- Alarm set off every time vehicle moved
- Stalling bus couldn’t close its doors properly
- Costs 736% more than normal double decker
Boris Johnson’s brand new £1.4m “vanity bus” has broken down today on its first trip. The pricey new addition to London’s transport network suffered from a host of problems — including computer software issues — before finally arriving at its destination 30 minutes late.
The troubled bus stalled in Islington, struggled to shut its doors, sounded an annoying alarm every time it moved, and ended up having to be followed by a TFL Incident Response Vehicle to attend to its further problems. The rear platform, one of the buses’ most striking new features, had to be closed because the brakes were sticking.
As well as facing trouble on the roads, the bus has also received criticism for its hefty price tag. Each bus costs £1.4m, coming to a whopping £11.37m for just eight buses. This is 736% more than a standard London doubledecker.
To add insult to injury, the contraption was followed on its route by a (fully functional) doubledecker hired by Sack Boris campaigners, which overtook it when it broke down.
As Boris Watch put it earlier:
What’s big, red and doesn’t move?
11 Comments
I guess we can assume that (to use the past historic) Il n’arriva pas!!
i like the window by the stairs
I would have thought they would have tested it properly before launch, but Tories don’t believe in doing that, of course.
Like the fact this isnt a biased article. Would prefer to live in a boxy awful world. Sarcasm much.
Perhaps time to coin it the” Bungling Boris Bus” ?
Doesn`t he live in the real world, a 1.4 million pound bus?!? Is this for Tories only, with cocktails and manservants polishing Opera goers shoes? Get a grip, and get Ken back on the job pronto.
“Would prefer to live in a boxy awful world. ”
You don’t have to spend 736% more than you would on a usual design to make a bus less boxy. Stop being biased against boxes.
Shouldn’t that say “Won’t Arriva” on the side?
I wonder if they will keep bursting into flames like Ken’s bendy buses;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3563279.stm
This bus was made in Britain, its a product that we should all be proud off and give a chance to succeed. The price tag is high because it covers developement, but if more are ordered the price will be consideribly lower. All this slagging off will acheive is a bad impression on a world class product, it will put other Countries off buying British products. The fact of the matter is this is a first class product, alot of effort has gone into this and it is a truely remarkable bus. The fuel savings that this bus acheives is outstanding, not to mention the savings in polution. If every bus in London were this new Routemaster, the polution would be greatly reduced, resulting in a healthier living enviroment.
What has happened to being proud to be British? If there are any problems with this bus it will get sorted, all new vehicles have teething problems, but thats all they are. The people that made this bus put all their hearts and souls into it, I’m pretty sure they are very proud of it. Give it a chance and hold your head up high that its a British product, because the way things are going there isn’t much British products left!
Please be accurate these buses cost 3-400K to make depending on order quantity. You are including the fixed one off development cost.
If you want to comment on monetary wastage by Mayors, look at the money Mr Livingstone spent on a) the bendy buses – 75m to pay off capita and b) the money losing congestion charge.
I dont have a problem with emotional slagging off but at least get your facts correct.
Thanks
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