FirstGroup
has announced a massive order of new buses for their operations which has cost
them £70 million.
This
is also a follow up to Stagecoach Group announcing a £97
million order for 480 buses which I’ve previously reported.
From
FirstGroup
·
All
new vehicles fitted with free on board Wi-Fi
·
More
customers to benefit from on board USB charging points
·
FirstGroup
continues to be one of the largest operators of Low Carbon Emission Buses in
the UK
·
87%
of buses are DfT ‘Low Carbon Certified’ saving 4 million kgs of CO2 every year
·
First
Bus is proud to continue supporting British bus manufacturers, with 98% of
order to be manufactured in UK
FirstGroup, the
leading transport operator in the UK and North America, today announced that
its bus division has ordered 305 new
vehicles worth £70m.
The order by First Bus
underlines its commitment to provide high quality services for its customers
and partners and brings the company’s investment over the last six years to £455m in 2,500 new vehicles.
Today’s order also
consolidates First Bus’s position as one
of the largest operators of Low Carbon Emission Buses in the UK. 87% of the
new vehicles will be Department for Transport approved ‘low carbon certified’, which First Bus estimates will save 4
million kg of CO2 per year. The 2016/17 investment will bring the company’s
fleet of low carbon certified vehicles
to around 1,000, believed to be one
of the largest in the UK, saving in total an estimated 14.5 million kg of CO2 annually.
All 305 new buses will be fitted with the
latest Euro VI engines, which
produce 95% less oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) emissions compared to buses with Euro
V engines and as a result will help improve
air quality in the towns and cities in which First Bus operates.
The order is good news
for customers. All the new buses will
feature the latest technology, with complementary on board Wi-Fi providing
passengers with free internet access, and by the end of the financial year
around 60% of the 6,300 First Bus fleet
will be Wi-Fi enabled. Most
passengers will also benefit from leather seats, while some of the new vehicles
will be fitted with next stop audio-visual display screens and around 30% with
USB charging points, allowing customers to charge their phones and tablets on
the move.
The investment in
technology to help keep customers connected on board reflects the commitment by
First Bus to deliver a customer centric service that is simple, smart and
seamless. Many First Bus customers are
already benefiting from smart ticketing options and Real Time Information, while all customers can use their mobile phones as bus tickets through the
company’s m-Ticket option. The
company’s drive for innovative customer friendly improvements will continue
through 2016/17.
With 98% of the order to be manufactured in the
UK, the fleet investment by First Bus provides a big boost to British
manufacturing helping to support hundreds of UK jobs. Scottish firm ADL will manufacture 204 vehicles,
while Northern Ireland’s Wrightbus has secured an order for 91 buses, and Volvo
has won a contract to build 10 coach chassis in Sweden, with the bodies
manufactured by ADL.
Giles Fearnley,
Managing Director of First Bus, said the order, which comprises 204 double deckers (the largest ever
First Bus order of double deckers), will help encourage more customers across
the UK to use the bus: “This is great news for First Bus customers. We are determined to make the bus a more
compelling proposition, attract more customers and grow our business. Ensuring that our customers travel in modern,
comfortable, fit for purpose vehicles which provide added value such as free
Wi-Fi and USB charging is pivotal to our customer engagement strategy and our
future success.”
He continued: “In
2015, we announced the largest order on record in the UK for vehicles with Euro
VI engines, complementing efforts from our partners in local councils to improve
air quality in our towns and cities. Our
2016 order again reflects our commitment to working with our partners to reduce
emissions and improve the environment.”
“First Bus is proud to
continue supporting British bus manufacturers,” he added. “Our manufacturing partners continue to lead
the world in quality, innovation, fuel efficiency and value for money. I’m pleased that we’ve again invested heavily
in our fleet and our tradition of supporting the British manufacturing industry
remains strong.”
Recognising the
commitment by First Bus to its partnerships, by way of many examples 14 new buses will enter service in
Doncaster this month (April) marking the start of the ‘Doncaster Bus Partnership’ in May.
The successful Sheffield Bus
Partnership will benefit from a further 10 new vehicles. The strong
developing partnership in Cornwall
will see First Bus invest £7.1m in 30
new vehicles. Meanwhile thanks to high profile partnerships in the West of
England, particularly Bristol, 68
new vehicles worth £18.1m are earmarked for its operations.
Full
details of the First Bus order:
10 ADL/Volvo Plaxton
(ADL) body / B11R (Volvo) chassis coaches
71 ADL Enviro 200 MMC
single decker
80 ADL Enviro 400 MMC
double decker
8 ADL Enviro 400 MMC
Gyro double decker
45 ADL Enviro 400
double decker (exact spec to be confirmed)
71 Wrightbus
StreetDeck double decker
20 Wrightbus
StreetLite Max single decker
It's
interesting how large bus operators in Britain are starting to invest in new
buses with Euro VI engines and hopefully in the future they will phase into
zero emission buses.
Speaking
about engines, Arriva London have
issued a press release on retro fitting diesel engines with a hybrid system.
From
Arriva London
Arriva London
Engineering assists in trial to turn older diesel engine powered buses green.
Arriva London is
always striving to improve its green credentials, with over 25% of its buses already hybrids and
more to come, plus running the only all electric
route in London on route 312, any new ideas and technology that can
accelerate these green goals is always welcome.
A new idea to turn older diesel engine buses into much
more environmentally friendly vehicles
has been developed by Vantage Power Ltd
based in Greenford, West London in association with Ensign Ltd, the largest reseller of buses in the UK.
The new unit will
start trials in July, when two of Arriva London’s 2005, Volvo B7TL, Euro 3 buses,
with Alexander Dennis bodies, VLA99 and
VLA100 will resume service following their conversion. The trials are fully
supported by TfL.
The basic idea behind
the unit, is that the old diesel unit that currently drives the wheels is
removed, and a retrofit diesel/electric hybrid is fitted. In the new unit, the
smaller diesel engine charges the batteries and this power is then used to
drive the wheels. Further efficiencies are realised by using the motor that
drives the bus in normal operation, as a generator when the bus is slowing
down, having the effect of putting more power back into the battery pack,
enabling the diesel engine to stay off for longer.
The new system will be
tested to see how well it performs against its targets of 40% reduction in the
use of fuel, 80%+ reduction in emissions,
and a cost saving for the unit which
is estimated to be 80% less than a new Hybrid bus.
Jon Harman, Arriva
London’s Chief Engineer said:
“London’s Ultra Low
Emissions Zone (ULEZ) requires all double deck buses to be hybrid/electric by 2020, so the challenges of reducing emissions
when running such a large fleet are significant.
What’s particularly
exciting about this initiative is that Vantage
Power have developed a retrofit
hybrid pack that has the potential to extend
the life of conventional diesel vehicles, that would otherwise become
non-compliant. The system they have
developed is packed into a cradle and fits into the same space and fixes to the
same mounting points as the outgoing powertrain, thus negating the need for any
cutting, welding or relocating of components in the vehicle.
As well as testing of
the hybrid retrofit system, the trial will also test another key feature of
this system, which is geo-fence technology.
This technology, uses GPS
information combined with route
information, and can enable the vehicle to ensure its batteries are at full charge before entering certain
areas (such as the ULEZ), or past schools, or libraries, and upon entering
these areas, the engine can shut itself down and the vehicle then operate as an
almost silent ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle). Any new initiative which assists us
in achieving this target is very welcome, and we look forward to being involved
in this trial in a very practical way, by converting two of our buses and
running them in service for the trial”.
This
reminds me of the Enviro400H MMC Virtual Electric when it comes to
the engine turning off in built up areas and hopefully in time we may see a
large percentage of zero emission buses operating around Britain.
I
should also mention that there’s a recent photo of ST812, the short 3 door 2 staircase New
Routemaster at Perivale Bus Garage, which is set to move to Holloway (HT) for
route 91 operations. I’ve also found out that route 91's conversion will be a
full blown conversion, utilising a mix of short and normal size NRM’s and is
due to commence in May. Those 3 door 2 staircase hybrid buses will be operated
by Metroline for London Buses.
That’s
all I have to report on today.
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