Belfast's New 'Glider' Buses
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- čas přidán 1. 12. 2018
- Looking at the new diesel hybrid articulated Van Hool Exqui.City Glider buses used in Belfast.
The film ends with a review of Exqui.City buses used in some other towns and cities - mostly in Europe.
re: the comment about only filming the location served by route G2, this route serves areas that are frequented by tourists while route G1 extends out into suburban areas which may not take kindly to camera wielding visitors from London. To better understand this it is useful to visit the Wikipedia page about the sculpture (called 'Beacon of Hope') which is seen in the film at the time of this comment.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_...)
The review of buses seen elsewhere makes extensive use of images from other people - some were sent to me to use in this production, others were sourced from Wikipedia. In addition the film includes some copyright-free music. Credits below:
Music: Super Friendly by Kevin MacLeod CC-BY-3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
incompetech.com/music/royalty...
Images sent to me to use in this film:
© Thomas Fischbacher
bahnbilder.warumdenn.net/
© Colin Page
© Gerald Kempel
© Jürgen Lehmann
trollino.mashke.org/
Images from Wikipedia Commons:
Photograph: Markus Eigenheer CC-BY-SA-2.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Photograph: Daubin37 CC-BY-SA-3.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Photograph: Pieye Trains CC-BY-SA-4.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Photograph: Arniiiwebmovie CC-BY-SA-4.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Photograph: Occitandu34 CC0 / Public Domain
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Photograph: Occitandu34 CC0 / Public Domain
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... AVL Sales Lentz Van Hool Exquicity 24 SL 3409 L16-Hespérange Cité Um Schlass (1).JPG
Photograph: Florian Fèvre / www.mobilys.net CC-BY-SA-4.0
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Whoever says this is a tram without rails instead of a bus, let me tell you that a confetti-sprinkled turd is still a turd.
This is brilliant. Shows you what you can do with a bus on existing roads if the will is there to make it a top quality user experience.
yes... all it takes is vision, will power and some money.
Roadtram springs to mind when I think about these Glider buses. They are a tram on wheels and they sound like a Class 153 DMU when powering up but with a muffler to reduce noise. I have been on them during my trips into the capital from Derry as personally I like them. The only downside to them is lack of seats in rush hour and they get very busy.
Buses cosplaying as trams.
yes!
Yes copying trams design cuz trams are the best
Beautiful buses, specially as an articulated bus. Thanks for sharing. Take care and keep well and safe.
Thank you. Yes, these are nice buses. I have also travelled on them in other cities (eg: Geneva, Switzerland), although not everywhere where they are used.
What's the point? It's just a bus, what makes it different to all other buses? It doesn't have its own roads or lanes, it looks like they wanted a tram, but didn't want to afford one, so they went with hybrid buses (not even wire buses).
for the UK articulated bendy buses are somewhat rare, I agree that a pure electric bus powered from overhead wires would have been nice - if Dublin can have electric trams then Belfast should have electric street transport too! Trolleybuses which are also capable of travelling in battery mode would fit the bill!
It does have its own lanes in areas where there's congestion, they only didn't build lanes where there wasn't really a need.
So it's a ......Bendy Bus
in essence, yes!
Wow, a bus
Sooooo it's just a hybrid bendy bus?
essentially, yes.
Does this have its own bus lane, fewer stops and priority right of way at traffic lights to bypass congestion? These are features of true a BRT system. London had them for a bit but i think a few crashed due to driver error but there were others that caught fire so they got rid of them. I think they work best with wider streets, fewer stops and on straighter routes.
In London they also had the tendency to squash cyclists when turning
They have some bus lanes, and they have fewer stops than normal bus routes as well as priority signalling at junctions, although this caused a lot of chaos when it opened
Great video.☺️
Thanks :-)
that moment when your city's council is planning on using these as a "metro".. Knock off tram. No where near a metro.
What city?
Nice buses! ☺
Yes, they are nice!
Looks kinda cute
2:08 the door shuts on her face
I tried to not show that, but it was not easy!
Does this announce stops in Irish like certain Metro (the pink buses) services that it replaces?
No it doesn't.
It announces them in BELFAST ENGLISH, SO IT DOES!
Are these buses to be used to replace in town or in city light rails?? And how is it that diesel is cleaner than electric in either type of mass transit service.??
I suspect the diesel engine is being used to generate electricity which in turn drives an electric motor to drives the wheels. It's a cleaner/more efficient way of getting of getting the energy out of the diesel.
no - these are rebranded existing services which have been given more bus lanes, better bus stops, a new ticketing system and a new marketing name.
A pity Belfast didn't keep its extensive system of trolleybus wiring-then they could have run as pure electrics!
I agree.
Gorgeous Colours.....they have the exact same buses in Lyon, France. 🍁
Lyon? I wonder if you are thinking of the Irisbus Cristalis trolleybuses?
@@CitytransportInfoplus I'm not sure of it's name, just that it was kewl looking! Thx 😊
wow cool.
My city is getting a big bus and transport system overhaul next year where we will be getting Volvo’s electric buses and buses like these just longer and some more and all the routes will be reconfigured. Pretty exited since I’m a transport enthusiast.
Nway Dev which city
Looks like a bus pretending to be a tram or trolleybus without tracks and wires.
thats the idea!
@@CitytransportInfoplus bit like having a quorn bacon
Yes horrible idea tbh :(
oh i get it now a glider bus is basically a tram bus
I wonder, how thouse people, who are used to new and quiet buses would react if they had to ride skoda 14tr or karosa B741 which are over 25 years old.
(Prabobly would try to press stop buton, which dont exists, just to get out at first stop)
Also when entering old skoda 14tr and you hear bell sound you know to get the hell out of the doors way, because you dont want your hand get crushed. I also love when doors close whith the bang.
OMG ITS THE BENDY BUS!!
Interesting to see, thanks for the upload. We're meant to be having something similar called 'Sprint' here in the West Midlands in time for the Commonwealth Games. Perhaps you'll make a visit for that?
Yes, but maybe not for the opening day of Sprint (it depends on when this is).
I wish that Sprint was going to use pure electric trolleybuses which have batteries for unwired roads. This would make them as environmentally sound (zero tailpipe air pollution) as the West Midlands Metro trams - which are 100% electric and will soon start using battery power on unwired sections of the tramway.
Pretty sure thats Kathy Clugston doing the automated announcing (formerly of Radio 4) who also does the voice on the trains.
David T-Rex Hi, it's actually Pamala Ballentine from UTV doing the Glider and Metro announcements, although Kathy still does NI Railways and the Enterprise service. Hope this helps!
We have these in Aberdeen, Scotland, I love them, but Trams are definitely better
Nice BRT system Belfast has got there, shame they haven’t considered making it a trolleybus because van hool also produce versions of these buses with trolley poles as seen in Linz
I agree, trolleybus would have been better than a diesel hybrid.
I've also been on the trolleybus version, albeit in Geneva, Switzerland.
It means more space on roads which is very good and we have a lot of electric and hydro powered buses anyways. Although I Wouk’s likw to see the comeback of trams as we had loads before
@@greek9244 If you mean space on road as in space for bike lanes and wide pavements then I agree but if you mean more car lanes then I disagree
@@CreatorPolar no I mean more space for bike lanes and pavements. I have a road in mind and it used to be 4 lane now 2 bc of the glider and they should add more bike lanes although they have widened the footpaths
Music at the end sound horrible
How long you in Belfast for?
A day trip from London.
This bus is so nice!
Barcelona also uses this buses, the 24m hybrid format
They only have two!
Despite this I did think of including a Barcelona photo where I show Exqui.City buses in other towns and cities ... unfortunately there were no photographs showing an Exqui.City bus in Barcelona available to use in Wikimedia Commons and all the photographs in Flickr have copyright tags which prohibit re-use elsewhere.
To use elsewhere a photograph must have a Creative Commons license such as CC-BY-SA-4.0 or CC0
Is this not similar to the “ftr” concept that was tried and failed on the mainland (e.g. York)? Why would it work better in Belfast?
The ftr buses were actually built in N. Ireland. However they were diesels, although diesel hybrid versions were also built for Las Vegas, USA.
I rather liked the core vehicles... if only they had been built as trolleybuses with small diesel engines for unwired roads (the concept of batteries recharged dynamically when the bus was travelling as a trolleybus was little understood in those days).
The reasons why the ftr concept failed on the mainland include being used on inappropriate bus routes with streets that were not suited to such vehicles, failings with their introduction related to ticketing / fares payments and that (as I understand it) the people at the top of the bus company which operated them and govt. Ministers were in cahoots and acting with a lack of integrity when they planned these buses - their aim was to use diesel buses which look a little like trams to hoodwink the public into believing that they were as good as trams.
This was as part of a plan to stifle public desire for clean air / electrically powered steel wheel trams - which experience even here in the UK has shown does attract people to public transport.
I believe we’re getting these or something along these lines in Birmingham for our upcoming ‘sprint’ network. Not sure how well they will be received as we’ve already got rid of our existing fleet of Bendi buses. However, if they are hybrid, at least that may help eliminate some of the thirsty fuel guzzling the Bendis were know for.
I wish that Sprint was going to use pure electric trolleybuses which have batteries for unwired roads. This would make them as environmentally sound (zero tailpipe air pollution) as the West Midlands Metro trams - which are 100% electric and will soon start using battery power on unwired sections of the tramway.
Basically this is a tram but on road
Its a diesel hybrid bus styled somewhat like a tram - still very nice, swish etc but very much a rubber tyred vehicle
I like it
When is it a hybrid? When it goes downhill? When are they fitting shock absorbers to them?
fossil fuel engine powers an electric drive system
they are nice buses I've not been on one yet thought
I thought so, yes.
Glider buses? It looks more like a tram, only without any rails to limit them!
So it would be half tram half bus
It is still a bus!
Sure we had these in Leeds some years back, they didn’t last long 🤣
GrandTheftAidan same in London
Not that one though. This type of buse weren't in Leeds for sure.
enjoy the video, they been talk at birmingham (uk) could be operating similar vehicle by 2022 for games
What is Glider mean? Surely is not of any specific points than Diesel Bendy Buses, wouldn't they?
just a marketing name
Sounds rickety for a new bus. Still nice looking though.
cool ✔
0:53 It has a tram gong?!
Yes! I too was surprised by this and once I experienced it I know I had to include it in the film.
@@CitytransportInfoplus I see. I thought buses only had horns aswell as trains (even though some locomotives have both horns and bells). But still great video.
@@CitytransportInfoplus
Bus bells together with classic horns are common in France.
Some cities like Lyon have a buzzer instead of the bell.
I've seen similar buses in Geneva
That is not at all surprising, as the last section which shows Exqui.City buses elsewhere includes several views from Geneva. This includes the bus seen on the right of the screen at the very end of the film with lowered trolleypoles.
Wow! These buses look like a tram... on wheels!
They even have tram style 'gongs'!
The are much Worse than trams tho and they polute
We had them in Swansea for years. They have all been taken out of service now though, i liked them but they took them all away. Same buses.
You had the Wrightbus Streetcars. They were similar-ish to the buses in Belfast but built by a different bus builder.
citytransportinfo they looked identical though but yes your right 👍🏻
citytransportinfo czcams.com/video/8pcI_egCPlE/video.html
@@CitytransportInfoplus Built by a UK builder, providing jobs in the UK.
We don't need to import buses.
We live in a world with high tech buses and yet I still have to travel on a class 142 pacer
Join the club
Can’t because England, Northern rail, strike, use class 170s from Scotland, stress, chocolate biscuits! Mind you I once wanted to travel into Leeds by train and the guy in the ticket booth said I had to wait 40mins for the next train because of this strike. Instead I took a new Leeds city bus which took 30mins but was worth it.
I've been on them too. I would like people from the Department for Transport and Treasury be forced to travel in them. Maybe thats how funds would be found for more modern forms of transport.
has someone who lives in Swansea this is just FTR Metro , with a New brand name and compnay
And despite all the technology to build that, British roads will find every squeak and rattle....
Andy Richards they squeak more than old skoda 14tr that is 25 years old
It really does look like a tram.
Belfast should have gone for a tram system. Look at the success of the Manchester Birmingham Nottingham Sheffield tramways.
Belfast had trams many years ago
A proper trolleybus or light rail would be better.
@@eirugsiongriffiths8563 They had trolley buses years ago
G1 Serves east Belfast which hasnt even been mentioned
Glider route G1 links east and west Belfast and the two areas of strong religious sentiment. I did not visit either area - although there seems to be an easy peace between the two factions the reality is that there are people who still want to see the civil war (known locally as 'the troubles') flare up again.*
My plan was that either I film both areas and give them equal footage time in the final production or I avoid them both. I was also worried that some local people may not like an unknown visitor from London wielding a camera filming in their areas - I understand that things such as 'kneecapping' still go on and I just did not want to take the chance.
In addition to my personal safety concerns, I was only in Belfast for a day-trip and my time was very limited - so in the end I decided that the safest and best option would be to only visit areas that are frequented by tourists - this means areas served by route G2.
*Recent comments in the Brexit debate convinced me of this.
Sorry but this is a bendy bus for me lol
Yes!
1:10 Naming a quarter after a product that failed?
It wasn't our fault that the boat sank
It sank because it was badly designed, after the bean-counters had their way.
Looks like Tram haha
I think this is one of only four cities to use this futuristic bus! A bus that looks as modern as a train! I'd like to see non-articulated versions of these buses!
at 0:53 it has the same bell as a CAF Urbos 3 streetcar, which is used in Kansas City!
Yes, only a few cities use them, although four more will start using them in 2019. Many streetcars have that type of bell - I was surprised to find it on a bus too!
its like a tram on wheels!
Danny Read never realised trams didn't have wheels...
Tram or bus, it still needs.....fare-paying passengers! Hardly see any at all.
Its look like a tram
There are also Wright Streetcars in Las Vegas
This film does not show Wright Streetcars, but yes, las Vegas has a fleet of them.
I know but the Wright Streetcars are very similar to the Glider buses in Belfast
Poor man's tram. Basically, it's a bendibus... not impressed. Especially since these are going to be foisted onto the streets of Britain's second city, Birmingham...
Will they be buses from this bus builder? My choice would have been for in-motion charging trolleybuses which have batteries for unwired sections - which is exactly what is planned for your trams.
Trams and Trolleybuses are the best city transport in the streets :)
@@CitytransportInfoplus Birmingham tram routes were planned in the late 90's but idiot Mike Whitby delayed implementation of the extensions to the existing Wolverhampton-Birmingham link because he caused an inquiry as to whether and underground network would be possible. It came back and told him what they already knew. It would be too expensive.
Very soon after, the recession started kicked in and the government money that was initially available, was lost. So whereas Manchester and Nottingham got on with it, Birmingham fell behind and continued to rely on ol' dirty buses.
Only after Gordon Brown tried to bribe voters and pay for the one mile extension did things start moving. Fast forward to today and extensions are being built but the plans are a shadow of what they were.
As a result, the poor man's tram 'Sprint Bus' has been proposed on routes where tramways should be built.
The tram line will run from Wolverhampton train station to Birmingham Fiveways. Whereas the route was to continue up Wolverhampton Road towards Sandwell and Dudley (bit hazy on the exact terminus)
Now a 'Sprint Bus' poor man's tram route will be used to go between the Fiveways tram terminus and Quinton West - using the s**tty road surface along Hagley Road. Priority signalling will be used but will be useless against a backdrop if traffic jams all along the road.
Sprint Bus poor mans tram will be used to link Birmingham city centre with Great Barr and Alexander Stadium for the Commonwealth Games as example of a brand new 'modern' metropolitan transport network. Fancy bendy buses.
FYI, the manufacturer will be Van Hool, who which I consider to be the Rolls Royce of bus mamakers. However, it won't make a difference where the road surface is so shockingly bad. My view has always been, where trams are planned, that this stop gap is a waste of money where it could be saved for the trams.
Great if a town or third rate city has no choice but certainly shouldn't even be considered for the UK's second city. Crikey, even Cambridge has a Tracline style busway for cheaper, adapted, standard buses which would be far more preferable.
That's my take on it, anyway...
@@EdgyNumber1 Nice smooth ride for people who use buses...
@@bingola45 not on the shitty surfaced, congested streets of B'ham....
Looks like they aught to be living in London not Belfast
There are some bus routes in suburban London where these would work very well - and passengers would be happy to have them too! If it was my decision I would opt for the 24 metre trolleybus version with batteries. The cyclists however would be expected to complain, as London's cyclists do not like articulated buses.
Note however that for many bus routes the road configuration does not favour articulated buses.
@@CitytransportInfoplus Isn't there a non-articulated version of the exqui city bus, like a standard single decker. They would work very well on single decker routes then (like the 124)
Our City Linz has them aswell but longer.b
5:05
It's more like China's new trams
yep
This type of bus is built in Ballymena, by one of NI's biggest employers, yet these buses have been imported.
Who made the decision NOT to support jobs in NI, and why?
How can we make such people answerable?
I do not know how the decisions were made, although I do remember the controversy when the Belgian buses were chosen.
@@CitytransportInfoplus 'Controversy' doesn't create jobs. Action is needed, not talk.
Whoever made this decision had scant regard for the people of NI, and should be made an example of.
I'm pretty sure that this is controlled by an EU directive. Any public project worth over 'x' amount must be put out to tender across the whole of the EU. I think whoever comes up with the best quote wins!! Local Government/Council have no power to overrule this.
@@michaeldupree5801 This country has no power to decide anything. The everyday working people know this, but our government is determined to keep us under the EU thumb at any cost.
@@bingola45 The country has plenty of power to decide. Yes, the Van Hool was chosen because EU rules state that in large purchases like this an EU-wide tender needs to be put out, but it's simply not true that the cheapest needs to win. The local authority sets the criteria, and all the EU asks is that these criteria are clear, transparant and objective. Van Hool came out as the best. Not a surprise really, as it simply is the better product. Wrightbus hasn't sold a single one of its 'Streetcar' design (as they call it) in about a decade, while Van Hool has sold this Exquicity design to more than a dozen cities in the last 7 years. It's the better vehicle.
Also don't forget that if you want the local authority to simply give all the contracts to local companies, you are at the same time stopping UK companies from selling anything to the public sector in the rest of the EU. Those companies aren't going to be particularly thrilled about that...
So it's like a tram but less cool
its cool - but in its own way
More of a tram than a bus
路面電車に見える
Still not close to beat Trolleybus and Trams
Full og polution and not as atractive as what i mentioned above
The only thing would best trolley bus 🚎 & tram 🚊 would be Super trolley bus🚎 (STB) which will also beat train 🚆
I like all but personaly are trains best but the Only buses I like are Trolleybusse and i love trams too
I also would have liked trolleybuses. Cleaner air!
But the STB is basically a Double Decker tram on wheels with first class it has up to 9 carriages. But it hasent been invented yet but I came up with the idea of it. It would be a grate trolley bus 🚎 comeback & possibility a grate replacement for trains
Andrew Bass why replace trains why can’t Great transport methods live in harmony together
I think it's shameful that Translink awarded the contract to Belgium's Van Hool rather than Ballymena's Wrightbus, I wonder who took the bribe...
Van-Hool is supposed to be 'not bad' while Wrightbus..i find their bodywork another which looks nice & far less prone to squeaks & crackle noises compared to the lousy Alexander-Dennis BUT still overall not quite as impressively 'solid' & well made as a Hispano Carrocera which more closely resembles the 'continental standard' in bus bodywork one tends to get with original integral buses/coaches from the established German bus & coach makers like Mercedes-Benz or Setra etc.
I've always found that Wright Bros bodies are very bad, both in build quality and ergonomics, writing as a PSV driver for over 30 years.
So... They're liar busses pretending to be trams.
Wannabe trolley busses, cover up the wheels and they'll look eco-futuristic
Meanwhile in Singapore. We have just introduced new B5LH Diesel Electric Buses
It's a good alternative to building rails for trams like the LUAS. If only a double-decker version could be offered
Lothian has recently got an ADL Enviro 500 Volvo B8 12.8m double decker bus for trials. So maybe Translink NI could upgrade to those buses as passenger growth increases.
Sakushalkc
Trying to be a tram doesn’t work!
Why not 100% electric? Proterra do a 400 mile range bus. 🚎
It looks really cool. I like the front end.. feels like a tram 🚊
Proterra buses may travel 400 miles a day but this is only possible because they fast charge their batteries many times during the day.
As for 100% electrics, Geneva (CH) and Linz (AT) have pure electric variants which also have batteries for unwired roads. Parma (I) uses trolleybuses which also have diesel power packs - for use when away from overhead wires. In 2019 the rapid transport TRC line near Rimini (I) will also use trolleybuses.
(International country codes in brackets)
Money
Skip the diesel and just run on battery.
That was tried in Hamburg. Something did not work out as planned; exactly what however has not been revealed. Anyway, when used in pure battery mode their range was only about 70 miles / 120 km which is nowhere near enough for a full daily schedule. This is why I mentioned the concept of in-motion charging and limited amounts of travel along unwired roads. This is planned for the city of Linz after it receives its full allocation of Exqui.City battery / trolley buses.
I thought the Left was down on diesel fuel-burning vehicles!
*_I WANT SOME *_**_-STEAMED RAMS-_*_ !_* *_NOT STEAMED BENDS!_*
?
What?!
Futuristic? These are just articulated buses with light rail warning bells. We've had low floor articulated buses in Chicago for a decade, and Los Angeles has had had low floor articulated buses with essentially the same hidden wheel design for years as well. This is just a marketing video. Nothing more.
Not a marketing video - no-one paid me to travel to Belfast and make this film. I am a transport enthusiast (rail fan, bus fan, etc) who makes films, sometimes contemporary, sometimes showing historic transports which I filmed over the years.
I agree that in the USA you have had articulated buses for years, but in the British Isles these are relatively rare.
It’s just a shit bendy bus
@Andrew Gwilt why are there loads of bendybuses in york
@AmazingJuice Tahmid ugh people like you should shut up and get on with it
@AmazingJuice Tahmid just be quiet
The only problem I can see with these buses is that they still have a driver get rid of the driver get rid of majority of the problems
As a passenger I like having a human driver
Much more problems