How? If you're not putting it under the floor, you have to put
it somewhere. Unlike trolleybuses, motor buses can't have the
luxury of sticking this bit here and that bit there, like you can
with hub motors. That somewhere means using up seating space, which
is a waste. What annoys me most about low-floor buses is the fact
that those huge wheel-wells eat up so much space. About the only
place to make good use of the space is some of the older buses in
Penang, where they put a bench on top of each.
At least the K230UBs use half of it to put an aunty seat.
This jacknifing is exactly why pushers need so much active
hydraulics.
And yeah, you're probably right. That would be only possible
with a trolleybus, though.
Erm, i'm not trying to be rude but its not hard to google right?
The model and brand have all be stated there. Van Hool keeps the
engine in the center between the first and second axle, and its
vertically installed so it takes up just a column of space.
You can stuff hub motors on diesel-hybrid buses too, that's
exactly what is being done on the Citaro G Hybrid and HESS's
articulated hybrid buses. Hub motors on the 4 rear wheels and
powered by batteries and a serial hybrid drivetrain. The smaller
diesel engine is placed at the rear and does not disrupt passenger
flow.
Last of all, low floor buses are mainly designed for passenger
accessiblity, not seats. This means more doors for passenger flow.
However, as they were designed for LHD markets, the engine is
placed on the left and an additional 3rd door can be placed on the
right. The same chassis however is also used for our citaros and
a22, so we're using the low floor chassis without gaining the full
advantages of it. Effectively speaking, we're just using it as a
low entry chassis with steps moved further to the rear.
