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@bq
You read something by a noise lobby that complained about the noise of something? Who'd have thought?
Buses spend most of their journeys stopping and starting, and it's when pulling away that they emit not only a huge amount of noise (over 90Db - about the same as a nightclub dancefloor), but also a staggering amount of pollution. They are doing this every few hundred yards for the entire length of their journey. They are also on the road all day and all night, every 5 minutes. For most of their journey most buses are not at capacity either.
They are recognised as a considerably greater noise nuisance than the relatively small number of motorcycles in the city, the vast majority of which are well inside their permitted noise levels (which I believe are listed in one of the documents I have linked to upthread). It's something like 80Db at wide open throttle.
Incidentally the last 3 bikes I owned were really quiet - more like sewing machines than motor vehicles - incapable of getting anywhere near 80db with the stock exhausts. I put Triumph's own "loud" pipes on my current one, and they are still below this limit and approved for road use, but now it sounds lovely. It's a loud noise (if I want it to be!) but a fantastic one. There's nothing lovely about the sound of a bus engine.