While driving to Armier recently I saw two bendy buses with a ‘Bus on Test’ notice on their display screen. As they passed by I noticed at least one person next to the driver who I assume was a company technical person or inspector.

It would be interesting to know whether the test specifications simulate the true running conditions and environmental factors which an ‘in service’ bendy bus has to endure on a daily basis.

Do the tests include loading the vehicles with weights such as sand bags to simulate the 150 passenger load? Do the tests simulate the start/stop at every bus stop? All vehicles tend to heat up above normal when at a standstill with the engines running.

Apart from the other contributing factors such as our hot summer temperatures, which are now significantly lower, and the modifications made to the buses to meet Euro 5 emission levels and air conditioning installation, both passenger load and start/stop travel definitely contribute to overheating.

Temperature/heat changes, indicating overheating, have already been recorded around the engine and the modifications related to emissions and air conditioning installation. These were reportedly done using infra red technology. But to what extent are these tests reliable to ensure 100 per cent passenger and driver safety all the times?

I sincerely hope that the bendy buses currently on our roads displaying a ‘Bus on Test’ notice will be subjected to rigorous tests. Unfortunately, summer is now over and the hot weather would be difficult to simulate at this time.

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