Rigid bus
also a VöV SL-I type standard bus
A rigid bus (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is a vehicle used in public transportation with a single, rigid chassis. A bus of this type is to be contrasted with an articulated or bi-articulated bus,[1] which will have two or more two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint, and also with a trailer bus, which is formed out of a bus bodied semi-trailer pulled by a conventional tractor unit.
The term "rigid bus" is used mainly in British English and Australian English and usually only when distinguishing such buses from articulated buses, such as when describing a fleet that includes both types. In the case of two-axle buses, which must be single-chassis, rigid vehicles, British English often refers to such vehicles as "two-axle" buses, only using the term "rigid" when referring to vehicles with three or more axles, which can be either rigid or articulated.
The term "rigid bus" is not used in American English, where the distinction is commonly made using the term "non-articulated" bus or, when the context is clear, "standard" bus. However, the expression "standard bus" can be confusing, because it is sometimes used, in other English speaking countries, to refer to a uniform bus design developed for and by a number of European bus manufacturers, in two model generations, between the 1960s and the end of the 20th century. The German VöV-Standard-Bus includes the Mercedes-Benz O305 and the Mercedes-Benz O405 types, each of which, in both rigid and articulated forms, was widely acquired and used by bus operators in English speaking countries outside North America.[2]
Rigid buses may be of either single-deck or double-deck design, and may have either two axles or multi-axles. However, the expression "rigid bus" is seldom used to describe a double-decker bus, because very few double-decker buses have anything other than a rigid chassis.
Single-decker rigid buses are used mainly on bus lines with an average ridership (for example, as transit buses or regional buses on routes with normal levels of patronage), or as coaches.
See also
References
- ^ See Bus Operator Handbook (PDF). Melbourne: Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) and the National Transport Commission (NTC) (Australia). 2005. p. 29. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ Veerkamp, John (2002). "Chapter 13: Mercedes Benz Integral Buses and Coaches". World Bus Explorer. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
External links
Media related to Buses at Wikimedia Commons
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