Since the three-door two-staircase New Routemaster rollout is completed and there will be no more purchased by TfL, the legacy of the design lives on as more and more bus operators have gained interest with the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City.
Hertfordshire bus operator Uno (formerly UniversityBus) which is owned by the University of Hertfordshire has rolled out Enviro400 City buses for routes 614 and 644 branded as Comet Bus.
The Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield officially unveiled one of the new Comet buses at the University of Hertfordshire on Friday.
New fleet
Cllr Lynne Sparks launched the new bus brand in true super-car fashion as she removed a huge sheet to reveal one of the state-of-the-art double decker vehicles. All six buses, an investment of £1.3m went into service on Monday.
Lower emissions
The buses offer the very best in journey experience, with USB charge points at every seat, free WIFI, ambient interiors providing spacious, comfortable seating, and not forgetting the first-class pilots on hand to help. They are also equipped with enhanced emissions equipment, giving them exceptional green credentials.
The Comet brand celebrates its namesake, the first commercial jetliner, developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield Aerodrome, now part of the University of Hertfordshire campus.
Improved experience
James Thorpe, Managing Director for Uno Buses, said: 'We’re so excited to be launching The Comet buses into service this September, they really are something else. We’ve worked hard to develop and design a product that we believe will provide the very best customer experience. It’s so important for our passengers to be able to stay connected on their travels, and also to be able to travel in style in an ultra-modern environment.'
Mayor Councillor Lynne Sparks said: 'Bus travel is an essential way for residents to get around Welwyn Hatfield and beyond, and the new buses will ensure that journeys are more pleasant, whilst also being better for the environment. I’m looking forward to trying them out myself!'
The Comet buses will run up to every 30 minutes between The Campus, Hatfield, Barnet, Edgware and Queensbury on the 614 644 route.
Timetables for the Comet Bus services can be viewed on Uno’s website.
Here are some photos of the Enviro400 City which Uno tweeted out.
That's all for tonight. Have a great evening and we'll see you bright and Comet in the morning - awesome line up!@UniofHerts #thecometbus pic.twitter.com/BUZUzVCrUT— Uno Hertfordshire (@unobus) September 21, 2017
Shopping at The Galleria? Our new Comet buses will take you there in style!@UniofHerts #thecometbus— Uno Hertfordshire (@unobus) September 21, 2017
...even if it's only window shopping! pic.twitter.com/eGtcqw9E5p
Back in December 2015, the previous London Mayor Boris Johnson answered a question from a Greater London Assembly member about 2,000 New Routemaster buses operating on London’s streets by 2020.
Boris Johnson answered “I expect to see the DNA of the NRM adopted on many of the new double deck buses introduced, as older vehicles are renewed and contracts re-let, through the normal tendering programme. TfL is therefore well positioned to meet my aspiration by 2020.”
There are only six of the two-door one-staircase buses known as SRM which were purchased by RATP London Sovereign. None of the other London Bus operators have showed any interest in purchasing these SRM’s for their new route contracts. As for the Enviro400H City (hybrid spec) - Arriva purchased these for routes 78, 133 and 333 contracts and CT Plus for routes 26 and 388 contracts.
The DNA of the New Routemaster has increased thanks to the Enviro400 City which attracted several bus operators in Britain to purchase these buses.
Here’s a list of bus operators in Britain that have purchased the Enviro400 City buses:
Firstbus West of England (bio gas)
Nottingham City Transport (bio gas)
Plymouth Citybus (alternative livery for luxury service)
Also, we have the news that Blackpool Borough Council has approved a £16.2m loan to Blackpool Transport for the purchase 72 new buses.
From Route-One
Blackpool Borough Council have approved a £16.2m loan to its arms-length municipal - Blackpool Transport - to buy 72 brand new buses.
The funding is the second part of the company’s five-year plan and brings to fruition its intention to have no bus older than five years by 2020.
This ambitious plan has already seen £7.7m invested, with 54 vehicles in the fleet now using the new Palladium brand.
The 2017 delivery of buses will include two wheelchair spaces, group seating, three tables, two TFT screens and on-board infotainment – a combination that is a first for Blackpool.
It continues its unique relationship with Alexander Dennis, and the first batch of 20 new Enviro 400 double-deckers are due for delivery in October 2017.
Jane Cole, Managing Director at Blackpool Transport said: “We aim to remain at the cutting edge of technology by providing buses that are the very best in class.
“We’ve implemented a model whereby we’ll be renewing our vehicles once they reach five-years old so we can continuously offer customers the best possible experience.
“The Shareholder has fully backed our plans throughout and brought this unique relationship between Blackpool Borough Council, our stakeholders and ourselves to life.
“Blackpool is going from strength to strength with its residents and 13 million annual visitors expecting to have a transport network to match”.
Councillor Christine Wright, Chair of BTSL said “Blackpool will see mainline trains arriving in the resort from May 2018 and we have plans to extend the world famous tramway to Blackpool North railway station by 2019. The resort is placing itself amongst the most attractive visitor destinations in the UK.”
This could be a possibility for Blackpool Transport to increase the fleet with Enviro400 City buses.
Here’s a London Bus news update from LOTS:
1) Plenty of new vehicle deliveries to London with ongoing arrivals of Metroline VWHs and Arriva HVs. Seven AD E40Hs (12426-32) are imminent for Stagecoach for route 257 from Leyton as are another twelve E20Ds for Abellio, these being 10.5m versions (8220-31) for route R70. Go-Ahead’s StreetLites for routes 424 and 39 are now complete, and the next batch – this time DF 10.8m versions – are arriving now. WS 91-103 are for route 355 and WS 104-117 for route 170.
2) Universitybus’ six new E40D/ Enviro400-City buses (250-255) duly entered service on routes 614/644 in the past week. Five new E20Ds (YX67 UYL/M/N/O/P) are now In use with Courtney at Bracknell, and White Bus at Windsor has the first (YX67 UVO) of what is expected to be four new E20Ds for its new Surrey services (438, 446/456, 566/567) that are currently worked by hired E200s. Safeguard now has its second MetroCity (YJ67 FYX).
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