I set out to design a bus that transforms the currently pleasant and convenient ridership experience into a desirable daily occasion. Big Blue Bus’s renowned dedication to community, cleanliness, and friendly convenience serves as the primary inspiration for my designs.
I wanted to effectively make riding the bus akin to spending a day at the beach. I go to Santa Monica to enjoy the ocean, clear my head of stress and reinvigorate my spirits. I thought these motives would be a great starting point to shape my design. Digging a bit further, I though of the whole ‘Seeing and Being Seen” aspect of the beach experience. Whether it’s enjoying the sea with friends and loved ones, or strolling down the Third St. Promenade amongst complete strangers, being a part of the scene is fun and desirable. I wanted to create an iconic design that people wanted to be seen in, to ride in and experience.
9.29.2008
Icon Bus Main_render
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I regret that I didn't come back to the site sooner after my first visit early on – when there wasn’t much on the site. I gather that you recently showed a fairly finalized concept at the AltCar Expo and am curious as to what that is.
I have enjoyed reading the experiences of the designers, both in the past and more recently on the BBB. I particularly enjoyed reading Gabriel’s description of the New Look busses that, indeed, rattled. Also known as “the fish bowl” for the huge panoramic windshield, it was GM’s penultimate local bus design, with a lot more glass than its predecessor. I vaguely recall my first ride on one. My father was a driver for an area bus company, starting out on local runs between two small cities and, eventually, graduating to charter trips. One of these was the first excursion for the company’s new “fish bowl”. I seem to remember Formica wall panels and leatherette upholstery with a big helping of salmon pink in them. It was certainly more airy and open feeling than their earlier busses, but at the expense of a feeling of enclosure-security-collective community; so I wonder what the “all-glass” bus concept you’ve shown would feel like from the inside.
Which brings me to a disappointment about the outside-in design approach that seems to have been taken (unless I haven’t found the spot on the site where interior explorations are shown), including the “lumber hauler” cabin-changing model which strikes me as interesting. But something that would have an extreme weight & efficiency penalty for this flexibility.
Beyond Giuseppe’s proposal for customer-modified environments through digital graffiti (which I think would be a great idea), I’ve mostly seen exploration of exterior themes.
Certainly the #10 post created a sense of a very positive rider experience and, along with my own first three-day transcontinental bus ride, leaves one with the impression that the whole experience can be very “theatrical”. The few of us going all the way from the east to L.A. on that 1964 ride got to view a constantly changing comedy/drama, with passengers getting on, performing their scene, and then exiting at a later stop. It was a memorable experience – including what was seen out through the windows. Obviously, this latter experience would have different meanings for locals and tourists.
Sadly, GM’s final city bus design – the RTS, with its plastic exterior, sealed windows, and “fastback” design seemed not to take into account the realities of urban bus riding, nor did Flxible’s offering – which attempted to apply aerospace lessons to the problem. They were the production models of prototypes done for the early-‘70s government-sponsored Transbus Program (see http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=7343457 ). Similar to the more recent PNGV “competition” to design a fuel-efficient family car (that was quickly and quietly abandoned when the current oil-focused administration came into power), the Transbus effort seemed to fizzle when production expediency trumped technical innovation. Although some of both designs are still in use around the country, they are slowly being replaced by low-entry, flat sided metal boxes that appear more functional than aesthetic.
I think this project is a worthwhile undertaking for a school that has a reputation for developing the designers of the cars that clog most of our roadways today and, if successful in attracting more riders to a more efficient, community-building means of transportation, would be an excellent penance for the “sins” of earlier trans grads.
I don't believe that I was aware of the existence of the BBB when I lived in LA in the mid-60s. It might have been a great way to get to the coast, not having wheels most of the 3 years that I was there. I had one experience with L.A. busses - a classmate and I rode to the end of the line in Montebello from Wilshire and Western on the last bus of the evening and spent 5 hours in adjacent phone booths shivering as the fog rolled in. Nowadays, with few if any enclosed booths remaining, it would be an even more chilling adventure.
I did get around some on my 10 speed, including rides over Griffith Park to visit another classmate and his family in Burbank (a great feeling of accomplishment traversing the mountain - especially coasting down the north side through the morning sprinklers). Bikes can be an important part of the L.A. mobility experience and I feel any designs should include provisions for carrying them for riders.
I look forward to seeing the further development of your concepts and will not stay away so long this time.
The Icon Bus is totally cool and my favorite of the 3. Going up is a great use of space (especially in the already over crowded LA). The only thing that I'd be worried about is that the driver cannot see the passengers on the top deck and a lot of graffiti, etc could occur.
The icon bus Main render is shared on the post here. Know all about it
Amazing. Thanks for the blog and the details
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