Canopy Deck Bus


This innovative concept offers a pragmatic canopy deck bus design for commuting in large cities becoming unmanageable due to poverty driven growth. This design can also be adapted for tourism and inter city travel.

Some western countries have tourist buses with open deck seating on the roof for tourists to enjoy sights during the pleasant tourist season. In India, canopy deck city buses can be designed for regular commuters for all seasons. Our common people are anyway commuting every day on cycles, scooters, three-wheelers, tempos, trucks and even on top of trains! A safe, all season canopy deck seating on city buses can be sensitively designed to increase availability of service on the same road space at a reduced capital cost, fuel consumption and pollution.

Canopy deck bus has a conductor seated behind a desk with an electronic ticket dispensing machine, controlling entry to both floors, thus obviating the need of two conductors. The floor level can have less seats and more standing space depending upon the preference. The upper deck will have only seated passengers.

 

 

Layout of the upper deck provides 65 centimeters wide corridors on both sides with 10 rows of three seats and two groups of 12 and 9 seats at the front and back, totaling 51 seats. Taking advantage of the seating below, the corridors have been depressed by 25 cms. Since passengers will have to step up, as in cars, from the corridor to get seated, the canopy height can be just 1.4 to 1.5 meters. Its profile will thus be slim and low vis a vis double deck buses.

The lower deck has been designed to provide for 45 seated and about 24 standing, a total of 69 passengers. The canopy deck bus can thus have a total of 96 seated and 24 standing, a total of 120 passengers, out of whom 80 per cent will have seating comfort! Present Delhi buses have 48 seated and 32 standing, a total of 80 passengers. Canopy deck buses will thus have one and a half times capacity, reducing the requirement of buses to less than two-third. With less buses on the road, bus turn round will be faster, further reducing the requirement of buses.

Lower level plan — 45 seated 24 standing

Upper level plan — 51 seated

 

A colourful canopy can be provided over the upper deck. It can be removed during sunny winter months. Transparent panels and doors can, if needed, be provided in each cabin. If full protection is desired, the outer body of the bus (with appropriate windows) can be extended up to the canopy.

All passengers will exit from the front door. The driver will, with the help of the rear view mirror and/or electronic sensors, restrict entry in the upper deck to vacant seats. Entry and exit from the front door with the driver dispensing tickets is also possible. The upper deck is likely to be more popular than the lower one.

City buses are presently fitted with 110-125 horsepower diesel engines that, considering they carry heavy truck loads, are adequate for canopy deck buses. If desired, a turbo charger can be attached to upgrade them to 140 horsepower for improving the pick up, without increasing fuel consumption. Using any fuel such as CNG, fuel consumption and polluting emissions will become two-third or less of that at present. Canopy deck buses being 25 cms lower and slimmer than conventional double deck buses will be more stable and less prone to overturning. It is with time that chassis manufacturers in India introduced low bus chassis as in the West.

Canopy deck buses offer a better visual and a more comfortable environment than double deck buses, at less cost. They will be attractive as commuter, school and tourist buses. They will save on bus construction and fuel, reduce pollution and use less road space. They will be highly cost effective in view of higher earnings using less number of buses.

Presently, since slow moving traffic occupies the left lane, buses often move on the second lane leaving only the third lane for cars. This is inefficient use of road space. In Curitiba, Brazil, the lanes abutting the central verge have been made bus exclusive, leaving the remaining lanes for other modes. IIT Delhi has recommended a similar system for Delhi. It will mesh well with canopy deck buses. q

Design Concept Design Articulation
SK Sharma, People First  Sumit Ghosh, Architect
(Design right under process)