A Load of Cold Air
29 January 2022
Regular readers will know that there’s enough hot air generated from my articles to keep a whole town warm all winter! But staying warm on a bus has become a lot more difficult in the last couple of years due to Covid.
The generally-accepted belief is that lots of fresh air circulating is good for getting rid of the virus’s particles. This isn’t going to be a discussion about Covid principles or anything like that; I just want to reflect on the practical day-to-day effects for bus passengers of windows that people want left open at all times.
The battle between passengers who are too warm on a bus, and those who are too cold, has probably been going on ever since someone first decided to put a roof on the top deck of a bus. Presumably, before that, those who were too warm ‘inside’ could just move on top.
Buses in Paris used to have a sensible approach to this problem. Many of their buses displayed signs to the effect that, in the event of a dispute over whether the window should be open or shut, the person who wanted it shut would have priority. (I haven’t been to Paris for many years now; Covid may well have reversed this priority.)
Some of the late 1990s / early 2000s generation of double-deckers in this country had their own unique ‘design feature’ to stop people on the top deck getting too cold… When driving at speed, the opening windows on the sides at the front would sometimes suddenly slam shut – always a good moment for anyone who was, hitherto, struggling to stay awake!
I was reflecting on all this when I made a recent Sunday afternoon trip on Arriva Yorkshire route 117 – one of at least five routes that run between Leeds and Wakefield. It was the 1340 departure from Wakefield, and the group who departed the Bus Station with me that day comprised of half a dozen squealing teenage girls and a couple of older ladies.
It was very quickly established, on our full-length single-decker, that the forward windows were blowing through a lot of cold air – it was only six degrees outside. The conversation from behind was that neither of the older passengers were able to reach the windows easily, but that they would like them closed. I therefore volunteered to close the windows.
At the very next stop, a man boarded and immediately opened the windows again, before sitting directly beneath them. I would emphasise that there was no resulting commotion or argument; just a quiet observation from the back that those in the front section probably didn’t realise how uncomfortable it was for those in the raised, rear section. One of the ladies said that the draft was blowing right into her eyes!
The man got off in Ossett. A few others had got on and off during his journey, but we left Ossett Bus Station with pretty much exactly the same people that we had left Wakefield Bus Station with. I closed the windows for a second time, wondering whether I had made a rod for my own back. But the windows then remained resolutely closed the rest of the way.
At least it was possible to close the windows on this vehicle. Many bus windows have had a fitting added which prevents them from closing properly. It’s either to help ensure that the air keeps flowing, or a throwback to the bus designs of the 1970s.
Bus windows today only have two settings – open and closed (or closed to the point that the stoppers allow).
The only buses that are not like this nowadays are the new Routemasters, where the opening windows were retrospectively fitted. These allow you to have a window half-open, or a quarter open, if you so wish.
To close the window gently on any other bus requires a huge effort, and most people just push them shut; this makes a very similar noise to that of a car hitting the bus, and I wonder whether it has ever spooked a driver?
It concerns me when I see people putting their hands in the gap when the window is open, especially when there are children fiddling with everything, as I am always fearful that it could suddenly snap shut and cause them serious injury.
When someone hurts themselves through having a window snap shut on their hand, Health & Safety will no doubt have sliding windows retro-fitted faster than you can say “follow the science”.
I don’t know whether I subscribe to the idea of circulating air when you’re sitting on a bus that is steaming through the countryside in excess of 45mph. It makes a lot more sense if plodding through London at an average speed of 8mph. But I would like the option to close the windows if it’s very cold. I hope that, when we have learnt to ‘live’ with Covid, the things that stop the windows from closing properly can be removed. But I’m not holding my breath (I can’t – there’s a gale blowing through).
The generally-accepted belief is that lots of fresh air circulating is good for getting rid of the virus’s particles. This isn’t going to be a discussion about Covid principles or anything like that; I just want to reflect on the practical day-to-day effects for bus passengers of windows that people want left open at all times.
The battle between passengers who are too warm on a bus, and those who are too cold, has probably been going on ever since someone first decided to put a roof on the top deck of a bus. Presumably, before that, those who were too warm ‘inside’ could just move on top.
Buses in Paris used to have a sensible approach to this problem. Many of their buses displayed signs to the effect that, in the event of a dispute over whether the window should be open or shut, the person who wanted it shut would have priority. (I haven’t been to Paris for many years now; Covid may well have reversed this priority.)
Some of the late 1990s / early 2000s generation of double-deckers in this country had their own unique ‘design feature’ to stop people on the top deck getting too cold… When driving at speed, the opening windows on the sides at the front would sometimes suddenly slam shut – always a good moment for anyone who was, hitherto, struggling to stay awake!
I was reflecting on all this when I made a recent Sunday afternoon trip on Arriva Yorkshire route 117 – one of at least five routes that run between Leeds and Wakefield. It was the 1340 departure from Wakefield, and the group who departed the Bus Station with me that day comprised of half a dozen squealing teenage girls and a couple of older ladies.
It was very quickly established, on our full-length single-decker, that the forward windows were blowing through a lot of cold air – it was only six degrees outside. The conversation from behind was that neither of the older passengers were able to reach the windows easily, but that they would like them closed. I therefore volunteered to close the windows.
At the very next stop, a man boarded and immediately opened the windows again, before sitting directly beneath them. I would emphasise that there was no resulting commotion or argument; just a quiet observation from the back that those in the front section probably didn’t realise how uncomfortable it was for those in the raised, rear section. One of the ladies said that the draft was blowing right into her eyes!
The man got off in Ossett. A few others had got on and off during his journey, but we left Ossett Bus Station with pretty much exactly the same people that we had left Wakefield Bus Station with. I closed the windows for a second time, wondering whether I had made a rod for my own back. But the windows then remained resolutely closed the rest of the way.
At least it was possible to close the windows on this vehicle. Many bus windows have had a fitting added which prevents them from closing properly. It’s either to help ensure that the air keeps flowing, or a throwback to the bus designs of the 1970s.
Bus windows today only have two settings – open and closed (or closed to the point that the stoppers allow).
The only buses that are not like this nowadays are the new Routemasters, where the opening windows were retrospectively fitted. These allow you to have a window half-open, or a quarter open, if you so wish.
To close the window gently on any other bus requires a huge effort, and most people just push them shut; this makes a very similar noise to that of a car hitting the bus, and I wonder whether it has ever spooked a driver?
It concerns me when I see people putting their hands in the gap when the window is open, especially when there are children fiddling with everything, as I am always fearful that it could suddenly snap shut and cause them serious injury.
When someone hurts themselves through having a window snap shut on their hand, Health & Safety will no doubt have sliding windows retro-fitted faster than you can say “follow the science”.
I don’t know whether I subscribe to the idea of circulating air when you’re sitting on a bus that is steaming through the countryside in excess of 45mph. It makes a lot more sense if plodding through London at an average speed of 8mph. But I would like the option to close the windows if it’s very cold. I hope that, when we have learnt to ‘live’ with Covid, the things that stop the windows from closing properly can be removed. But I’m not holding my breath (I can’t – there’s a gale blowing through).
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by SiteGround