Monday, 2 January 2023

My Brief Review On The New Enviro400EV Product By Alexander Dennis, And Why Creativity Is Important For Bus Manufacturing

First of all, I wish my readers a Happy New Year. I hope we see some interesting developments in the year 2023. :)

In this article, I'm doing a brief review on the new Enviro400EV product by Alexander Dennis and explain why creativity is important for bus manufacturing.

During November 2022 at the Euro Bus Expo, Alexander Dennis unveiled their new Enviro400EV and Enviro100EV products. BYD has no involvement in the development of the new battery-electric bus product as this is an integral product.

My first thought is, the bus looks quite futuristic because of the new design and I’d say it’s looks more of a successor to the Enviro400 MMC model.

You may notice some design cues from the New Routemaster are seen on the new Enviro400EV, such as the front-wrap windscreen, slightly rounded shape and a glazed staircase.

I did mention on Twitter that the Enviro400EV and Enviro100EV look similar to the MCV-Volvo BZL double-deck and single-deck products.

The only criticism I have with the new Enviro400EV design, they should feature the rear wrap window at the upper deck, as seen from the City bodywork. If Alexander Dennis included that to their new Enviro400EV, then it would have been a perfect touch to their new double-deck design.

You can read more about the new Enviro400EV and Enviro100EV products on the brochure & specifications page of Alexander Dennis website. Hopefully we’ll see them in a demonstration service in due course.

Bus designs should be creative to make services attractive

I expect bus manufacturers based in the UK named Mellor, Switch Mobility, Wrightbus etc. to unveil their new double-deck designs for their zero emission products later this year (2023).

In the recent years, bus operators and transport authorities have been creative by providing high-spec interiors for bus services in various areas of England and elsewhere, one example is from Liverpool City Region’s new double-deck hydrogen buses, which uses Alexander Dennis’ City bodywork inspired by the New Routemaster.

As mentioned on my previous article; I believe there should be reform to the bus procurement process by allowing the general public, Transport for London (TfL) in collaboration with bus operators and bus manufacturers to be more creative on how the fleet of buses should be designed to make it more attractive and exciting to the London Bus routes serving their local area.

My idea extends to the bodywork of the bus, as they should be creative on having various range of shapes and styles to enable bus operators and transport authorities to make their bus services attractive and to deliver street presence. It’s time for bus manufacturing to progress from conventional and make their products more modular to enable tailor-made designs of zero-emission buses. And yes, the term modular is used by electric vehicle manufacturer named Arrival as they have their own single-deck electric bus.

I’m not saying one area/region should have the entire bus fleet served with buses of the same design because it would be boring for transport enthusiasts by seeing the same designed bus, I do prefer to see different style of buses for various local areas in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere, which makes it easier for passengers to identify their bus service by the shape of the bus.

My idea is not exclusive to London, I’d like to see Local Transport Authorities and other Transport bodies in England and elsewhere to take my ideas on board and work in collaboration with bus manufacturers to deliver new exciting bus designs to attract people to travel by bus.

I’m not suggesting TfL should relaunch the New Routemaster project; as I’ve said in my previous article, the concept of the ‘successor’ is obsolete, as bus manufacturers have already adopted the DNA of the New Routemaster to their double-deck designs, such as the new Enviro400EV as mentioned above.

From my previous articles, I’ve quoted freedom of information requests and comments from the Central London Bus Review consultation results which revealed many people prefer the New Routemaster and would like to see more routes using these buses. 

Here’s the links to the previous articles:

Freedom of Information Requests Published By TfL Show Criticisms Of The New High-Spec Electric Buses Used On Routes 63 & U5, And The Design Of Wrightbus’ Electroliner Demonstrator and Hydroliners

Reviewing TfL’s Freedom of Information Releases: Upcoming London Bus Projects, New Routemaster Refurbishment, Further Comments about High-Spec Electric Buses and More…

TfL Publishes Consultation Outcome For Central London Bus Review With The Majority Of Routes Retained, But Some Restructured!

If you’re interested in learning more about the New Routemaster project, you can read from my previous article titled ‘It’s been 10 years since the New Routemaster entered service – from a rear platform bus with conductor, to a three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus’.

At present, Transport for London (TfL) in collaboration with bus operator Go-Ahead London, are expected to launch the ‘Irizar Ie Tram’ single-deck electric buses with high-spec interiors to passenger service on route 358 in due course. The reason they chose the ‘tram’ design is to make the bus service attractive for passengers to use the service.

The reason I write creative suggestions is to help improve public transport in London and elsewhere including abroad. I know not everyone may agree with me on my idea because it could increase the cost of new zero-emission buses for bus operators and transport authorities, which might spark a bit of a controversy.

Zero-emission buses could attract millions of people to travel by bus

To wrap up the article, I’ll briefly quote the news release by Go-Ahead Group:

Buses powered by electric or hydrogen batteries could lure millions of additional passengers onto public transport according to new research into public attitudes towards travel.

Research by ComRes for Go-Ahead’s Zero Emission Centre of Excellence has found that only 26% of the public view bus travel as a ‘green’ form of transport – on a par with rail travel, but well below the number who view cycling or walking as ‘green’.

However, if they are specifically told that a bus they are catching is powered by an electric or hydrogen fuel cell battery, the proportion who view it as a green form of transport rockets to 81%.

Contrary to received wisdom in the public transport industry that ‘green’ buses don’t sell any more tickets, 55% of respondents said that they would be more likely to travel by bus if they knew that a zero emission bus was available. This raises the prospect of a significant increase in bus travel as the UK’s 30,000-strong bus fleet transitions from diesel fuel to electric or hydrogen power.

Read more

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