Double-decker Bus Research Articles

Visualisation of Traffic Behaviour Using Computer Simulation Models

Micro simulation models have paved their way into traffic engineering as a valuable tool for today's analysis and optimisation of complex traffic networks. They have proven to be a powerful tool, not only for the innovative analysis of schemes, but also to facilitate the visualisation of design elements and proposals. Microsimulation allows interested parties to actually see what is happening rather than assess the output data of pure numbers. The circulation of traffic in a network can be presented in an abstract two dimensional environment, with underlying maps and design drawings displaying the scheme. For more sophisticated presentations, static 3D models, such as signal heads, bus shelters and dynamic 3D models for vehicles can be included, offering a more realistic visualisation. In order to show streetscape elements and traffic engineering features in one model, it is also possible to produce a full 3D design model for a scheme, including buildings, street furniture and various vehicle types such as taxis, double-decker buses, cyclists and even pedestrians. The development of the micro simulation networks is based on accurate maps, drawings or aerial photographs. Visualisation and alternative output options can then be used to create two or even three dimensional illustrations of a scheme. Two project examples, being Exhibition Road and Borough High Street in London, demonstrate the application of micro simulation in traffic engineering.

Merging bus routes in Hong Kong’s central business district: Analysis and models

A significant portion of the 200,000 people working in Hong Kong’s central business district (CBD) relies on buses as their primary means of transport. During peak hours, nearly a thousand double-decker buses pour into a tiny area of 150 ha. This causes traffic congestion and air pollution. Moreover, given that the flow is uni-directional (into the CBD in the morning and out of the CBD in the afternoon), the occupancy of buses in the CBD is actually low. In this paper, we propose to reduce traffic congestion and to increase bus occupancy by merging bus routes. We describe the peculiar situation of the CBD in Hong Kong and explain the necessary conditions for the possible success of merging routes. Our analysis shows that merging will lead to an overall benefit for all parties, including government, bus operators, and passengers. The actual merging decisions, which routes to merge and at what frequencies buses should run, are determined by a mathematical model. The model also shows quantitatively the benefits of merging routes and the impacts of other factors. The procedure that we follow and the model that we adopt can be applied to other CBD.

City bus driving and low back pain: A study of the exposures to posture demands, manual materials handling and whole-body vibration

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate worker exposure to posture demands, manual materials handling (MMH) and whole body vibration as risks for low back pain (LBP). Using validated questionnaire, information about driving experience, driving (sitting) posture MMH, and health history was obtained from 80 city bus drivers. Twelve drivers were observed during their service route driving (at least one complete round trip) and vibration measurements were obtained at the seat and according to the recommendations of ISO 2631 (1997), for three models of bus (a mini-bus, a single-decker bus, a double-decker bus). The results showed that city bus drivers spend about 60% of the daily work time actually driving, often with the torso straight or unsupported, perform occasional and light MMH, and experience discomforting shock/jerking vibration events. Transient and mild LBP (not likely to interfere with work or customary levels of activity) was found to be prevalent among the drivers and a need for ergonomic evaluation of the drivers’ seat was suggested.

Improvising in an Emergency

On Thursday, July 7, a device exploded aboard a double-decker bus near the British Medical Association building. Dr. Peter Holden describes how 14 doctors with no equipment, no communications, and no personal protective clothing set about maximizing the victims' chances of survival.

Scan and Deliver

Scan and Deliver

The Prisoner of Azkaban: A New Direction for Harry Potter

Meet the Knight Bus: a ghostly triple-decked doppelganger to London's famous red buses. The fantastical nature of this vehicle manifests in a touch of whimsy, a crystal chandelier that sways erratically as the vehicle zips and zooms through the streets of London. Those attuned to the previous Harry Potter films will notice a crucial difference between this film and its predecessors—this bus stays on the ground. The two previous members of the franchise also began with magical vehicles: Hagrid's flying motorbike in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and the Weasleys' flying car in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the latter film Ron and Harry's madcap flight to Hogwarts in a Ford Anglia leaves a series of awestruck muggles (people without magical powers) gawking, requiring the Ministry of Magic to restore normalcy by altering the memories of the witnesses. While the latest film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, does feature an unusual flying object—Aunt Marge expands into a giant human balloon when she angers Harry—the magical Knight Bus traverses London unnoticed. Despite the flamboyance of the bus' maneuvers, muggles are cheerfully oblivious to its presence; their inability to comprehend its existence renders them blind. In the first films, the magical world feels like a secret society where you need to know the tricks and passwords to enter. In the latest film, this world pervades contemporary culture, hiding in the cracks. One moment of the bus trip makes this relationship strikingly clear. Confronted with two double-decker buses bearing down on it, the Knight Bus shrinks to squeeze between its adversaries and continues its journey, altering itself to work around the solid parameters of muggle society. This adaptability illustrates two crucial themes of the film: first, that muggles (including the film's viewers) could recognize the magic that surrounds them if they could open themselves to thinking in new ways; second, that the film speaks to real life rather than offering an alternative fantasy. Director Alfonso Cuarón, who takes over the franchise from Chris Columbus, integrates the magical world with the muggle world in order to drive home the message of the film: things are not always what they seem. In doing so, Cuarón draws from his previous experience directing two beloved British literary classics: A Little Princess and Great Expectations. In both those films he altered the time period of events and shifted the action to a new locale in order to increase the opportunities for contemporary viewers to identify with the film. A Little Princess places the heroine's father in World War I rather than engaging him in the discovery of a diamond mine and moves the heroine from London to New York City. Cuarón's Great Expectations modernizes the story by setting it in contemporary America. Unlike the works by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are products of contemporary culture. However, Cuarón makes greater use of this fact than his predecessor did. His film emphasizes the importance of being open to new possibilities and interpretations of people and events. This represents an important stage in the growth of Harry Potter, as well as the maturation of the franchise. Some of the most important elements that Cuarón uses to connect magic and reality are the costumes worn by his wizards and witches. Much of the clothing worn by the adults in the film has a traditional and old-fashioned flair. The conductor on the Knight Bus wears a vintage uniform and uses a hand-cranked ticket machine. Robes are not often worn by Cuarón's wizards, but when donned they resemble professional attire from the muggle world, although at times from a distant decade. Professor Lupin covers his tweed suit with a matching...

“The Human Body” - the IMAX version

The now ubiquitous Professor Robert Winston became a household commodity when he narrated The Human Body, the show that literally took viewers into parts that others could not reach. Where else could you see inside a full stomach or watch blood cells flowing in arteries? These were amazing images to medics and the viewing public alike. Now the “incredible story of life” is back “on a screen the height of five double decker buses.” Yes, The Human Body has now made it to the massive IMAX format and, it has to be said, the result is quite impressive. This release represents the end of a three year collaboration between the BBC, the Science Museum in London, …

A history of physical activity, cardiovascular health and longevity: the scientific contributions of Jeremy N Morris, DSc, DPH, FRCP.

Since Hippocrates first advised us more than 2000 years ago that exercise-though not too much of it--was good for health, the epidemiology of physical activity has developed apace with the epidemiological method itself. It was only in the mid-20th century that Professor Jeremy N Morris and his associates used quantitative analyses, which dealt with possible selection and confounding biases, to show that vigorous exercise protects against coronary heart disease (CHD). They began by demonstrating an apparent protection against CHD enjoyed by active conductors compared with sedentary drivers of London double-decker buses. In addition, postmen seemed to be protected against CHD like conductors, as opposed to less active government workers. The Morris group pursued the matter further, adapting classical infectious disease epidemiology to the new problems of chronic, non-communicable diseases. Realizing that if physical exercise were to be shown to contribute to the prevention of CHD, it would have to be accomplished through study of leisure-time activities, presumably because of a lack of variability in intensities of physical work. Accordingly, they chose typical sedentary middle-management grade men for study, obtained 5-minute logs of their activities over a 2-day period, and followed them for non-fatal and fatal diseases. In a subsequent study, Morris et al. queried such executive-grade civil servants by detailed mail-back questionnaires on their health habits and health status. They then followed these men for chronic disease occurrence, as in the earlier survey. By 1973 they had distinguished between 'moderately vigorous' and 'vigorous' exercise. In both of these civil service surveys, they demonstrated strong associations between moderately vigorous or vigorous exercise and CHD occurrence, independent of other associations, in age classes 35-64 years. In the last 30 years, with modern-day computers, a large number of epidemiological studies have been conducted in both sexes, in different ethnic groups, in broad age classes, in a variety of social groups, and on most continents of the world. These studies have extended and amplified those of the Morris group, thereby helping to solidify the cause-and-effect evidence that exercise protects against heart disease and averts premature mortality.

A mobile screening unit, practicalities and problems.

The need for a mobile screening unit to travel throughout Scotland to measure and modify cardiovascular risk factors in the apparently healthy working population was fulfilled by the conversion of a double-decker bus. The aim of the project was to assess the incidence of risk factors in healthy individuals and to modify their risk factors by individual counselling. Many unforeseen practical problems were encountered and overcome during the planning stage and during the project. The team of specially trained staff spent three and a half years screening more than 20,000 people throughout Scotland. This project provides a model for other screening projects involving a multicentre/scattered cohort.

Cooperation Through Threats: The Northern Ireland Case

On February 9, 1996, after a seventeen-month cease-fire, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) set off a bomb in East London. Less than a week later, the London police found and destroyed a bomb that the IRA had left in a telephone booth in the West End. A few days later, another IRA bomb went off on a doubledecker bus. The British government, under the leadership of John Major, asserted that it would have no official contact with Sinn Féin, the political arm of the IRA, until the paramilitary activities stopped. The government also deployed 500 additional troops in Northern Ireland. In October 1996, the IRA detonated two bombs at the British Army's headquarters in Lisburn, bringing the violent conflict back to Northern Ireland for the first time since the cease-fire.On May 1, 1997, Tony Blair was elected Great Britain's prime minister. His election brought a renewed sense of optimism and good will to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Responding to Blair's overtures, including his warning that “the settlement train is leaving, with or without them” (Hoge 1997a, A7), the IRA announced on July 19, 1997, that they had “ordered the unequivocal restoration of the cease-fire” (Clarity 1997c, 1). Soon thereafter, Sinn Féin was invited to participate in the peace talks, which reconvened on September 15, 1997.

Cooperation Through Threats: The Northern Ireland Case

On February 9, 1996, after a seventeen-month cease-fire, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) set off a bomb in East London. Less than a week later, the London police found and destroyed a bomb that the IRA had left in a telephone booth in the West End. A few days later, another IRA bomb went off on a doubledecker bus. The British government, under the leadership of John Major, asserted that it would have no official contact with Sinn Féin, the political arm of the IRA, until the paramilitary activities stopped. The government also deployed 500 additional troops in Northern Ireland. In October 1996, the IRA detonated two bombs at the British Army's headquarters in Lisburn, bringing the violent conflict back to Northern Ireland for the first time since the cease-fire. On May 1, 1997, Tony Blair was elected Great Britain's prime minister. His election brought a renewed sense of optimism and good will to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Responding to Blair's overtures, including his warning that “the settlement train is leaving, with or without them” (Hoge 1997a, A7), the IRA announced on July 19, 1997, that they had “ordered the unequivocal restoration of the cease-fire” (Clarity 1997c, 1). Soon thereafter, Sinn Féin was invited to participate in the peace talks, which reconvened on September 15, 1997.

A disaster drill in Hong Kong

This case report relates the course of a disaster drill held on 19 August 1994 in a regional acute hospital (Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital) in Hong Kong. The Hospital Civil Disaster Contingency Plan (the Plan) was put to trial on that day. Volunteers were invited to become simulated casualties in the exercise. Briefing seminars had been conducted with clinicians of the Accident and Emergency department (A & E) and other departments of the hospital. The scenario was a man-made type disaster. A double-decker bus turned over and injured 19 people in that afternoon. All the victims were sent to A & E by ambulance. The Plan was activated and relevant units were mobilized according to the Plan. It took 45 minutes to complete the disaster exercise. Debriefing sessions reviewed difficulties encountered throughout the drill and possible remedies.

Cognitive estimation in neurological disorders

The Cognitive Estimation Test (CET) was devised by Shallice & Evans (1978) in an attempt to quantify the tendency observed in some patients with frontal lobe lesions to produce bizarre estimates in response to questions to which people do not usually know exact answers (e.g. 'what is the height of a double-decker bus?'), despite performing normally on standard intelligence tests. In the present study, the CET performance of a large number of patients suffering from head injury, brain tumour, ruptured aneurysm (anterior communicating artery and other), multiple sclerosis, dementia, encephalitis, Korsakoff's syndrome and anxiety/depression were compared with CET scores from 150 healthy controls. Patients with Korsakoff syndrome demonstrated significantly impaired CET performance. A subgroup of patients with discrete frontal lesions was compared with a group with localized non-frontal lesions. No significant difference in CET performance was observed between anterior and posterior lesioned patients. The sensitivity of the CET to anterior brain dysfunction is called into question by the present findings.

Smoking policies for public service vehicles in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Correspondence to: Dr J Mindell, Department of Public Health, Southern Derbyshire Health Authority, Boden House, Main Centre, Derby DEI 2PH, United Kingdom. Abstract Objective -To ascertain company poli cies on smoking by passengers on all buses and coaches operating in a geo graphically defined area. Design Postal questionnaire with tele phone follow up of non-responders. Subjects-AM 57 companies operating public service vehicles in the county of Oxfordshire, England, in March 1991. Results Fifty-six companies responded. Twenty-one companies operated only smoke-free vehicles. A further nine ran smoke-free minibuses but allowed smok ing on other vehicles. Five companies had no restrictions. Companies operating minibuses in addition to other public service vehicles were significantly more likely to run smoke-free coaches and double-decker buses (p < 001). Conclusions Companies running public service vehicles are becoming smoke-free because of awareness of the business benefits and consumer pressure, but legislation is required to ensure that all passengers are protected from environ mental tobacco smoke.

Safety in the Structures of Art: Bemelmans' Madeline Books

Safety in the Structures of Art: Bemeimans' Madeline Books by Jackie Eastman In his many works for both children and adults, Austrian emigrant Ludwig Bemeimans captures a zest for living and a vibrant sense of the cosmopolitan. His best known books, the five featuring the adventures of lttle redheaded Madeline, bring the culture of France and England to the English-speaking children on this side of the Atlantic. In a sophisticated Impressionistic art style reminiscent of that of Raoul Duty, Bemeimans captures famous cttyscapes and rural aspects, as well as a multitude of detaHs about the daRy Uves of Europeans. Images of the Eiffel Tower, Sacré Coeur Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, parks and gardens, sidewalk artists, outdoor cafés, vegetable stalls, and doubledecker buses bring a new world to a young child who has never traveled. Bemeimans' genius In these books les not only, however, In the multiplcny of fascinating foreign details; it Res also ki the organization which he brings to this material. By communicating dearly that his books are 'art,' he reassures the child reader that she may partldpate In wild adventures In foreign lands without experiendng any overwhelming sense of danger. Clearly, Bemeimans' impressionistic art style and rhymed poetry contribute importantly to this separation between 'real" fife and the world of 'story," Perhaps more subtly, Bemeimans uses a number of visual and verbal structures both to establish this aesthetic distance and to create an underlying sense of order. The conflicts in the Madeline books range from the ordinary to the fantastic, from the annoying to the dangerous. In the first book, Madeline, a Caidecott runner-up for 1940, the drama centers around Madeline's appendicitis attack and midnight rush to the hospital. Madeline's Rescue, the 1954 Caidecott winner, moves quickly from the crisis which inspires its title-Madeline's near drowning In the Seine River-into arguments concerning Genevieve, the dog who saved Madeline's life. In Madeline and the Bad Hat (1956), a new character, Pepito, breaks a cardinal role in the canon of childhood-kindness to anknals-and suffers disastrous consequences before learning his lesson, in Madeline and the Gypsies (1959), a friendly gypsy circus kidnaps Madeline and Pepito. In the last book, Madeline in London (1961), not only Madeline but Miss Clavel and all the girts leave Paris, flying to London to visit Pepito in his new home. The horse which they present to Pepito bolts and dashes about London with Madeline and Pepito on his back. Structures which create aesthetic distance constantly protect Bemeimans' child reader from the fear, anger, sadness, or worry which such adventures might arouse. A scene from his 1937 Newbery Honor Winner Golden Basket suggests the essential perspective of the readers of his Madeline books. Shortly after the story opens, the two main characters, Celeste and Melisande, peer out a window of the Golden Basket Hotel into the city square of Bruges, Belgium, as morning breaks on the first day of their visit. At this point, Bemeimans' text suggests the separation between the viewer and the view which so dearly Informs his Madeline books: Through this window the littie girts were looking for the first time In their Uves Into an altogether new world, with a new language, new policemen, pastry shops, and lampposts. Even the horses and dogs and clouds seemed different Only the sparrows and pigeons looked the same as they did anywhere else, The children were cold. They closed the window. (15) Bemeimans gives the reader of the Madeline books the security of distance enjoyed by Celeste and Melisande as they look into an "altogether new world," by dearly establishing that these works are "art"; they are not life itself, but a separate, well-ordered, familiar structure based on fife. First of al, as the chHd opens a Madeline book, the end papers provide a Itérai "window" into the world of 'story'-a framed picture capturing Its essence. The opening frame invites us in; the final end papers, identical In each case to the first, communicate the sense that Madeline's world continues without us. Psychologically, we may participate ki what goes on here while remaining apart; we may choose to look through the window...

Numbers in contextual frameworks

This contribution consists of a report on research into the use of the bus context (boarding and leaving the bus) for introducing addition and subtraction in the first grade. Other contexts are taken into account as well, such as skittles, magic number tricks, birthday candles, rides in a ‘cart’, distribution of passengers on a double-decker bus, number-cards, and ages.

Conversaziones, 1973

Conversaziones were held this year on 10 May and 28 June. At the first conversazione twenty-six exhibits and a film were shown. Two exhibits were arranged by the Central Electricity Research Laboratories, Leatherhead. The effect on very large boilers of very small traces of impurities was demonstrated by Mr G. M. W. Mann, Dr K. Torrance and Professor J. M. Ward. Modern power station boilers are enormous structures— they cost £10m each, contain 300 miles of metal tubing and have combustion chambers large enough to house 100 double-decker buses. For their trouble-free operation demineralized water has to be used; this is so pure that commonly occurring substances such as iron, copper, sodium and chloride are present only to the extent of a few parts per 1000 million. If the levels of impurities are not carefully controlled, corrosion of the boiler tubes can occur and one faulty tube will put the whole boiler out of action at a cost of £30 000 per day. Recent advances in potentiometry have led to the use of selective ion electrodes for the on-steam monitoring of water quality and these electrodes were demonstrated to show their sensitivity. In addition mechanisms of corrosion were illustrated and typical examples of corrosion displayed. Mr H. K. Beale, Mr C. F. Price and Mr C. N. Reed arranged an exhibit on compression terminations for aluminium conductors. Although aluminium conductors for the electrical power industry are being increasingly used for power cables because of cheapness and lightness compared with copper, they have the disadvantage of being difficult to terminate. This is due to the electrically insulating layer of oxide on the conductor surface, and the creep characteristics of the metal. As a result, terminating aluminium cables by means of the standard technique of lugs compressed on the end of the conductor poses problems not encountered with copper. An outline was given of research now in progress to overcome these problems. A working display of a prototype cartridge-operated tool illustrated the developments that are taking place in compression jointing equipment for speedy field use. A new CERL measuring set for the diagnostic testing of joints in service was demonstrated.

Studies on Smoke Opacity of Different Type of Diesel Vehicles in Dhaka City

Six hundred and four diesel vehicles were tested for smoke opacity from September 2001 to December 2004 in Dhaka City. Type of diesel vehicles were single decker, double decker, minibus, jeep and microbus, mini truck, human hauler and maxi, pickup and mini covered van, truck and cover van. Tests conducted on mini truck, maxi and human hauler revealed that about 90% of these vehicles had smoke opacity more than 90 HSU and were not fit to ply on the city roads. The study on pick up and mini cover vans revealed that about 71% of the vehicles had smoke opacity more than 90 HSU. 60.2% mini buses showed smoke emission more than 80 HSU. Most of the single decker and double decker buses had smoke opacity within permissible level of 80 HSU. No correlation has been found between the age of the vehicles and emission of smoke from them. Keywords: Smoke opacity, Gross polluter, Emission study, Air pollution doi: 10.3329/bjsir.v43i4.2247 Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 43(4), 559-570, 2008