Double-decker bus

A double-decker bus is a bus that has two levels. While double-decker long-distance coaches are in widespread use around the world, double-decker city buses are less common. Double-decker buses are popular in some European cities and in some parts of Asia, usually in former British colonies. Many towns around the world have a few that specialise in short sight-seeing tours for tourists for, as William Gladstone observed, "the way to see London is from the top of a 'bus" (Gladstone was referring to London's once ubiquitous double-deck horse drawn omnibuses, rather than a motor bus).
Locations
Cities listed here use double-decker buses as part of their regular mass transit fleet. Cities with only tourist and sightseeing double-decker buses are excluded.
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  United Kingdom
Double-decker buses are in common use throughout the United Kingdom, typically seating between 60 and 80 passengers. They are between 9.5 and 10.9 metres in length and are a common reference item for describing very large objects; for example, a blue whale is about as long as three double-decker buses. They were created as a means of carrying large numbers of passengers without exceeding legal limits on vehicle length. First Double-decker bus is RMT Bus, after Invented Ailsa Bus.
A particularly iconic example was the Routemaster bus, which had been a staple of the public transport network in London for nearly half a century following its introduction in 1956. Citing difficulties accommodating disabled passengers, the last remaining examples in use finally retired in 2005, although Transport for London has established two "heritage routes", which will continue using Routemasters (Selected parts of routes 9 & 15).
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  Colombo, Sri Lanka
In the 1950s, double-decker buses of the South Western Bus Company plied on the Galle Road in Colombo, Sri Lanka. These were taken over by the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) when all bus services were nationalised in 1958. In the 1960s, large numbers of second-hand double decker buses of the RT, RTL and RTW classes were imported by the CTB from London Transport and ran in their original red livery, but with the CTB logo painted on the sides. These buses were phased out beginning in the mid-1970s, but a handful still run in the Greater Colombo area. Later, around 1985, 40 ex-London Routemaster entered service. One Routemaster bus is run by the Sirasa TV and radio station. In 2005 a new batch of double decker buses were imported by the Sri Lanka Transport Board, as the reconstituted CTB is known, which run mainly on the Galle Road in Colombo.
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  Hong Kong, China
Double-decker buses were first introduced in Hong Kong in 1949 by Kowloon Motor Bus. They have become very popular since then, and they are currently found in large numbers among the fleets of the territory's major bus operators (see below). By law, double-decker buses in Hong Kong are limited to a length of 12 meters. Today, there are more than 4,000 double-decker buses running in Hong Kong.
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  Singapore
In October 1953, a single AEC Regent III double-decker from the fleet of General Transport Company, Kuala Lumpur (KL), was sent to Singapore for demonstration. It was used on service by the Singapore Traction Company for two weeks. After that, it was inspected by two other bus companies and then sent back to KL. However, no orders for double-deckers were to ensue at this point in time.
Singapore Bus Service (SBS, now known as SBS Transit), the current operator of double-decker buses in Singapore, launched their first double-decker bus service on 13 June 1977 with 20 Leyland Atlanteans. This time, the double-decker buses were here to stay and the fleet grew steadily, with the further introduction of the Mercedes-Benz O305 and the Leyland Olympian. The first air-conditioned double-decker bus, named the "Superbus" in recognition of its record-breaking 12m length, was launched in 1993. The first stepless, ultra low floor "Superbus" was launched in 1999. Wheelchair accessible buses began to be introduced in 2006. Today, SBS Transit has a fleet of over 700 double-decker buses, most of which are air-conditioned.
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  Victoria, Canada
In 2000, Victoria, British Columbia became the first city in North America to use double decker buses in its public transit system. Imported from the United Kingdom and operated by BC Transit and the Victoria Regional Transit System, these buses have proven to be very popular amongst both locals and tourists. The buses are mainly used on routes that go from downtown to the suburbs, including the Victoria International Airport and the BC Ferries terminal near Sidney, B.C. They can also be found on routes that head to the University of Victoria and the Western Communities. In June/July 2006, double-decker bus similar to those in Victoria was being tested in Ottawa, Ontario.
bus guide - all about bus, bus company and bus transport  Japan
By Japanese law, vehicles are confined to maximum 3.8 meters height and 12 meters length. Japanese double-decker buses are mainly used for inter-city highway buses, city tours and charter buses. In 1960, Kinki Sharyo and Hino Motors manufactured the first original double-decker bus "Vista Coach" for Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu).
In 1979, Chuo Kotsu, a chartered bus operator in Osaka, imported the Neoplan Skyliner, and made double-decker buses more popular. Skyliner and the other imported buses: Van Hool Astromega TD824, Drogmoller E440 Meteor and a few MAN coaches inspired Japanese bus manufactures, who developed 3 domestic models in the middle of the 1980s: "Space Dream" (Nissan Diesel), "Gran View" (Hino Motors) and "Aero King" (Mitsubishi Fuso.) They did not, however, sell very well as the ceiling was only 1.7 meters high. Nevertheless, Aero King was sold for 22 years, but, being unable to meet exhaust gas emission and safety levels, production stopped in 2005.
In 1982, Toei Bus operated Skyliners in Tokyo, between Asakusa and Ueno to 2001. And Joban Kotsu operated Skyliners in a trans-Fukushima route: between Iwaki and Aizu-Wakamatsu via Koriyama from 1983 to 1996.
Since the 1990s, JR Buses started to use Aero King for an overnight inter-city highway bus service named "Dream-go". The first Aero King in Dream-go, operated to "Fuku Fuku Tokyo" between Tokyo and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi with Sanden Kotsu.(Which was replaced with a "super high-decker" coach in middle of the 1990s, "Fuku Fuku Tokyo" and finally stopped in 2006)
Japanese overnight highway buses are mainly equipped with a 3-line, two-aisle (1+1+1) seat configuration with reclining seats. When this configuration is used on and ordinary coach, it has 28, 29 or 31 seats. When this configuration is used on a double-decker bus, it has 36 or 40 seats: the vehicle's price and capacity increase while operating cost decreases.
JR Bus group mainly uses Aero King, Skyliner and a few Jonckheere Monaco (equipped with Nissan Diesel engine) for inter-city highway bus operations between Kanto (near Tokyo) and Kansai (near Osaka), which is named "Dream-go" (overnight express) and "Hiru-tokkyu" (Daytime Express). The other bus operators, inspired by "Dream-go", increased use of the Aero King for overnight inter-city bus service.
JR Bus Kanto imported 4 Neoplan Megaliner N128/4, leasing 2 to an operating partner (from 2003 to 2006, Kanto Railway, since 2006 Nishinihon JR Bus). The Megaliner is 15 meters long and has 84 seats (with 2+2 configuration), and is operated on an inter-city highway route between Tokyo and Tsukuba, Ibaraki from 2002 to 2005. The Megaliner has also been converted for an overnight highway bus service between Tokyo and Osaka called "Seishun Mega Dream," with special authorization.