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Wednesday, 25 March 2020

Arriva orders ADL-BYD Enviro400EV City for route 319. Stagecoach Manchester unveils Enviro400EV Citys - Plus COVID-19 update

Today I have more news regarding the new double deck electric buses for London.

The unofficial London Bus Routes website has announced that bus operator Arriva London have placed an order for 19 Alexander Dennis-BYD Enviro400EV City vehicles for their route 319 contract which is expected to enter service this September 2020. (subject to delay due to COVID-19)


319 - Contract retained by Arriva London with 19 new BYD/Enviro 400 City MMC electric double deckers. (130320) – Expected Date: 12 Sep 20

So far, here’s the list of Enviro400EV City buses which are in service and newer vehicles ordered by bus operators:

London Bus Operator Fleet code Number of vehicles For route
Metroline BDE 37 43
RATP-Dev BCE 29 94
Go-Ahead Ee 49 106, 212, 230, 357
Arriva unknown 19 319

The following is a bit late, but I wish to report that Stagecoach has unveiled their Enviro400EV City bus for Greater Manchester services.


Stagecoach is proud to unveil Greater Manchester’s first double-decker electric buses in a £16.5m investment.

The 32 electric buses operate on the popular 111 and 43 routes connecting Manchester city centre, Manchester Airport, five hospitals and three universities.

These zero emission buses can travel 190 miles on a single charge and will help to ease pollution on some of Europe’s busiest roads.

A double decker bus can already take more than 70 cars off the road and the new e-buses will save 2208 tonnes of carbon a year compared to the existing fleet, as well as improving local air quality.

Stagecoach is already the UK's biggest investor in hybrid-electric bus technology and has invested more than £1billion in new greener buses over the past decade. By the end of 2020, Stagecoach will be operating more electric buses than any other UK bus operator.

Elisabeth Tasker, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, said:

"The introduction of the new electric double-decker buses is a significant milestone in the history of transport in Greater Manchester and represents one of the biggest single investments in electric buses anywhere in Europe.

“We are very proud to have worked in partnership with the Mayor, Andy Burnham, Transport for Greater Manchester and other key organisations to secure the investment needed to roll out the first electric double decker buses for this region.

“This significant investment will deliver major benefits for our customers, the region and other road users in delivering greener transport on some of Manchester’s busiest roads.

"This new fleet of electric buses is the latest example of what can be achieved by working together. We will continue to build on the major progress we've already made with more customer improvements such as next stop announcements, on board Wi-Fi, contactless ticketing and live journey information.”

A multi-million-pound investment has also been made to develop infrastructure and power requirements at depot level, with intelligent chargers used to limit loadings on the electricity supply and maximise vehicle availability.

Transforming the air quality in Greater Manchester is one part of a £142m 10-year partnership plan developed by Stagecoach to deliver a step-change in the region's bus network and seamlessly connect South and North Manchester.

Working with the Mayor and local authorities, it would deliver more comprehensive services, better value fares, simpler ticketing, an improved customer experience and a profit share which would see revenue made from Stagecoach services reinvested across the region’s full transport network.

Importantly, this would also address issues around damaging car congestion which impacts bus punctuality while local taxpayers would benefit from up to £25m in savings as Stagecoach and potentially other bus operators would operate uneconomic, socially-necessary, bus routes without subsidy.

As we know, the Enviro400EV City is expected to enter service in the West Midlands any time soon, but likely to be delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.




Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, transport services are now operating on a Saturday or reduced or emergency timetables. Only ‘key workers’ (NHS staff, transport workers, police constables etc.) are allowed to travel during the outbreak.

Alexander Dennis announced they have suspended their production due to the Coronavirus.


I’m aware that bus manufacturer BYD are now manufacturing masks and hand sanitisers to tackle the Coronavirus outbreak.

TfL and Crossrail announced they have halted their construction during the Coronavirus outbreak.



I never expected the coronavirus outbreak to accelerate in Britain as it has, which has caused manufacturing to be suspended in order to protect their workers. This means the production for the new Enviro400EV Citys will be delayed in due course.

The government have imposed a new ‘stay at home’ measure with a few exceptions which went in to force on 23rd March 2020, for the purpose of reducing the spread of the Coronavirus; this is expected to last for three weeks. The London Mayor and various other elections have been postponed until May 2021.

How long will the Coronavirus outbreak last? We simply do not know.

We have to wait for further announcements from the UK government and take each day as it comes.

I would like to take this opportunity to urge anyone travelling to abide by the government guidelines and above all, stay safe in these uncertain times.

More to follow as new information comes in.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

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