Permalink Reply by Liz on December 30, 2008 at 16:29
Ah yes, Andrew Gilligan and all the other people who never use buses will be delighted. I'm probably just a ridiculous communist because as a taxpayer I think a decent public transport system is a right not a privilege.
Shame for those left again at freezing bus stops because half a dozen people crowd at the front, those who try and get a buggy or a wheelchair on a bus, those elbowed and shoved as they seek to get on at the one door and find themselves on the pavement. Still they are probably poor and as the lovely Mrs T once said, "Anybody over the age of 30 who uses a bus could consider themselves a failure."
so hooray, a victory for common sense and the British bulldog spirit. Maybe we should have a street party and put out the union jack bunting?
From the Independent so boring but possibly non-biassed :-)
"TfL figures suggest bendy buses are more likely to be involved in an accident. It is estimated that they cause 5.6 pedestrian injuries per million miles operated, compared with 0.97 per million for all other buses.
Bendy buses, manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, are also involved in 2.62 collisions with cyclists per million miles, compared with 0.97 for other buses, and have 153 accidents per million miles, compared with 87 per million on non-bendy routes."
Permalink Reply by matt on December 30, 2008 at 17:50
John, well done. I was awaiting stats from Liz's well researched argument ... but I guess it's a bit like waiting for a bus!
Birdy, St Georges Cross eh. Might need to pass that one with the 'street parties' secretary :) We have some fabulous bunting at NHP that could very possibly be used. It has no country's flag and is of no particular denomination. Safe!
Permalink Reply by Liz on December 30, 2008 at 18:19
Sorry, Matt, having a life as a parent sometimes means that I cannot return as instantly as some of the gentlemen here.
However, if the purpose of getting rid of the bendies was to protect the cyclist from dangers then Boris would be pursuing with equal zeal the real danger to cyclists on London's roads. Just read the stats at the bottom (from the Standard).
The number of cyclists killed by bendy buses is 0 by the way.
Still as John says below, the call in this thread for lorries off the road is deafening isn't it?
A bendy bus is 50% longer than a normal bus so of course you'll be able to pull some shady rubbish like this with the stats. I just don't see how a comparison can be made unless they're operating on the same route.
Now if you want a shocking and yet simple stat... so far in 2008 out of the 10 cyclists killed in London, 9 were killed by articulated lorries. I don't see you sods asking for those to be taken off the road.
The whole point about bendy buses is that they are longer than ordinary buses and therefore more dangerous. If the high accident figure is caused by them being operated on unsuitable routes, they should be taken off those routes as I said above
And as for shady stats - your link was authored by someone called Buffalo Bill and only the ninth death is specifically quoted as being due to an articulated lorry. How shady is that ?
There will be TWICE as many busses on a route to do the same job as ONE bendy bus.
Well I can find more reliable stats I'm sure. It is a well known fact that lorries kill cyclists in London. One of two things I find discussed by cyclists while they're waiting for the lights to turn green in the advanced stop areas.
Permalink Reply by Liz on December 30, 2008 at 18:25
Oh and if you are interested in other things that make a cyclists life hell have a look at my friends' Flickr Pool.
My stats are from my fave paper, the Standard, John D.
But I love John McM's comment above ( Your statistics contradict my argument so they're unreliable) - I can find more reliable statistics ( on some website, not subject to editorial control, that support my argument ) (and even then I'm not going to quote them accurately ) :-)
But I don't think a "well - known fact" is a reliable stat. Of course lorries kill cyclists in London - so do peanuts. If you're allergic to peanuts avoid them, if you're allergic to lorries don't go up the inside when they're waiting ( and indicating ) to turn left.
If you ban HGVs and artics what will happen ? The supermarkets will be empty within a day, nobody will be able to move house, rubbish will pile up at the recycling centres because it can't be transported away The London Philharmonic won't be able to go on tour and you won't get the Proms on TV either. Building work will cease so we won't be able to have the Olympics .... Come to think of it, let's ban HGVs and artics forthwith :-)