses are stacked one after another, idling.

I seriously can’t believe the government refuses to act on the diesel disaster. Tens of thousands of people die from diesel exhaust complications per year, but they don’t care.

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#15

Post by ditn »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #10
nothrabannosir wrote: post #8

> Londoners might not dream of electric buses, … Every single cyclist dreams of electric busses, believe you me. Huffing nitrogen stationary-bus-fart oxides turns any public road here straight into an express lane to lung cancer, without even the courtesy of a nicotine rush. I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London. Nooo sir. Between the long term certainty of whatever smokers like to aim for, and th…

Is there any research to back up your claim? What are the chances of getting cancer from this? Is there even a direct link? Is it better in aggregate to be an unfit bus rider or a fit cyclist?

There's actually the opposite evidence; it's worse to be in a vehicle than walk or cycle, and there's a few studies that say that the benefits of cycling outweigh the pollution exposure.

http://www.breathelondon.org/south-east/project/modes-transp...

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#16

Post by jeffwass »

neolefty wrote: post #6

TFA has great practical information about the switch from diesel to battery. A few examples: * How do you arrange parked buses in a garage so that they can charge? Diagrams included! * Purchase cost: 2x up front compared to diesel, but improving * Operating cost: 50% lower than diesel (but labor—hiring the driver—is still 60%)

No inclusion of the knock-on benefits of NHS savings from fewer cases of diesel exhaust complications.

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#17

Post by icebraining »

lallysingh wrote: post #7
neolefty wrote: post #6

TFA has great practical information about the switch from diesel to battery. A few examples: * How do you arrange parked buses in a garage so that they can charge? Diagrams included! * Purchase cost: 2x up front compared to diesel, but improving * Operating cost: 50% lower than diesel (but labor—hiring the driver—is still 60%)

Any comparison of noise generated by these buses? Of changes in the on-time rate due to changed handling/acceleration? How much smoke did the diesels put out?

The noise inside the bus seems quite annoying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEKJSMqhYKk

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#18

Post by jfz »

ljcn wrote: post #12
nothrabannosir wrote: post #8

> Londoners might not dream of electric buses, … Every single cyclist dreams of electric busses, believe you me. Huffing nitrogen stationary-bus-fart oxides turns any public road here straight into an express lane to lung cancer, without even the courtesy of a nicotine rush. I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London. Nooo sir. Between the long term certainty of whatever smokers like to aim for, and th…

> I laugh when people say cycling is healthy. Not in London. Not according to this Cambridge study two years ago. They found the health benefits of cycling in London always outweighed the risks. http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/blog/walking-cycling-air-pollu... It got quite a bit of media coverage, e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/05/benefits...

The benefits of cycling outweigh the harms of the pollution, almost everywhere. The pollution is still harmful, though, and lowers your lifespan compared to not having as much pollution.

Re: Do Londoners dream of electric buses?

#20

Post by DanBC »

tom_ wrote: post #3

Most interesting part of the article for me: > and being of considerable utility, they are remarkably undamaged. It seems that sticking chewing gum in things only applies when the vandal feels they wont personally lose out (assuming this is actually true, and not another in a long local tradition of overly rose-tinted journalistic views of our grim North Sea shithole)

I was surprised that they felt USB charging is a feature. We've had that, and WIFI, on some diesel buses in Gloucestershire for a while.

USB charge points under the seats tend to be more broken - accidentally kicked.

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