Mercedes-Benz autobussen en touringcars: boeken (2/2)

London's Citaro Buses

De Mercedes-Benz Citaro werd in 2002 in Londen geïntroduceerd, beschikbaar als zowel vaste als gelede bus. De gelede versie verving de Routemaster en dubbeldekkers op verschillende routes in het centrum van Londen. Een beleidswijziging leidde echter tot de terugtrekking van de gelede Citaro's, waarvan de laatste in 2012 op lijn 207 reden.
Desondanks bleef de Citaro in Londen in gebruik, met kleine aantallen aangeschaft door verschillende exploitanten voor geselecteerde routes in het zuidoosten van de stad. First London testte ook drie waterstofaangedreven Citaro's op lijn RV1.
Dit boek geeft een beknopt overzicht van de geschiedenis van de Citaro in Londen.

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The London Bendy Bus

Between 2002 and 2006 six of London's bus companies put into service 390 articulated 'bendy' buses on twelve routes for transport in London.

During what turned out to be a foreshortened nine years in service, the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G buses familiar on the continent and worldwide earned an unenviable reputation in London; according to who you read and who you believed, they caught fire at the drop of a hat, they maimed cyclists, they drained revenue from the system due to their susceptibility to fare evasion, they transported already long-suffering passengers in standing crush loads like cattle and they contributed to the extinction of the Routemaster from frontline service. In short, it was often referred to as 'the bus we hated'.

This account is an attempt by a long-time detractor of the bendy buses to set the vehicles in their proper context - not quite to rehabilitate them, but to be as fair as is possible towards a mode of transport which felt about as un-British as could be.

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The Mercedes Benz Midibus

Dit boek behandelt een belangrijk aspect van het Britse busaanbod dat nog niet eerder volledig is gedocumenteerd. De Mercedes-Benz Midibus was misschien klein, maar had een enorme impact. Hij werd zeer gerespecteerd door vlootingenieurs en diende zijn doel goed.
Dit verhaal gaat niet alleen over een succesvol voertuig, het richt zich op verschillende kleine carrosseriebedrijven die door het werk van hun ontwerpers, ambachtslieden en verkopers aan de top van de Britse productie-industrie kwamen. De verscheidenheid die de Mercedes-Benz Midibus bood, was behoorlijk opmerkelijk!

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Abschied vom Standard-1-Bus : Die letzten Standard-Linienbusse der ersten Generation im Einsatz

From the end of the 1960s to the 1990s, the first generation of standard buses dominated local public transport in the Federal Republic of Germany. They have long since been phased out by the large urban and municipal transport companies, but some private bus companies still rely on the robust Standard 1 buses from the manufacturers MAN, Mercedes Benz and Magirus - mostly for school transport.

However, due to the trend towards modern low-floor buses, air-conditioned vehicles and increasingly strict environmental regulations, the number of Standard 1 buses still in use in Germany has fallen rapidly in recent years. The foreseeable end of this generation of buses in scheduled services is therefore a reason to dedicate the first volume of the "tadtverkehr-Bildarchiv" book series to the Standard 1 buses.

Climb aboard and accompany us on our trip through Germany to the last examples of the MB O 305/O 305 G and O 307, MAN SL 200 and SÜ 240 types as well as several other Standard 1 models that have now become real rarities.

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