Double Decker

Salam and good day readers!

I've been so tired lately. Probably because the classes have started (and they cramped as many classes as they can in one day) or because I've been used to sleep up to noon during the holidays. *oops*

Don't judge me. It's cold! I'm hibernating. Haha...

 I've been so sleepy lately that I even slept on the bus every time coming back home from class. I took a double decker bus to go back, so it took me almost an hour to arrive. See how the intro works? Double Decker.... Sneaky aren't I..haha...=P

That's what I want to talk about actually. Double Decker Buses. In London, DD Bus is one of the main transport apart from underground tubes and black cabs. We all know about it. It's what London is known for among other things.

This is the old bus. Now, the bus don't look like this. But a few still have the open stairs at the back like this one.

The DD buses here can't compare with other places. Even in other states in UK. I've only been to Brighton and Manchester, so I can only compare with these two states, but still, DD buses is far more efficient.

I've rode buses in Malaysia (some people never have), Singapore and Spain, so I know when you're in an unfamiliar place, you don't know which stop to get off. All you can do to be safe is to tell the driver where you're going and they'll tell you when you've arrived.

The first time I rode DD bus in London, I was with a friend who has been here for a year. So she's familiar therefore I didn't worry. But when I got on the bus, I realised that even if I'm alone and new to the place, I can still hop on. This is because the bus will tell you what station that you're approaching. Even the stops have very helpful signage telling which bus will go where. 

Don't have to mention the efficiency of the bus. The longest that I've waited for a bus is 15 minutes. For them that's considered as a bad service because according to the schedule is 5-10 minutes between buses. Tell me what is the gap between buses in Malaysia?

In Singapore and Spain, the bus sometimes do have the electronic signs to tell you what station is approaching, but DD bus also have a voice like in the trains. I found that very neat! CCTV inside the bus makes you feel safe to ride alone at night. And alcohol is prohibited inside the bus. So you won't find any drunken fool with beer in his/her hands.

Some people don't know that not all buses are DD. Some of them are like normal bus. They're red as well. I don't actually know the difference between the two, but I'm guessing that the single deck buses are for short distances... perhaps. Because so far, the ones that I rode (the single decks), the distances aren't that far compared to DD buses. This is just my assumption.

But don't get confused, their numbers would be different too. It's not that buses with the same number will have both DD and single. For example, White City-Clapham Junction Bus no. 49 (my everyday bus) would be DD 'coz the distance is far. But Roehampton-East Acton Bus no. 72 is single deck. Got it? I hope I'm not confusing anybody.

This the new version of the bus. Again, not all bus looks like this.
The public transportation here is amazing. That's why you will find many pedestrians here. Did you know that roads in London is crazy small. Most of the roads are single that can fit a single car, even in the central town which you know is very very very busy. Plus, some roads have cars parked on the side. So, you can imagine the roads becoming smaller.

To overcome this problem, they didn't resolve to making the roads bigger.... but making the public transport better. Every few miles, there will be a bus stop. In one route, there will be at least 3 buses coming through. But of course the end routes are different.

This has been an obvious pat in the back for London buses isn't it? Oh well, I was thought that a good example, we should follow. If unable, at least spread the words to others.

So that's why I'm sharing with all of you. If you're ever in London, one of the things you must do, ride on the DD bus.

Until next time.