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| More to come for route 388 |
As we approach
February, the rollout of new buses continues in Britain.
We begin with
Arriva who have taken delivery of 174 Volvo B5LH double deck hybrids.
From Bus and Coach Buyer
With grant support from the Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles,
Arriva has recently taken delivery of 174
new Volvo B5LH double deck hybrids.
They join an existing batch of 44 Volvo hybrid buses that the company purchased
in 2013 for its North West services. From the order, 123 are for company’s London operations and the remainder will be
used in Merseyside on local routes.
According to the manufacturer, the vehicles deliver CO2 emissions reductions of
up to 39% compared to a conventional diesel double decker. They feature
Wrightbus Gemini 3 bodies and Volvo parallel hybrid systems including a Volvo
D5K 240 four-cylinder 5.1litre Euro6 engine rated at 240hp. They have Volvo
AT2412E I-Shift fully automated 12-speed gearboxes.
Area MD for Arriva North West, Phil Cummins,
said, ‘Following delivery, 10% of our fleet in the north west now consists of
Volvo hybrid vehicles. In the past, we have experienced good reliability and
build quality from Volvo, as well as substantial fuel savings, which meant we
had no hesitation in selecting the company once again for this latest order.
Upgrading our fleet to include hybrid buses such as these, really is a
“win-win” situation, because the government incentivises us to switch to hybrid
vehicles, and once we switch we are then rewarded with the benefits of
increased efficiency and lower fuel costs going into the future.’
Fleet Sales Manager for Volvo Bus, Dan
Barwick, said, ‘We are confident that Arriva will see the consistent fuel
economy benefits these hybrid vehicles will deliver to their business
nationwide. We are very pleased Arriva has chosen Volvo once again for this
latest purchase and look forward to working with them again in the future.’
Next up, we
have the successful trial of the Optare
Metrocity, for First bus in
Halifax.
From Route One
Optare’s Euro 6, 11.5m Metrocity
demonstrator has completed a “very successful real-world trial” with First Bus
in Halifax.
It has seen the Metrocity put through its
paces operating on First’s
high-frequency Red Arrow services 521, 522 and 523, from Halifax to Ovenden and
Illingworth (north of Halifax) – where it was put head-to-head with the Euro 6
Wrightbus StreeLites allocated to it.
As a result, it is now on the list of buses
that First will accept. It is currently finalising its requirements in terms of
vehicle types, ahead of issuing tenders for its 2017/18 financial year orders.
Rigorous
approach
First Bus Technical Director Mark Munday
says: “First Bus invests in a unique and rigorous approach to testing,
evaluating and procuring new vehicles.
“In addition to extensive fuel efficiency
and performance testing on the track we also conduct real-world operation
trials, on actual routes throughout the First Bus network.
“Working with manufacturers in this way
means that we can gather robust data to inform the purchase of vehicles that
support Local Authority agendas and positively impact carbon and air quality in
town and city centres across the UK, while ensuring that we deliver the best
experience for our passengers.
“The trial of the Metrocity builds on the
work we started last year with Optare, which included a comprehensive
assessment of the Metrodecker.
“After the success of the Metrodecker trial
we were particularly keen to evaluate the Metrocity and gain passenger and
driver feedback.
“It has performed really well and it is
great to see more Low Carbon certified buses being made available to benefit
the environment.”
He added that total cost of ownership and fuel
economy carry significant weight; “it’s not just about the up-front capital
cost - we are taking a long-term view,” he told routeONE.
Positive
feedback
Adds Optare Commercial Director Robert
Drewery, “In light of service experience, expectations of the Metrocity’s
performance were high, and we were not disappointed.
“The Euro
6 vehicle is Low Carbon certified and met or exceeded competitive
benchmarks throughout the assessment.
“Feedback from drivers and customers has
been extremely positive, particularly around the driveability, smooth ride and
the comfort of the vehicle.”
The Metrocity is a relatively recent
addition to the Optare vehicle portfolio that has impressive
fuel-efficiency. The lightest in class,
low-floor single deck has a fully integral frame, “enviable” fuel economy and
impressive seating capacity.
The Metrocity
is available in three lengths (10.1m, 10.8m and 11.5m), with a single door.
The 10.1m and 10.8m also available in a
two door TfL specification, both as a Euro
6 diesel and as an electric bus.
The Metrocity will shortly start a further
in-service assessment with First Hampshire & Dorset.
I should
point out that as the article mentions ‘Red Arrow’ - this is not to be confused
with the electric bus Red Arrow service in Central London.
Also, we
have news that a bus company in Scarborough have added four Enviro200 MMC’s.
From Route One
EYMS Group subsidiary Scarborough and
District has taken delivery of four 30-seat Enviro200 MMCs, supplied by
Alexander Dennis (01909 551166).
The
buses have Euro 6 engines and represent an investment of £500,000.
EYMS Group Chairman Peter Shipp says of the
buses, which were built at the Plaxton plant in Scarborough: “Naturally we are
delighted to have been able to buy local.
“I am also able to announce that we are
about to place an order for five more similar buses which will also be built in
Scarborough next year.”
Lastly - a
news update from LOTS:
1) First of all, a round-up of new buses due
for London during February and March, probably with some drifting into April –
a mere 405 buses!! It kicked off in the past week with the first
few of CT Plus’ new ADL E400H-City buses (batch 2522-36) for route 388 and
a few LTs for the EL1/2/3 at Barking-
River Road Garage. A batch of 51
(LT903-953) are due, and the services are due to begin on 18th February. Delivery has also
started of Arriva’s 123 HVs (batch HV201-323),
examples coming from those due variously for routes 259 and 242 in March, plus 2/N2, 19/N19 and 249 from
1st April.
2) Plenty more due to follow in the coming
weeks: 48 x E20Ds for Stagecoach (routes
273, 380, 167, 362. 462, 549) and 46 x E20Ds for CT Plus (routes 309, 397, 394,
W11, W12, W13. W14), comprising examples of several lengths; 23 xE40Hs
(12403-425) for Stagecoach route 277; 51 x Volvo B5LH/MCV for Tower Transit
routes 13, 58, 308) and 20x StreetLites for route 236, also for Tower Transit;
last but not least, LT 876-902 for route 76 when it passes to London General.
That’s so
many more new buses for the London Bus services; this shows that bus
contracting has enabled more new buses to come upon new route tenders.
With the
Enviro400H City, they are now operating on four London Bus routes which are routes
26, 78, 133 and 333. As mentioned above, the next route to convert to those
buses will be route 388 which runs from Stratford to Blackfriars via Hackney
Wick and Bethnal Green.
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