Britain is to see another increase in the number of electric buses!
First up we have some news from BYD
and Alexander Dennis
The partnership of Alexander
Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD, which is well advanced on the delivery of 51 12m
single decker’s to Go-Ahead London, has won its first order outside the
capital. Arriva North West, the Merseyside operator, has ordered 12 of the BYD ADL Enviro200 EV model 12m buses
for service on the City Centre Circular Routes 26 and 27,
known as The Belt.
The order follows a joint bid
under the Government’s OLEF scheme by Arriva North West (Merseyside) and
Merseytravel. The new buses, which will be delivered
by mid-2017, will provide an intensive service from the Liverpool One bus
station and be based at Arriva’s Green Lane bus depot in Liverpool. Eight BYD chargers are being installed in
the depot and the garage.
The buses are expected to cover 150 to 190 miles per day and will
be charged overnight. In line with all BYD ADL joint products, the new buses in
Merseyside are designed to operate a full day’s duty cycle on one charge,
without the need for intrusive ‘top up charging’ during the working day and
enjoy the benefit of lower cost off peak
electricity. The BYD ADL solution ensures that operators do not have to
purchase additional buses beyond the number of their current diesel fleet in
order to maintain service on the route due to the outstanding battery capacity
and range.
The BYD ADL Enviro200EVs being
supplied to Arriva will feature a provincial specification with the addition of 38 seats – a mix of Esteban
Civic V3 and ADL designed units. There is space for another 32 standing passengers and there are USB
charging points throughout the bus.
Arthur Whiteside, Managing
Director – UK Sales at ADL, which is prime contractor on the order, said: “This
is a significant breakthrough for us and our partner BYD. It’s the first joint
order from outside London and opens
the door to a range of provincial cities wishing to upgrade their bus fleets to
pure electric, emissions free standard. The Enviro200EV provides a stylish, cost effective and proven bus to meet
their needs”.
Frank Thorpe, BYD’s UK Country
Manager, commented: “We are delighted to be part of this significant order
along with our partners ADL. Merseyside is pointing the way for other British
cities wishing to tackle their air
quality issues through pollution free city centre buses. We look forward to
more such orders”.
Next we have a news update from Reading Buses.
Reading Buses is trialling
different vehicles and propulsion systems on its purple 17 route between Wokingham Road, Three Tuns and Tilehurst Water Tower.
The cross town route, which operates 24/7 up to every 7 minutes,
is Reading’s most popular bus route
and currently features a Vantage Power
bus which is testing a new type of electric-hybrid powertrain that could be
retrofitted into existing buses, as well as an Enviro400City double-deck bus from London which is assessing dual-door
operation.
“Dual-door operation has been
commonplace and popular in London for many years and as door and step safety
systems have improved, we are now seeing other town and city regions such as
Brighton and Oxford return to these types of buses for some of their busiest
routes,” says Martijn Gilbert, chief executive officer, Reading Buses. “With
increasing congestion and demand for travel we’ve got to look at all possible
ways of reducing journey times to keep our network moving. The dual-door bus
trial will give us the opportunity to test this”.
In November, the operator will
also trial a higher capacity double-deck
bus.
“Should we adopt dual door buses on the route in the future then we will need
to work with highways colleagues at the council to re-visit bus stop
arrangements, especially raised kerbs,”
adds Gilbert. “But whatever we do, our customers can be assured that we are
putting a lot of thought into getting everyone’s views to obtain the best buses
for Reading.”
The company plans to replace its
fleet of 16 double deck buses
currently on the route with new vehicles towards
the end of next year.
This is not the first time Reading Buses have trialled an ‘Iconic’ London Bus, last year Reading
Buses trialled the three-door two-staircase hybrid bus known as the New Routemaster.
There is some news in from Singapore where Alexander Dennis has
showcased their tri-axle Enviro500 MMC with
three doors and two staircases:
From Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited’s Enviro500 full flat floor, 3 door, 2
staircase double deck stole the show at the LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition
(SITCE) in Suntec City, Singapore from 19 – 21 October 2016.
The Enviro500 concept bus, commissioned by the Land Transport Authority
(LTA), is the result of close collaboration
between the transport agency and Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), the world’s
largest double deck bus manufacturer.
Exhibited at a series of Bus Carnivals at venues across Singapore in
March and April 2016, visitors were
encouraged to provide their feedback on the design of this brand new
vehicle designed specifically for
Singapore. Positive feedback on the
design and specification has also been received from international visitors to
this week’s SITCE event.
The concept bus retains many of
the features which have made ADL’s
Enviro500 the most popular high-capacity double deck bus in the world. The most
significant difference is the third door and second staircase. The second and third doors act as the exit
points for all riders, the result being an efficient, two-stream passenger flow throughout the vehicle which speeds up
boarding and alighting, reduces vehicle dwell time at bus stops and
enhances the passenger experience. Ease
of access for all passengers is guaranteed thanks to the absence of any
internal steps in the lower saloon.
The bus has a range of
sophisticated on board specifications including luxurious high back contoured seating, WiFi, USB charging points at all
seats, mood lighting and passenger information screens. Improvements for the driver include a
comfortable, ergonomically designed seat within the spacious cab area. A large
curved windscreen offers excellent visibility, and a CCTV monitor gives the
driver all round clear views of staircases and exit doors for the added security
of passengers.
Paul Davies, Director and
General Manager of Alexander Dennis Asia Pacific, commented: “As a global
business, we embrace this type of major customer involvement initiative. The LTA challenged ADL to design and build
a double deck bus with three doors and two staircases which they believe
will transform the passenger experience. A series of engineering workshops with
the LTA, in addition to passenger feedback, has enabled us to further refine
the initial design into a viable technical solution. We are confident the vehicle will deliver the
operational advantages the LTA require while improving the passengers’ on board
experience.”
When asked about the complexity
of engineering this unique concept vehicle, Bill Thong, General Manager of
Alexander Dennis (Singapore) Service Pte Limited, responded, “It’s not a
question of difficulty it is a question of desire. If the market is calling for
a 3-door bus solution then the challenge
is for manufacturers to respond and that is what we at ADL are doing.”
Paul Davies added, “Our
collaboration with the LTA to develop this concept bus underlines our
commitment to this critically important market.
With over 200 Enviro500 vehicles
in circulation here, we already have a strong foundation in Singapore. In
summer 2015, we invested in a new, centrally based, local HQ in Tagore 8, which
is headed up by Bill Thong. We are
delighted Bill joined us, bringing over 15 years senior management experience
in commercially focused roles having been with Michelin, Alcoa, Akzo Nobel and
Comfort Delgro, before joining Alexander Dennis Limited.
Since then we have continued
strengthen our organisation in Singapore, recruiting a new Service Manager and
Field Service Engineers. ADL is renowned
for delivering reliable vehicles underpinned by class-leading aftermarket
support, so having our own highly trained Service Engineers gives our customers
the comfort of knowing their vehicles’ uptime will be maximised.”
More images
of the three-door two-staircase Enviro500
MMC can be seen here.
This shows how the New Routemaster has influenced the bus industry by
encouraging Alexander Dennis to build their own three-door two-staircase bus.
The question is though, are Alexander Dennis going to unveil their three-door two-staircase Enviro400H City
to compete with the three-door two-staircase
New Routemaster? Who knows because anything can happen. The Enviro400H City
is a London Bus icon, competing with other iconic buses such as the New
Routemaster and the Wright SRM.
Lastly, we have an update from LOTS:
1) Just a few more LTs have finally gone into service on Arriva route 253,
allowing the start of a cascade of HVs,
some initially going to Wood Green. Although LT845 has been out on training for some weeks, the initial handful of LT deliveries to
Go-Ahead for route 21 remain in store. At least all of Metroline’s batch of LTs (789-811) are now at last all in service, mixed with earlier batches on the 16, 168
and 189.
2) Some of the eight StreetLites
(batch WS 66-73) on order for part of Go-Ahead route 39 are now on delivery,
while the delivery of BYD/ADL SEe class
buses seems to have speeded up a little and those in service are running well.
The first two (MEC 1 and 2) of what
should be 18 Citaros off the 507/521 are now In service on route 108,
having been upseated (to 33) and repainted.
3) At EOS, having had two ex-GHA
Solos in use for a few weeks, it now has two 12-metre Scania N230UBs, also
ex-GHA but originally with Menzies at Heathrow, in service on route 66. EOS’
route 87 Harlow – Epping is still running but has been deregistered from 17
December. Also in Essex, Amber Coaches has deregistered its routes 14 and 261
in mid-December.
4) After West Croydon Bus Station finally re-opened on 8th October, albeit with
some features not yet finished, from Monday
31st the Bus Station at East Croydon Station is being closed until March 2017.
There are no alternative bus stops and although
the 64/433 stop close by in Dingwall Road, the eastbound 119/194/198/466
have no stops between Park Lane (in the Town Centre) and Lebanon Road, passengers being advised to use the tram
between the Rail Station and Lebanon Road.
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