Revolutionary "Trackless Tram": Future of Liverpool Public Transport?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ย. 2024
- 0:00 Intro
0:52 Exterior Close Ups
1:23 Walkaround
2:40 Interior look
4:21 Gliding away!
Maxson Goh Films BXI 337 (Translink Glider 3233) on a promotional tour in St Helens, Merseyside which offered people a glimpse of what might be the future of travel in the region.
Van Hool Exqui.City articulated buses like this have been in service in Belfast, Northern Ireland since 2018, and there are potential plans to have something similar in operation to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, among aother places.
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All footage filmed and edited by Maxson Goh aka glitchFan2428
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For those sneering at this, it could be a brilliant solution if carried out properly. For example, in Nantes, France, they have two 'Busway' routes to complement the three tram routes. Most of the route is on dedicated bus-only lanes. The experience of a passenger is very similar to travelling on a tram. The Busway buses are given priority at almost all junctions and go straight across the middle of roundabouts, making for a speedy journey. This video is interesting to watch. I'm sure we'd be happy to see systems that work this well in Britain. th-cam.com/video/6ag9-2ll7Xs/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the detailed insight on the advantages of this system!
Liverpool deserves actual trams! This is just an expensive bus
@@nicolasblume1046 no it's about the bus lanes and lights too not just about the bus. Ever heard of a busway my friend? Search it up.
@@bmweb2653 ah yes, the guided busways… a dreadful idea and many have been done away with.
In Edinburgh, they were replaced by… trams! 🚃
@@bmweb2653 that still makes this a bus, the vehicle itself adds no benefits over an articulated bus. There is absolutely nothing here that deserves the title “tram”.
@@macjim nah not a guided busway bro
@@macjim like the glider in Belfast and yeah Edinburgh trams great costs too much took well long and it was only short section anyway
We've had these (even back in the 1950's). They are called a "bus". Sure, this one has a fancy wheel cover on the front wheels, but regardless, it is a bus.
Sure, the bendy bit wasn't back in the 50's, but certainly by the year 2000. We call them "Banana buses" as they have the bend bit in the middle which helps them get around sharp turns. It is like a turntable .
Technically buses as we know it have been around for 200 years 🤔 the concept of a timetabled service that did not require pre booking. Granted it was horse drawn but it set the modern foundations of what a bus was
When bendy buses were trialled in the UK they were stopped because of the amount of cyclists they killed.
@@jamescollins3647 they were placed on narrow british streets. Here they're gonna do proper BRT and put it on bus lanes which is 100% fine for use and safe.
@@bmweb2653 Yes right. They are just big buses and using phrases like "proper BRT" is just wishful thinking.
If you are talking about Liverpool are you saying thee are no narrow British streets there?
Oh wow. The UK 's revolutionary groundbreaking design for a tram is a literal bus. How unique
Is that sarcasm 🥴🥴
@@glitchFan2428 Yup it is. Apparently China also invented a quote "trackless train" and yeah its just a bus. But the driver of the UK bus reversed it quite smoothly tho
@@axan50transportproductions this isn't the guideway line in the road chinese gadegetbahn. It's just separated BRT with a high capacity bus. It's not supposed to be a tram, it's supposed to feel like one. Improving the experience.
That revolutionary York , Leeds and Swansea had them in 2006 then scrapped them.
@@jonathangraham9989 It's about the bus priority not the fact that they're bendy. There's a comment addressing this above. The first FTR thing was a total scam. Just having a bendy bus does nothing. Thankfully liverpool are following belfast and implementing proper bus rapid transit with platforms, bus traffic lights, bus lanes etc. The reason first's FTR failed is literally because they did nothing apart from make a bendy bus. As if that's gonna make anything faster 🙄
Don't get stuck on this "British rail was crap so nationalised rail is crap" agenda. Research, it's a different thing.
It's 100% NOT a trackless tram, it is an articulated bus, nothing more.
It isn't but gives off the appearance of being one ... Or at least that's what the people who created it wanted you to think 😅😅
I hate to burst Steve Rotherams bubble, but its not a tram. Its a bus
The literal definition of a tram is "a passenger vehicle powered by electricity conveyed by overhead cables, and running on rails laid in a public road".
So if its trackless, its not a tram lol.
Fair point there. It's all just marketing in hope that people are convinced to ditch their cars
It's a bus! A bus is a bus and a tram is a tram.
This bus is trying very hard to look like a tram 😅
As a bus driver, everytime i see this i always wonder how annoying is it to check the tyre condition on first use check..
I wondered about that too 🤔
Remember the bendy buses in London
I actually liked those 😅
Well done Liverpool! You’ve invented the bendy bus!
Liverpool had bendy buses before when the 501 Airlink used to exist. Now the Bendy Citaros are gone
This bus is a Vanhool Exquicity18 coming out belgium, sadly the company went bankrupt recently so as a belgian myself its sad but luckily VDL took at least most stuff over but might not continue building public buses for any country...
We had these in London a while back, they were known as 'bendy buses'. They were removed from service after a couple of years, I don't remember why as they seemed like a sensible idea at the time, especially for their ease of access for all passengers.
I think it was on the orders of that gobsh*te Johnson when he was mayor.
can we just appreciate how smooth the driver reverses the "trackless tram"? i can't even do that properly in games!
He definitely has the skill!
@@glitchFan2428 now that i think about it, i haven't seen a reversing bendy bus yet...
Not only is ordering an articulated bus from a recently-defunct bus manufacturer a bad idea, as well as the concept being a bad idea as well, but the Liverpool City Regional Council (Mersyside CC) and/or SELNEC/Merseyside PTE/Merseytravel did not at all go to any of the local bus operators such as The People's Bus or Arriva North West which have both operated articulated (bendy) buses in the Liverpool Area within the past 10 years and consult them on this concept.
Both the People's Bus (independent operator, mainly "Enthusiast" and events focused) and Arriva North West have tried what stupid low-IQ politicians in Merseyside are currently proposing, as well as the First Group which have tried the exact same concept with their "Ftr" services (using Wright Streetcars instead) and they found the concept to not only be unworkable, but found them expensive, loss-leading and worse in every single way than using a double-deck bus with 7-15min headways.
I honestly can't believe that these low-IQ Labour politicians who run practically the entire North-West of England at this point are stupid enough to not only think that this concept is a good idea but are also stupid enough to not consult anyone within the industry and ask them if it is a good idea or not, it is absolutely insane.
I'm not one to comment on the competency of the people in charge due to lack of background information (I'm from neighbouring Greater Manchester) however one thing I can add is that I heard they were going with a different manufacturer, for obvious reasons.
Its an Articulated Electric Bus With modifications to make it look as tram as Possible
Pretty much
Don't forget the wheel covers
That bus already exist 1 years ago in Austria. But in a E-Bus. U can Google it it’s exist in the City of Linz
It's just Bus Rapid Transit... that's perfectly fine and a legitimate solution for transport corridors that don't yet or won't justify the expense of a conventional tracked tram.
Pretty much so
Yes! Some common sense! Thanks for not going "This is just another first bus bendy bus type scheme." Yeah the bendy buses are nice but that's not the point! It's about the Infrastructure. And whats super dumb is some people saying it wont work cos of potholes! Well, they're gonna redo the road and add in bus lanes. People just ain't done their reserach on what BRT is!
Pretty cool concept and would work well in the right circumstances
Does anyone remember the trolly bus, it didn`t use tracks but it picked up it`s power from overhead wires just like the tramcars. As for this it`s just a bendy bus.
I must be a lot more dumb than I thought. It is a bus. A bendy bus/articulated bus, whichever. But it is a bus. Unless I am missing something completely and utterly obvious.
We have our own version of this in London soon to be introduced on route 358.
I've seen that, it looks very strange
They should think of a specific name for this revolutionary machine. How about a bus?
0:19 isn’t that just a fancy name for a cool bus?
Aside from all the other problems with this, to even begin to function anything like a tram it needs to be bi-directional otherwise it’s only use is loop lines.
The example shown here has a single driving cab and isn’t separated from other forms of traffic therefore having none of the benefits a tram can bring.
I believe in Belfast where they are from they have a designated turning point at the ends of each route
@@glitchFan2428 yep that’s the issue, having to turn around a bi-articulated bus essentially and limits its use and articulation, limits capacity, restricted to normal traffic conditions and adds more damage to the road than a tram would.
Many tram systems have unidirectional vehicles and turning loops at the terminuses.
@@szymex22 yes most don’t though and that’s the point, you might as well just operate bi-articulated or double decker bus otherwise with these gliders your just building in limitations and space is a precious resource especially in UK cities.
I really cannot see what possible benefit these provide over a bus.
bendy buses have been around for years Luton got rid of theirs in favour of chain driven trams to serve the airport
FYI, Van Hool, the manufacturer is bankrupt and bought over by VDL. They discontinued any production of Van Hool busses including this one. So it would probably end fast when they need to be repaired
It was mentioned somewhere that they would be going with another manufacturer
@@glitchFan2428 yeah VDL and they said they wouldn’t continue the production. they have their own production the Citea’s
We had a few of these, only wirh 2 articulated sections, run in Luxembourg awhile back. They were only used on one line, to and from the airport through the business/banking part of town IIRC. They basically vanished when the (real) tram entered circulation. Glorified bus, nothing more.
Its a Bendy-Bus, with annoying gong sound. I'm not quite sure why I'm supposed to be excited by it!
A bendy bus with an identity crisis, not sure why I'm excited by it either. Suppose it's just because it doesn't look like anything else on the roads
A purple Translink glider from Northern Ireland now yellow in England
tired of companies making a bus then calling it a "revolutionary" and "new" technology
Anything to get people on the buses I guess 🥴
It looks great, and could be useful before a fixed link is made from the Airport to Liverpool South Parkway.
Certainly stands out from the crowd!
Other places need these imo
We had these in York for a while ( the free as stated above )- couldn’t wait to get rid of them- now have an all electric fleet
I like the idea of this but the one main problem is the length and turning radius because only very few places in the uk still operating articulable buses on regular passenger routes 😁
For the glider project in Belfast I think they had to make modifications to the existing infrastructure
I think outside of Northern Ireland the only city that still has articulated buses outside of airport car park shuttles is Aberdeen
You can get a "bendy bus" around almost everywhere a 40 ft single deck bus will go. The ftr street car that these things appear to be where a 60/40 split similar to a draw bar the odd junction might need some modification but still quite workable, problem with these things is the choice of engine and gearbox if diesel driven the 7.2 litre Volvo ftr was vastly underpowered yet the diesel electrics that operate in Las vagas fly along.
@@jonathangraham9989 The thing with these "road tram" contraptions is that the front axle is right at the front of the bus, which increases the wheelbase and therefore the turning radius. This design feature is common to both the Wright FTR and the Van Hool Exquicity. Something tells me a regular articulated bus with the front axle behind the front door would work just fine.
@@joieman yes I've driven both, you have to drive them slightly differently the ftr street car is more like a Hgv for steering or taking corners. A traditional bendy bus as long as you leave a foot or 2 gap from the kerb to the middle wheels the back end will follow you around no problem.
It reminds me of the Wright bus FTR from 2006
In Brussels, the bus company "De Lijn" has these things that have 3 coaches and are called the "Ring tram bus". It's meant to have it's own separated lanes, but when I recently went on it, it just pulled up at a regular bus stop 🤣
Great video though!
Yeah its the Vanhool Exquicity24 I recently went on these buses and their very nice 👍👍👍🚍🚍🚍
I mistook this for a Gemilang Coachworks bus at first.
Articulated Bus, they have been in existence for ages.
Never seen this gilder Livery before
Wow, they reinvented a bus
the wright streetcar from 2006 was pretty much the same concept as this but never managed to take off as well as anticipated
It was never meant to take off , it was deliberately flawed from conception. The idea behind it was to persuade Leeds city council that they didn't need to go to the expense of building a tram network, so the one bus company that had and still has the monopoly on bus transport in west Yorkshire would not have any competition.
Leeds and York had these in 2004 they’re not as great as you think if anyone wants to find them search FTR buses
I've seen a preserved example somewhere, they look so strange
It’s a bendybus! 🏴
Just build some busways in Merseyside & it shall be efficient enough to be rapid transit
If only it could happen
I think that's the eventual plan for this
I'd like to see it overcome speed bumps!
We've had these in Belfast for a few years now.
@@jimsimpson1006 yes since 2018 as mentioned in the video
How many times do the UK need to keep getting buses with covered wheels. Every single time they get introduced the covered wheels get removed cos how can drivers do visual walk round checks with the wheels covered!
Also sounds interesting to see what will actually end up coming as vanhool no longer exist. Just an excuse for a publicity stunt
Birmingham was supposed to have these kinds of things on it's Sprint routes, whatever happened to that?
It good for the city ... i live in Belfast we been use for year's in Belfast.. i would prefer this than normal bus.. it good and easy to use
Glad you like it!
It's just a fancy bus... "Out, out, damn'd rot!"
Only one major problem, Van Hool went bust last year.
I was told that they would be getting another manufacturer to supply a fully electric version vehicle similar to this
Its still this year in 2024 they went bankrupt around march recently
Glitchfan, will you be able to rec the first day of jurong west bus package?
Unfortunately not
@@glitchFan2428 aw
Its a bendy bus
Yes, a bendy bus dressed up to resemble a tram
It obviously is just a bus - but is there any justification for it? I’m genuinely curious is there anything unique?
Seems to be all about branding and public perception, to encourage people to leave the car behind. Apart from that and I believe some planned infrastructure like a busway, it's just a regular bus
@@glitchFan2428 I hope it succeeds it that then i guess, do need less cars on the road
If we take armoured racing tanks off city roads, people could get around in vehicles that weigh not much more than them. People could even work helping other people get to where they want to go, at very little upfront cost. Not being able to get anywhere free of risk from being turned into road gravy unless rich folk supply us with a land battleship is frustrating.
One day you're here and the next you get deleted from existence because a land battleship spawned in too quickly
Rather than buying a CRRC trackless tram model from China, Liverpool went ahead and acquired a Glider bus from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Yeah just for a week's exhibitions
why would they waste money on a new bus/tram thing if they're never gonna use it? it's better to loan one to see how it'll cope rather than wasting money and not use it
I suppose it suits Liverpool but maybe other cities could benefit from having these tram like buses that can’t afford to have trams. Such as Portsmouth, Brighton & Hove, Southampton, Norwich, Leeds, York, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Derby, Sunderland and many other UK cities that could have these types of buses.
Well Manchester already had a tram so I doubt it'll be needed here
It's a misunderstanding that trams are more expensive then buses. Once the number of passengers per hour exceeds a certain level trams become more economical exploitation-wise.
Initially the cost of constructing a tram - network might be higher, but in the long run trams are much cheaper in case there are enough passengers. For a city with the size of Liverpool this is to be expected.
Leeds and Cardiff may be getting trams unless Labour cancel the proposals. Manchester has a fantastic tram network that Liverpool should be copying- if they can get the cash to do it.
When was this filmed? Van Hool went Bankrupt unfortunately
22 August 2024. The units Liverpool will be getting will likely be made by another manufacturer
No rails ? Then it’s a bus.
It's a bus under the surface yes but doesn't give off the traditional look of a bus, that's the marketing point they were trying to drive across I guess 😅😅
Wonder when these will come to Manchester
Unlikely as we already have a tram network and guided busway
Translink called they want there glider back
Well as I live and breathe.......a bus
All the hype but in reality still a "BENDYBUS" that London's TFL got rid of a few years ago as impractical and fare evaders gift.
It looks like a tram....
Sounds like a tram....
But it runs like a fucking bus😂😂😂
Very strange indeed 🤣🤣
just build a bus at that point
Tram with out tracks to me it looks like a bus with expensive building materials..
Essentially that's what it is, a bendy bus with extra steps 😅
I Wish London Got These For The 358 Instead Of The Shitizar IE Tram
Articulated bus with styling to make it look like a tram
It doesn't have the same capacity as even a generic 3-segment tram like the ones you find in Melbourne
It's not as efficient as a real tram because it runs on rubber tyres
It requires more clearance than a tram than turning because the rear section swings outwards unlike a tram which follows the tracks
It can't have proper level boarding without ramps because it's not guided so the gap to the curb is variable
It's really loud even when stationary unlike a tram
And it's not even as long as a regular bendybus!
You have raised some very valid points, and despite all that, it was hailed as a success in Belfast. Although judging by what people who actually use the service have to say, that may not paint the full picture...
Translink? Liverpool?
IT IS AN ARTICULATED BUS!
yes, that's what the politicians probably don't want you to know
Even London abandoned bendy busses. Without reserved roadspace, they are too cumbersome . Nothing is as good as a proper tram network. Metrolink has shown how how it can transform a big city like Manchester. A bus in a posh skirt doesn't cut it.👎
I believe it needs to come with it's own BRT system to really work well
This is just a glorified bendy bus. What this city ACTUALLY needs is balloon trams
I don't know why but I just imagined a tram being hauled along by balloons, much like in the movie Up
@@glitchFan2428 balloon trams are double decker trams which this city actually used to have
Like that ART in Indonesia
Similar
Not same as BRT - Bus Rapid Transit and LRT - Light Rail Transit for Streetcar & Tram and MRT - Mass or Metro Rapid Transit (Train) and HST - High Speed Train. and Dumpy vehicles ART - Autonomous Rapid Transit use Bi-Articulated Bus cover the wheels to be trackless bus or tram model or looks as combo bus Autonomous means no driver at all just like Google taxi car Autonomous Vehicle.
Sounds like a bus... with extra steps
@@LaluBhaiya1233 indeed, that's exactly what I said in another comment reply 😀
@glitchFan2428 An-and I-I-I'll go out and I'll find some more of that Mulan Szechuan teriyaki dipping sauce, Morty! Th-b-because that's what this is all about, Morty!
so this is just an electric bendy bus then not exactly a tram never mind a trolley bus
That's st Helens
Yes. The bus/tram is intended for Liverpool apparently but they exhibition involved various places in Merseyside
Sorry, but a "trackless tram" is simply a bus
I think it's more of a branding to create something different that supposedly stands out, but fundamentally indeed you're correct it's a bus
Yes Future of BRT Buses or other buses services to. Nice😊 I wishes they could make them with Trolleybus to.
That would be cool!
Just another failed Labour cock up. Remember you read it here first folks lol. Check out the success of Yorks electric bin wagons.
Sorry I don't get it, it's just bendibus that was around in the late 90's, what kind of deludement is this, it looks like a tram, but it's just a bendibus bus, what load of crap, a tram draws electric to be a electric tram.😂😅😂😂😂😂
It's all for the branding purpose I suppose, create something different that stands out and brand it as revolutionary 🤔
That is basicly an electric bendy bus
This one's a Diesel electric hybrid, although the ones that will be bought are supposed to be electric and from another manufacturer
Articulated bus with hub caps😮....not a trackless tram....if you took a tram put pneumatic tyres on tram does that make it a trackless tram.....no a bus😊
Bendy bus.
Indeed it is, I should have mentioned in the video that the vehicle is only half of the story, other half being infrastructure such as priority lanes and stops that make it resemble a tram service
Looks a bit better than the London tram bus it looks so ugly😂
It looks out of place haha
Get them ugly wheel covers off
It needs to be there to convince people it's a "tram"
Why does it look goofy af?
It doesn't look real 😅
It's not a tram. It's a TRANS.
It is a bloody bus.................dear me.
It should be double ended
These buses are alright, though I prefer the old Mercedes O405n bendy buses that used to be with Translink
Got to love a good Mercedes bendy!
@@glitchFan2428 I agree! We also used to have Van Hool bodied Volvo B10M bendy buses that operated with Ulsterbus Goldline
It's just an ordinary bus.
Weird that the wheelchair area it is by handgrip bell wonder if they would move it to let wheelchair user to use and seeing turning radius restricted to not drive curve at wide angle for tram
Mmmm I think it's a compromise for the "best of both worlds" scenario
Just hope that it doesn't catch fire like one here did back in June. I hate the damn things. No emergency call points inside in the event of a problem and they are just a poor mans tram. I have the misfortune of riding these rancid things weekly.
I am tempted to travel to Belfast to experience it for myself, hope I live to tell the tale
why not just build a tram network like Manchester or Croydon instead of wasting money on a gimmick like this. i bet in 10yrs or less they will have to be withdrawn because of cracks and general faults in the body🤣
@@welshtrainspottingchannel I'm not sure tbh, might be some infrastructure limitations or something.. Belfast should be a good place to study the pros and cons over the last 6 years of operation there
Its a bus with a fancy front end. Why can they not equip both ends with driver capabilities, otherwise what's the point of this glorified bus?
The infrastructure will be like a BRT system to make it more like a tram, I should have mentioned that in the video
Thats just a bus
Will these buses really go into service or is it more bullshit
@@user-gf4lx9ol8z apparently by 2028. It's more than just the buses, the infrastructure plays a part too
Its just a bus lmao
That is true! However don't let the politicians hear that 🥴
From the same fools that created "battery trains"