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355 points pavel_lishin | 6 comments | | HN request time: 0.2s | source | bottom
1. tdeck ◴[] No.45387053[source]
Our buses are also less comfortable and "rattle" more that busses I've ridden in many other first world countries. I'm not sure if this is an economics thing but the standard New Flyer buses feel a bit dated.
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2. roryirvine ◴[] No.45387246[source]
What's causing the rattle?

In the UK, there were always a few buses in any given fleet that rattled more than others, especially when idling or at low revs - something to do with resonance with the body panels, I think. But that was back when diesel engines were universal, so hasn't really been a thing since hybrids and (more recently) BEVs took over.

Looks like New Flyer hybrids use BAE Systems' Hybridrive, which was fairly common in London during the 2010s but didn't produce noticeably excessive vibration as far as I remember. Is there something different about how the engines are mounted in US buses, I wonder?

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3. tdeck ◴[] No.45387378[source]
I'm not sure? Perhaps the shocks are different, or the seats are just harder, or perhaps I'm imagining it.
4. notatoad ◴[] No.45389035[source]
in my experience the rattle is usually from the fittings inside the bus, not the bus itself - mounting brackets for information screens or advertising panels, seatbelts on the accessible seating, that sort of thing. and part of the rattle is just down to under-use - a bus with all the seats filled shakes less, because the suspension is tuned for a full bus not an empty one.

one of the buses i ride frequently has a ski rack installed in it that looks like a homemade contraption, and it rattles like crazy.

5. Symbiote ◴[] No.45389320[source]
I once complained to Transport for London when a bus I was using regularly was rattling so much it made me feel ill.

They said the driver can change gear (put it in neutral?) which reduces the rattle, and they are supposed to do this, but some drivers don't bother.

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6. pasc1878 ◴[] No.45389640{3}[source]
The rattling I find on my TfL route is whilst it is moving. However I do think they are nearly the oldest busses in London 2008