Thanks to the existence of these low-floor Civis buses, whose flashy exterior is meant to try to hypnotise cities out of investing in the superior technology of LRT (that is, superior to buses but inferior to grade-separate heavy-rail), I find myself unable to complain about the perceived failings of Luas or even the bad decision of DB to buy that AW-class articulated.
Pro-BRT (bus rapid transit) factions have been displaying pics of this French-built abomination on their web sites, as well as these photos appearing in newspaper web site articles. The buses, for low-floor artics, have an extreme shortage of seats, a mere 39 total. The design of the doors is with an eye towards having them stop at modified footpaths with a similitude to LRT platforms (hence the LRT-like door design, intended for use with proof-of-payment systems, and also permitting level wheelchair boarding); the buses are even equipped with space-age guidance systems that would steer for the driver (so they can sip coffee instead of keeping their eyes on the road :-P) and also to help line-up the bus perfectly with a “station” platform, like your average LRV does automatically due to it actually being on rails. Well, there you go, just another bit of politician-pleasing courtesy of Irisbus, a conglomerate which includes Renault/Iveco…