To date, as far as I know, there has been no case in which the emergency door of any of the double-decker 'buses has had to be used, but I wonder what will happen if such an occasion arises.
There are no emergency exits in the lower saloon of these 'buses - the wide platform compensates for the lack - but on the upper deck the emergency door is in a rather extraordinary position, above the back seat, more like a window than a door.
This door is only about two feet deep, although it stretches across the 'bus. Only by crawling or rolling sideway could a person get through it and, having done so, he is confronted by a drop of some fifteen feet. Perhaps there is a ladder carried in some concealed position on the 'bus. Certainly I cannot conceive of any other way in which this door would be of use to women and children in the event of fire.
A permanent ladder fixed to the back of the 'bus would give passengers a better sense of security. The ladder would stretch right across the 'bus, as wide as the door and lest youngsters should find it too convenient for free rides, it could end about three or four feet from the bottom of the 'bus.
A drop of four feet is a much more pleasant prospect than one of fifteen feet.
The Irish Times, September 6th, 1939.