Here is a short news update:
The Volvo B5LHC with New Routemaster (SRM) bodywork was demonstrated at the Buses Festival which was held on 20th August in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
Here’s the description of the Wrightbus SRM Volvo B5LHC taken from the Buses Festival website.
This is an interesting vehicle in that it is a prototype built to be used in trials to test the concept of on-road charging.
This bus has the standard Volvo hybrid driveline (5 litre diesel engine, electric motor, gearbox) but has a larger battery and on road charging to provide a range extension for zero emission (electric) driving.
Volvo has delivered 1,800 hybrid buses into the UK since their introduction in 2009, and the latest development is the so-called 'plug in hybrid', of which this bus is an example. This has a system which allows the batteries to be charged on the road, whilst the bus is in service. Volvo is using the 'Opp-charge' conductive charging system where the bus would park under an overhead charging mast - the charging system in the mast drops down into the rails mounted on the roof of the bus (in the white pod at the front) and fully recharges the batteries in just a few minutes.
This bus has Wrightbus bodywork in the style of new Routemaster, and built to a generic London specification. It is one of two buses (the other is on long term endurance testing at the Volvo test track in Sweden) and it is unlikely that any more vehicles of this style will be built.
I’ve found a video of the Volvo B5LHC in action, uploaded by ‘astock5000’ on YouTube and Twitter.
Prior to the event, Volvo Buses UK tweeted:
Another electro-mobility first in Coventry this week! We charged up this B5LHC electric hybrid using a mobile charging arm! pic.twitter.com/3Mps9kG4xU— Volvo Bus UK (@VolvoBusUK) August 18, 2017
You can read more about the Volvo B5LHC in my previous article here.
To wrap up this short article; here’s a news update from LOTS:
1) Delivery continues of Go Ahead London’s EH 131-161 due to take over on routes 5 and 115 next Saturday 26th. That date will also see the transfer to Go-Ahead of LT 391-416 from Stagecoach for route15. Staying in the east, application of the East London Transit livery to LTs is well under way.
2) Arriva London North has started to take delivery of 56 x B5LH/Gemini 3s (batch HV324-379) to re-equip routes 243 and 341 at Tottenham. Over the next six weeks or so, DWs so released are due to displace older buses on routes 194 and 370 and to cover the take-up in October of routes 103 and 175 from Stagecoach.
3) Next Sunday 27th will see the move of Arriva’s blue buses from Garston to Hemel Hempstead and a revision to Hemel’s town services, in due course partly with new minibuses. Also that date marks the removal of Regal Busways in Essex from all routes in the “LOTS area”, services generally being covered by Arriva, EOS and Community minibuses.
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