George Andrews Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seattle's Metro Transit has articulated buses, in
> both electric and diesel versions. And they are A
> Pain, and a Joke, in the snow, as the only drive
> axle is the rear one ( i.e. - behind the
> articulation joint ), so they push themselves
> into a jack-knife !!! A contributing factor is
> Metro Transit's choice of cable chains for a
> 50,000 lb bus; they break early and often.

Don't know what Seattle's issues are, but articulated buses are used on many North American transit systems. Here in Pittsburgh, articulated buses have been in use since the 1980s. As far as I know, there are no issues with jack-knifing in the snow (we get much more of that than Seattle). They are an absolute necessity on the heavily used routes.