![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Aug. 31st, 2008
Following my purchase of NYC For Dummies, I had a look for MTA related stuff... and found this on eBay...!
"NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY CAYENNE HOT SAUCE (6.6 OZ)
...WHAT BETTER WAY TO HONOR THE GREAT CITY OF NEW YORK BUT WITH IT'S OWN HOT SAUCE!!! THIS SAUCE IS OFFICIALLY LICENSED BY THE MTA AND HAS INCREDIBLE ARTWORK ON THE LABEL..."First of all, following this post, First London staff proceeded with strike action on Friday, with only a handful of random drivers out for duty.
Secondly, another weird one. For those not in the know, the Olympic Delivery Authority awarded the contract for transporting construction staff to Olympic sites to a joint bid from Hackney and Ealing Community Transports. Subsequently, a variety of white minibuses and Mercedes Citaro bendis have been used, in plain white, for this purpose. They have been tucked away incredibly well, remaining very well hidden indeed. So, when reports were received on the London Bus Group about a plain white Mercedes Citaro with blankets draped all over, on tow by Sovereign (recovery contractors) from Hackney to Evobus UK at Southall, I wondered.
Then, on Friday, the Evening Standard mentioned another bendibus fire. It’s an interesting sight with the video being available here.
Quoting from the article, and the bold bits are my emphasis…
Another bendy bus has spontaneously burst into flames, forcing transport bosses to investigate the vehicles again today.
The bus was being used to train drivers at a firm which ferries construction workers to the site of the 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford.
It caught fire in the back section and the blaze spread quickly, engulfing the vehicle's entire frame in flames and smoke.
Firefighters were called to the Ashgrove bus garage in Hackney but could not stop the fire wrecking the bus.
A video obtained by the Evening Standard shows the flames spreading rapidly. It was given to the newspaper by a concerned bus engineer who filmed it on his mobile.
He said: "Everyone knows there were problems with bendy buses and fires four years ago but the faults were supposed to have been taken out of London's stock."
The latest fire will raise fresh safety concerns. There have been a number of similar fires on the buses, which were introduced by Ken Livingstone in 2001 and later dubbed "Ken's chariots of fire".
In 2004, London's fleet of 120 bendy buses was withdrawn after a series of fires within weeks. Three were in service while another was being driven along the M25 for delivery when the engine caught fire.
A worker at the depot told the Standard that staff had been ordered to delete pictures of the latest fire from their mobiles.
He said: "One of the drivers noticed a burning smell after getting out of the cab. By the time engineers got there to have a look at it, it was engulfed in flames.
"They're really panicking about this latest fire and telling everyone to keep quiet about it."
The cause of the blaze on Monday last week is not known.
The Olympic Delivery Authority contracts Hackney Community Transport. An ODA spokesman said: "It was a very, very small fire. The manufacturers are coming to investigate." A Transport for London spokeswoman added: "This is an isolated incident, with early investigations suggesting the fire has no relation whatsoever to earlier bendy bus fires, which were the result of an engine fault which was identified and rectified."
Small fire? Enough to warrant towing back to the Mercedes dealer under a hidden cloak?
And, what happened to the fire surpression kits that TfL insisted on?
Secondly, another weird one. For those not in the know, the Olympic Delivery Authority awarded the contract for transporting construction staff to Olympic sites to a joint bid from Hackney and Ealing Community Transports. Subsequently, a variety of white minibuses and Mercedes Citaro bendis have been used, in plain white, for this purpose. They have been tucked away incredibly well, remaining very well hidden indeed. So, when reports were received on the London Bus Group about a plain white Mercedes Citaro with blankets draped all over, on tow by Sovereign (recovery contractors) from Hackney to Evobus UK at Southall, I wondered.
Then, on Friday, the Evening Standard mentioned another bendibus fire. It’s an interesting sight with the video being available here.
Quoting from the article, and the bold bits are my emphasis…
Another bendy bus has spontaneously burst into flames, forcing transport bosses to investigate the vehicles again today.
The bus was being used to train drivers at a firm which ferries construction workers to the site of the 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford.
It caught fire in the back section and the blaze spread quickly, engulfing the vehicle's entire frame in flames and smoke.
Firefighters were called to the Ashgrove bus garage in Hackney but could not stop the fire wrecking the bus.
A video obtained by the Evening Standard shows the flames spreading rapidly. It was given to the newspaper by a concerned bus engineer who filmed it on his mobile.
He said: "Everyone knows there were problems with bendy buses and fires four years ago but the faults were supposed to have been taken out of London's stock."
The latest fire will raise fresh safety concerns. There have been a number of similar fires on the buses, which were introduced by Ken Livingstone in 2001 and later dubbed "Ken's chariots of fire".
In 2004, London's fleet of 120 bendy buses was withdrawn after a series of fires within weeks. Three were in service while another was being driven along the M25 for delivery when the engine caught fire.
A worker at the depot told the Standard that staff had been ordered to delete pictures of the latest fire from their mobiles.
He said: "One of the drivers noticed a burning smell after getting out of the cab. By the time engineers got there to have a look at it, it was engulfed in flames.
"They're really panicking about this latest fire and telling everyone to keep quiet about it."
The cause of the blaze on Monday last week is not known.
The Olympic Delivery Authority contracts Hackney Community Transport. An ODA spokesman said: "It was a very, very small fire. The manufacturers are coming to investigate." A Transport for London spokeswoman added: "This is an isolated incident, with early investigations suggesting the fire has no relation whatsoever to earlier bendy bus fires, which were the result of an engine fault which was identified and rectified."
Small fire? Enough to warrant towing back to the Mercedes dealer under a hidden cloak?
And, what happened to the fire surpression kits that TfL insisted on?
More Pink Festival
Aug. 31st, 2008 02:41 pmFollowing my post, I’ve now got Caroline’s pictures from Pink Festival online... including this one of me…
