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| Enviro400EV City |
Using data from their brochures, I compare the specifications of the Enviro400EV City jointly manufactured by Alexander Dennis & BYD, and Metrodecker EV manufactured by Optare.
| Enviro400EV | Metrodecker EV | |
| Manufactured by | Bodywork by Alexander Dennis EV Chassis by BYD | Optare |
| Dimensions | 10.9m (35ft 9in) length 2.55m (8ft 4in) width choice of 4.2m (13 ft 9in) and 4.3m (14ft 1in) height | 10.5m (34ft 5in) length |
| Operational Range | Up to 160 miles (257km) on a single charge, depending on duty cycle and operating conditions | Forecast range on a single charge, dependent on duty cycle and equipment options: 150+ miles (240+km) in winter |
| Electric motors | Two motors integrated in drive axle, max. power 2×150kW | Power 300kW |
| Charging system | BYD dual plug 2×40kW AC charging | 44kW integrated on-board charger connects to standard commercial three phase supply. Charge time approx 6 hours from zero to full. 100kW remote fast charger delivering 88kW. Charge time approx 3 hours. |
| Battery system | BYD lithium iron phosphate battery technology | Batteries 2 x 12 volt 105 amp hour, maintenance free. |
| Climate system | Zero emission heat pump technology for heating and cooling | …with electric heating/chill. Electric heating with vehicle pre-heat as standard. |
| Driveline | Front axle - ZF RL82A Drive axle - BYD EQ13B | ZF AVE 130 hub motor axle |
| Passenger capacity | Up to 83 total passengers with 67 seats in TfL configuration | Up to 63 seated passengers Total up to 96 passengers |
| More details | Link to specification | Link to brochure |
Comparing the two models, the Enviro400EV has a higher seating capacity, while the Metrodecker EV has less seating capacity with increased standees of 13 passengers. The single charge operational range of the two models is similar to each other with the Enviro400EV up to 160 miles and Metrodecker EV up to 150+ miles.
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| Enviro400EV City |
The Enviro400EV uses the City bodywork which contains design features from the New Routemaster bus such as the glazed staircase (optional for bus operators to adopt) and top-rear wrap windscreen.
The Enviro400 City was praised by New Routemaster designer Thomas Heatherwick as a “back-to-front compliment”. As compared with the Metrodecker EV, Optare opted to use a lightweight bodywork design for increased capacity and lower running costs.
I’d say the Enviro400EV and Metrodecker EV are quite competitive in terms of aesthetics and capacity. In my view, I prefer the Enviro400EV to be used for Central London routes to provide street presence for tourists and landmarks of London. The Metrodecker EV will be suited for busy routes outside Central London for increased standee capacity. Therefore it will be down to private bus operating companies to select the double-deck EV’s to use for their route contracts.
Upcoming London Bus routes to be served with the Enviro400EV are:
| Route | Operator | Expected Date |
| 94 | RATP-Dev | February 2020 |
| 106 | Go-Ahead London | 25th April 2020 |
| 212 | Go-Ahead London | 7th March 2020 |
| 230 | Go-Ahead London | 20th June 2020 |
| 357 | Go-Ahead London | 29th February 2020 |
There’s no guarantee they will be in service by the expected date - information taken from London Bus Routes service changes page.
Alexander Dennis announced in their news release in July 2019 that Stagecoach Manchester is expected to have their Enviro400EV delivered before the end of 2019, and National Express West Midlands for operation in Birmingham expected to have theirs delivered by early 2020.
.jpg/1024px-Optare_Metrodecker_EV_at_Bus_Expo_2016_(30771720075).jpg) |
| Optare Metrodecker EV |
As mentioned in my previous article, Tower Transit won two routes using double deck electric buses; their news release featured the image of Metrodecker EV. This shows a possibility they will be using the Metrodecker EV’s for their newly won routes 23 and C3 contracts.
Since Jo Bamford rescued Wrightbus and restarted delivery of newly built buses, his new company is expecting to build and deliver double-deck hydrogens for London and Aberdeen. I predict the new double deck range will be zero emission with hydrogen and pure battery electric driveline. Despite my criticisms with the Gemini 3 and SRM design by Wrightbus, I believe the new Bamford Bus Company should bring in a new double-deck design range for their upcoming zero emission products.
I’m also aware that five of the integral BYD double deck EV buses have been withdrawn from route 98; LOTS Bus News (Saturday 12th October 2019 update) has stated:
“Metroline’s five early production BYD electric double-decks at Willesden (BYD 1471-75) were summarily withdrawn from service on 4th October, although the reason has not been announced.”
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Related article
Why the Wrightbus SRM failed and Alexander Dennis’ Enviro400 City is gaining success
Image attribution
By citytransportinfo - MetrodeckerEV-BusExpo2016-BusExpo2016-P1390383, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53155843