Alexander Dennis has taken full ownership of the plant in Las Vegas that builds Enviro500 tri-axle double-deck buses for the North American market.
Big Rig Manufacturing established the facility through its partnership with Alexander Dennis, but the NFI Group subsidiary has confirmed it now has full ownership and direct operation of the factory through Alexander Dennis Inc, which is its legal entity in the United States.
To that end, the builder has celebrated the official opening of the plant and in doing so handed over the first of two of 10 Enviro500 buses to local customer the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Southern Nevada, which serves Las Vegas and is a long-time buyer of the type.
Production is currently one bus per week but that will ramp up to 1.5 per week through 2026, permitting the manufacture of 75 buses per year. Scope exists to further increase capacity at the location, which employs over 115 people.
Alexander Dennis Inc has invested US$15.3 million in the Las Vegas plant. Buses built there are compliant with the Buy America Act, which requires that more than 70% of materials and components are sourced from US-based suppliers.
The RTC buses are 12.9m long and 4.1m tall. They have twin staircases with 51 seats on the upper deck, 22 downstairs with space for two wheelchair users, and an overall capacity of 100 passengers.
Within the RTC Transit fleet already are 40 Enviro500 double-deckers built in 2020 at a former Alexander Dennis facility in the United States. 10 more are on order for 2026 delivery.
Speaking about the new plant, President and Managing Director Paul Davies says: “The opening of our new manufacturing facility secures the future of double-deck bus manufacturing in North America as we build on the Enviro500’s success and respond to growing interest in this high-capacity transit solution.”
He notes that the first double-deck buses from Alexander Dennis and its predecessors were introduced to North America in 2000. Over 1,300 have been built for transit agencies and tour operators on the continent since then.
Alexander Dennis has other North American orders in hand for the Enviro500 range, including for the next-generation battery-electric Enviro500EV.
