How much does a red double decker bus weigh?

Alex Bellotti The Other Common Use Of The Double Decker Bus

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Answer for New Bus for London - vehicle weight
How much does a red bus weigh?
How heavy is a London double
How much does a Routemaster bus weigh?

Photo: HoosierSands

There are two universal truths about London buses: you wait ages for one to come, then two arrive at once; and that they can be used as an ad-hoc measuring system when feet, kilos and tonnes just don’t convey enough grandiosity.

As long as 15 metres, high as 4.38 metres and weighing 12.65 tonnes, the double decker has taken its place alongside Olympic swimming pools and football stadiumsas a barometer of muchness. So let’s hop on board for a whistle-stop tour of their use across various sections of our media.

Sewage

Where else to start other than that infamous London favourite: the fatberg? Years of sewage abuse has long seen build-ups of grease across the capital, and last year produced Britain’s biggest ever fatberg in drains at Kingston-on-Thames. Reportedly “bus-sized”, it fell short of the larger clean up operation underneath Leicester Square in 2010 which removed nine double-deckers’ worth of fatty filth from the tourist hotspot. Still hungry?

Nature

Buses were practically invented to describe the measurements of whales. You probably know the blue whale is the world’s biggest ever animal, more than 3.5 times the length of a double decker, but how about this giant glowworm Australian divers found in 2011, which is just over two times the length? Stretching further back in time, the world’s largest dinosaur apparently roamed the earth at around five times the height of a double decker, with scientists uncovering the remains of a Titanosaur in 2014.

The real question is, how many double deckers can you fit onto one bridge? Photo: st_hart

Entertainment and people

The IMAX is famous for having the best screen in London to catch your favourite films on, and at nearly five times the height of a double-decker, it’s no surprise. It might be a tall task for West Kensington ‘supermum’ Hanora McCool to organise a cinema trip with the all the children she has fostered over the years though – clocking in at 190 heads, this ‘biggest family in Britain’ could fill three buses.

Science

Want to make a statement about climate change? Why not build a three-tonne polar bear puppet the size of a Routemaster and parade it past the Houses of Parliament and Westminster? It wouldn’t just be polar bears at threat if this similarly dimensioned asteroid hit the Earth two years ago – thankfully, unlike our well-guided TFL drivers, its sat-nav was a shade off.

The Greenpeace polar bear, which was handily the size of a Routemaster. Photo: sinister dexter

Food

Every year, according to Sainsbury’s, Britain wastes a shocking 1.65 million tonnes of potatoes, bread and milk along – or 130,000 buses, to use the correct parlance. Breaking it down further, the average annual food waste from a single UK restaurant could fill up three alone. All worth thinking about the next time you’re scraping your fatty burger remains down Leicester Square’s drains, no?

Last Updated 24 August 2016

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HomeAbout usThe London AssemblyQuestions to the MayorFind an answerNew Bus for London - vehicle weight

Meeting:

MQT on 2014-10-22

Session date:

October 22, 2014

Reference:

2014/3600

Question By:

Stephen Knight

Organisation:

Liberal Democrats

Asked Of:

The Mayor

Category:

Transport

Question

Further to MQ2013/3518, can you confirm the unladen weight and maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) of new Routemaster buses currently entering service?

Answer

Answer for New Bus for London - vehicle weight

Answered By:

The Mayor

Date:

Monday, 27th October 2014

The unladen weight of New Routemasters entering service is 12.4 tonnes and the gross vehicle weight, as for all double-deck buses, is a maximum of 18.0 tonnes.

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How much does a red bus weigh?

New Routemaster
Length	11.23 m (36 ft 101⁄8 in)
Width	2.52 m (8 ft 31⁄4 in)
Height	4.39 m (14 ft 47⁄8 in)
Curb weight	12.65 t (12.45 long tons; 13.94 short tons)

New Routemaster - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › New_Routemasternull

How heavy is a London double

Answer for New Bus for London - vehicle weight The unladen weight of New Routemasters entering service is 12.4 tonnes and the gross vehicle weight, as for all double-deck buses, is a maximum of 18.0 tonnes.

Why double

London General Omnibus Company (or L.G.O.C.) owned most of the buses and in 1907 painted its entire fleet red to stand out from competitors.

How much does a Routemaster bus weigh?

AEC Routemaster
Length	27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Width	8 ft (2.44 m)
Height	14 ft 41⁄2 in (4.38 m)
Kerb weight	7.35 long tons (7.47 t; 8.23 short tons)

AEC Routemaster - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › AEC_Routemasternull