The Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV proved to be what Go-Coach Engineering Director Austin Blackburn says is “a highly capable performer” on both urban and rural routes during a two-week visit of a demonstrator to the Kent independent operator.
Go-Coach utilised the small bus in the same way it would any other in its fleet. Mr Blackburn notes how drivers were taken from Enviro200 diesels and put “straight onto the Enviro100EV, because you can seamlessly jump across without necessarily having to retrain people.”
Driving the battery-electric is simple and Mr Blackburn observes how the cab is a good size despite the Enviro100EV’s compact dimensions.
Key to the success of the trial was the 354kWh of energy storage on the vehicle, which is the highest battery capacity in a bus in its segment in the UK and Ireland.
Alexander Dennis National Account Manager Shaun Millar adds how the AD Connect telematics platform showed the demonstrator to deliver an average real-world energy consumption of 0.64kWh per kilometre when with Go-Coach.
“Range is amazing,” Mr Blackburn continues. “If you are on rural services like we are, you know you can do anything, any day. It really gave us the confidence that it can do anything we do with a diesel bus, even in winter.”
He adds that passengers also took well to the Enviro100EV and that the maintenance aspect of the model equally drew favour.
“Under the surface, it looks like any other Alexander Dennis product – you look under the back, and you could be under a classic Enviro200. For engineers, that means it is a familiar product which is Alexander Dennis through and through.
“Altogether, whether it was our engineers, our drivers or our passengers, everyone came away really impressed with the Enviro100EV. It feels like a gamechanger in that it looks like a normal bus, but is electric!”
Mr Millar has thanked Mr Blackburn and Go-Coach for trialling the Enviro100EV. “The feedback from Austin and his team on their experience with our demonstrator has been hugely appreciated, helping us to understand the real-world performance of our ‘big small bus’ and how to further refine it.”
He credits the low energy consumption to the Voith Electrical Drive System package and the bus’s energy storage and management system.
“The trial at Go-Coach confirmed the Enviro100EV as a highly capable performer for town services as well as rural routes, where it easily covers a full day’s work with energy to spare.”
