(29 May 2016, 10:34 am)Adrian wrote New buses don't have any luggage space at all. It's as simple as that. The one tiny place for them on a Streetlite has the fire extinguisher and Metro newspaper rack there, so I'd argue you couldn't put anything there for fear of obstructing the fire extinguisher. Geminis are no better mind, with a tiny bit of storage space at the front. It's as if we were spoilt with buses like Nationals and the Olympians... you could literally store suitcase upon suitcase in them.

It's an issue that hasn't gone away, so I'm not sure why manufacturers no longer include luggage space? Passengers get frustrated (and I saw quite a bit of this in Brighton), that other passengers have bags with them, and on the seat next to them. How can you channel behaviour if you're removing the solutions?

I'd probably suggest that manufacturers would still offer the luggage space, but it's down to the operator to specify that they wanted it. See photo below of one of Lothian's "Airlink" branded Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5TLs:

Lothian Buses: 437 / SA15VTT by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Thinking more locally than Brighton with Go North East's Prince Bishops services... These services, especially at peak times, could benefit from double-deck vehicles, as single-decks do (and have done for a while now) get fully seated with plenty of standees at peak times. Despite this, Go North East has still opted to purchase brand new single-deck vehicles. Whether that's down to the higher cost associated with buying a double-decker or not, who knows..? It makes sense therefore to pack as many seats as possible into a single-deck, even if that means compromising leg room and storage space.

It's probably a similar story with other services too - both in and outside of the region. As in the example above, manufacturers will still allow operators to have purpose-built interiors.