This is a London Bus City mod.
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro (or O530(G)) is a single-decker bus / articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. It was introduced in 1997 and replaced the Mercedes-Benz O405/O405N series. Manufactured in Mannheim (Germany), Ligny-en-Barrois (France) and Sámano (Spain), it is available as a rigid bus with two or three axles and as an articulated bus with three or four axles. Over 40,000 have been manufactured.
History[]
A real Mercedes-Benz Citaro 20O530G operated by London General
Bendy Buses were introduced to London in October 2001 when six Wright Eclipse Fusion bodied Volvo B7LAs were hired from First Hampshire & Dorset for a trial on route 207 between Shepherds Bush and Uxbridge.
In June 2002 new Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530Gs were introduced on Red Arrow commuter services 507 and 521. While articulated bus operation had been standard in several other countries for over 20 years, their use in the United Kingdom had been limited with their introduction in London gaining a lot of press attention. They were later introduced on routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436 and 453.
Articulated buses were introduced on several high-capacity routes in the 2000s, coinciding with withdrawal from passenger service of the AEC Routemaster. The Routemasters, involving a step upwards and poor accessibility did not conform to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There was also the risk of litigation over accidents involving the Routemaster's rear open platform.
Articulated buses with multiple doors and simultaneous boarding arrangements were capable of loading passengers in less time than conventional double decker buses and Routemasters. They had a much higher passenger capacity, being able to carry over 140 people per vehicle compared to 77 in a Routemaster, although with far fewer seats.
Articulated buses took up more road space per vehicle (18 metres compared to 9.1 metres for a Routemaster and 10 metres for a double decker), although in terms of road surface used per passenger, there was little difference between double decker buses (which stack passengers vertically on two floors) and articulated buses – 11.8 cm road surface length per Routemaster passenger against 12.8 cm per articulated bus passenger: 8.7% more.
The increased vehicle size meant they were more likely to block junctions and cause difficulties for other road users. Press coverage regarding cyclists and motorcyclists was generally negative due to the reduced viewpoint of the driver and greater likelihood of cyclists to enter blind spots.
The routes converted to articulated bus operation were:
During the 2008 Mayoral campaign, Boris Johnson pledged to withdraw articulated buses on the grounds that they were unsuitable for London, and to introduce a modern version of the AEC Routemaster. Withdrawals began in July 2009, when articulated buses on routes 38, 507 and 521 were replaced with conventional single and double decker buses, and a prototype for the New Routemaster was promised to be on the streets by 2012. The last articulated buses were withdrawn in December 2011.
The first articulated vehicles to be replaced were on 507 and 521, which were replaced by twelve-metre long single-deck buses in July and September 2009 respectively. Articulated buses were replaced by double-deckers on 38 in November 2009. Route 207 was the last route to operate articulated buses on 10 December 2011.
Stats[]
- Horsepower:115 bhp
- Top Speed: 80 mph
- Mass: 16464 lbs
- Durability: Very High
Available colors[]
- London General (route 507/521)
- Stagecoach London (route 453)