I was looking at a thread earlier, lamenting the scrapping of the ALX400 that V3D based his rather magnificent bus on.
It amazes me how modern buses are scrapped at relatively 'young' ages when you consider how long the RM, RT and RF lasted in active service; especially bearing in mind the prices the vehicles command when new - a double decker kerching-ing at £300/350K. If fifteen years is a fairly average lifespan that equates to somewhere around £20,000 p.a in 'lost value' .
I can only assume that lost value is offset against tax on profits, leaving little incentive to purchase more durable vehicles, especially with increasingly strict anti-pollution measures, but the environmental impact of manufacturing and disposing of these vehicles on such a frequent cycle has to be considerable - but doesn't seem to be taken into account....
It's several decades since my involvement in the industry and I am a bit of a dinosaur in that I am old-school in terms of public transport; think along the lines of London Transport - Design-Refine-Build-Maintain-Refurbish, quality vehicles that are rugged, repairable and long-lived. Even at garage level you could do an engine change on an RM between peak hours, with the vehicle returning to service for the evening rush-hour. I worked at the Aldenham Works where tired work-worn buses were thoroughly and regularly overhauled, so I know what I'm talking about. For anyone interested there are some splendid archive films on YouTube showing the process.
There's still great merit in that model of operation but it doesn't work with fragmented small-to-medium sized fleets, especially mixed fleets with small batches of vehicles.
I still look at operators abroad - having lived in Brussels and worked for the STIB for some time I'll use BXL as an example, especially the tramway side of things. Currently in service still are a number of vehicles dating from the 1970's, based on a sound concept of vehicles of modular design and many common components. The PCC tram. Originally entering service in the early 1950's as a single 4-axle car, now sadly withdrawn, refined in the 1960's as a 6-axle articulated model, and a final iteration as an 8-axle double articulated behemoth. Those early 7000 series cars had the incredible lifespan of almost sixty years with a couple of refurbishments, and must have had a tiny environmental footprint and equally small lost value figure. The tramway in BXL is thriving and expanding, fares relatively cheap - especially if you have an 'Abonnement' or season ticket, and public transport is subsidised.
I just can't help thinking that here in the UK we have, and continue to get urban public transport horribly wrong.
Regards,
Dave, the ghost of transport past