In January 2012, RTL was sent back to London Esignbus Transport Museum.
It has been retired, but remains at the Unitrans garage.
RTL 1014's original engine does not meet any current emissions standards, and thus is not permitted to run in revenue service.
DOUBLE DECKER BUS LONDON DRIVER
The next gear the driver wishes to shift to is "pre-selected" via a lever on the steering column and then a pedal is depressed and released to shift the transmission into that gear. 1014 has its original pre-select transmission, meaning that it is a pseudo-manual transmission bus. This bus has been kept as original as possible. Keen observers will note the slightly different front grill. "RTL" signifies that the bus was an RT built by Leyland. It is a coveted prize both here and in London, and museums all over the world are eager to get their hands on the bus. RTL 1014 returned to daily service in Spring Quarter 2006 after a three year absence. Following conversion to the modern engine, RT 742 is the fastest double-deck in the fleet, and features a modern rear-end as well, making it very reliable at higher speeds. In Summer 2007, RT 742 was modified once again, removing the pre-select transmission in favor of an Allison automatic, and replacing the engine with a clean diesel that would meet CARB 2007 emissions standards, allowing Unitrans to continue running the bus for the foreseeable future. 742 is easily identified by its unique (to Unitrans) route number box on the roof, which will once again display its route number "13" from its days in London. This included replacing all of the wooden beams that hold the body panels to the bus, as well as new windows. RT 742 is currently in service after undergoing massive maintenance and restoration. The shuttle would use the new doubledecker buses and/or the vintage London doubledeckers, depending on customers’ preferences.Ĭurrently six buses remain from the original collection. It would run once or twice a month and for special events (in conjunction with Davis Farmers Market). This shuttle would run on Saturday mornings. Interestingly, in December of 2005 London finally retired their line of Routemaster double-decker buses, making Davis perhaps the last bastion of regular vintage double-decker operation.Īs of August 8th, 2015 Unitrans will be adding a Saturday morning doubledecker shuttle between MU Terminal and downtown Davis. The Enviro500 buses are wheelchair accessible and feature a ramp and kneeler function. Other runs during the day on these lines provide wheelchair accessibility. The RT Double-Decker buses are not wheelchair-accessible and have no bike racks. Once the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 buses are added to the fleet, Unitrans may consider running them on lines from the Silo Terminal. Other lines pose significant hazards to the buses such as low hanging power lines, trees, and the Richards Underpass. The Double-Decker buses currently provide service to the MU terminal and Silo terminal, and operate only on the B, E, F, G, J, and V lines.
RTL 1014, one of the original pair to be purchased in 1968, is still part of the fleet today, though it has been retired from regular service. Most of the spare parts were hand-made by Wally at the Shop facility, a practice that he still takes part in occasionally though he has since retired.
The RT buses remain in service thanks to the services of Wally Mellor, the former director of Unitrans Maintenance. The Daimler double-deckers were retired from service in 1999, as upkeep was difficult (the parts were and still are simply unavailable). The majority of the double-deckers were of the RT type, though both RTL, RLH and Daimler models were also part of the fleet over the years. Over the years, other double-decker buses were procured from London. This was the inception of Unitrans, the only transit company in the United States to use authentic London double-deck buses in daily service.Ĭalifornia Aggie article Davis Enterprise article Two of these buses were purchased back in 1967 by ASUCD direct from England to attract people to use the service. This unique system is owned and operated by the Associated Students of UC Davis Campus and serves the UC Davis Campus and the City of Davis with a regularly scheduled bus service during the school year." -From the back of a Unitrans bus postcard, available for sale in the UCD Bookstore. "The University Transport System owns nine of these imported London double-decker buses. See Unitrans Buses for information on other buses.
0 kommentar(er)
