A
Bi-articulated bus is an extension of an
articulated busArticulated buses , are articulated single-decker buses comprising two rigid parts linked together by a pivoting joint. This arrangement allows a longer legal length and thus a higher passenger capacity than rigid single decker buses, while still allowing the bus to be turned within the limitations...
in that it has three cabin sections instead of two. This also involves the addition of an extra
axleAn axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or bushing sitting inside the hole in the wheel or gear to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. In other cases the wheel or gear may be fixed to the axle, with...
. Due to the extended length, bi-articulated buses tend to be used on high frequency core routes or
bus rapid transitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems that use buses to provide a service that is of a higher speed than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
schemes rather than conventional bus routes.
One of their main advantages is that they reduce the number of drivers needed to run a service for a specific number of people - i.e.
A
Bi-articulated bus is an extension of an
articulated busArticulated buses , are articulated single-decker buses comprising two rigid parts linked together by a pivoting joint. This arrangement allows a longer legal length and thus a higher passenger capacity than rigid single decker buses, while still allowing the bus to be turned within the limitations...
in that it has three cabin sections instead of two. This also involves the addition of an extra
axleAn axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or bushing sitting inside the hole in the wheel or gear to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. In other cases the wheel or gear may be fixed to the axle, with...
. Due to the extended length, bi-articulated buses tend to be used on high frequency core routes or
bus rapid transitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems that use buses to provide a service that is of a higher speed than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
schemes rather than conventional bus routes.
One of their main advantages is that they reduce the number of drivers needed to run a service for a specific number of people - i.e. it is usually much more cost-efficient to run a bi-articulated bus with one driver, than, for example, to run two smaller non-articulated buses providing the same total number of seats.
Early versions
The French manufacturers
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors, and trucks. Due to its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the world's fourth largest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault owns the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean automaker Renault...
and
HeuliezHeuliez is a French company that works as a production and design unit for various automakers. It specializes in producing short series for niche markets, such as convertibles or station-wagons....
developed the "Mégabus" (officially the Heuliez GX237), a bi-articulated high-floor bus, in the late 1980s. The demonstrator Mégabus visited transit agencies throughout France, but the only city to order them was
Bordeauxis a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department...
(for an order of 10 buses, built in 1989). These buses, now retired, operated Bordeaux's bus route 7 (most heavily-used route in Europe) until the city's
tramwayThe Bordeaux tramway network consists of three lines serving the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France. The first line was opened on 21 December 2003; further extensions have increased the route length to . The system is notable for using a ground-level power supply of the Alimentation par Sol...
was built in 2004
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/c.fuller1/GX237.html
Currently in use models
The first city in the world to use the bi-articulated bus was
CuritibaCuritiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
. They began in 1992 with buses, manufactured by
VolvoThe Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services...
chassis and
MarcopoloMarcopolo S.A. is a bus manufacturer founded on August 6, 1949, in the southern Brazilian city of Caxias do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul. The company manufactures the bodies for a whole range of coaches, e.g. microbus, intercity and touring coach...
body, can carry 270 passengers. Each bi-articulated bus is constructed with five doors where passengers can quickly load and unload. These buses (along with other bus routes in
CuritibaCuritiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil...
) were the first to stop on tube stations. These stations allow passengers to pre-pay the fare and enter the vehicle at level, allowing Curitiba's bus system to be a much more affordable solution compared to subway.
CuritibaCuritiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil...
has over 170 bi-articulated buses circulating the city along five major structural axis of dedicated bus lanes. These buses run on an average frequency of fifty seconds during peak hours.
The Brazilian bus body manufacturer
MarcopoloMarcopolo S.A. is a bus manufacturer founded on August 6, 1949, in the southern Brazilian city of Caxias do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul. The company manufactures the bodies for a whole range of coaches, e.g. microbus, intercity and touring coach...
and CAIO have made many bi-articulated buses on top of Volvo chassis. They are currently used in
São PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the world's 7th largest metropolitan area. The city is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous Brazilian state. It is also the richest city in Brazil. The name of the city honors Saint Paul. São Paulo exerts strong regional influence in...
and
CuritibaCuritiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil...
.
VolvoThe Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services...
has manufactured several bi-articulated buses now in use in
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest amongst the Nordic countries. Situated on the south-west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 502,833 with 622,287 in the urban area and total of 911,406 inhabitants in the metropolitan area.The City of...
. They are based on their pusher articulated low-floor bus model with the engine mounted on the floor on the side of the bus, and the cooling system on the roof.
The Belgian manufacturer
Van HoolVan Hool NV is a Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.The company was founded in 1947 by Bernard Van Hool in Koningshooikt, nearby Lier, Belgium. In the early years, the company introduced serial production and exported their products all over Europe...
offers a 25 m (82 ft) bi-articulated bus with a capacity of about 180 passengers. In September 2002, fifteen were deployed on lines 11 and 12 in the
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
city of
UtrechtUtrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030 in 2007...
, connecting the downtown railway station to office, college and university buildings at the edge of the city. Twelve more have been added since. These buses are also used in the
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
cities of
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
(
Metrobus 5 and
Eilbus E86) and
AachenAachen is a historic spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the medieval Kings of Germany...
(lines 5 and 45), where single articulated buses alone were not able to handle the huge number of passengers per day.
In development projects
The Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Youngman (Jinhua Neoplan) has developed the 25-meter JNP6280G bi-articulated bus, deemed the "world's largest", with assistance from
NeoplanNeoplan Bus GmbH is a German bus, trolleybus and coach manufacturer. The company is now a subsidiary of NEOMAN Bus GmbH, which itself is a part of MAN AG. The company is particularly known for its futuristic designs .-History:...
. These buses will be put into service on
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
and
Hangzhou' is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the People's Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located southwest of Shanghai, as of 2004 the entire Hangzhou Region or Prefecture-level city had a registered population of 6.4 million people...
's
Bus Rapid TransitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems that use buses to provide a service that is of a higher speed than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
lines.
Bogotá's BRT system
TransMilenioThe TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, Colombia. As of June 2007, the system runs throughout 8 lines, covering Av. Caracas, Calle 80, Autopista Norte, Av. Jiménez, NQS , Calle 13, Av. de las Américas, and Av. Suba. The system opened to the public on December 2000,...
is going to start to use biarticulated buses on some busy routes.
External links