Dumfries and Galloway Council has ordered three Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV battery-electric small buses.
They are due to join the local authority’s in-house DGC Buses operation in 2026 and are expected to be incorporated into the SWestrans fleet, forming part of the subsidised local bus network managed by that regional transport partnership.
Purchase of the Enviro100EV fleet is part of a £13.8 million award from the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund to support improvements to active and sustainable transport across Dumfries and Galloway.
That work also includes development of nine multimodal transport hubs, enhancements to local cycling infrastructure, introduction of real-time passenger information, and other improvements to bus services.
The three examples for Dumfries and Galloway Council will be the first Enviro100EV buses to be built with three-point belts at all forward-facing seats as well as bike racks to support multimodal travel. They will suit both urban and rural services, giving the local authority flexibility to deploy them as needed.
Described as a “big small bus” by the manufacturer, the Enviro100EV is 8.5m long and 2.35m wide and provides 26 seats in a spacious interior. Those for Dumfries and Galloway will each have 354kWh of battery capacity, with drive taken via the Voith Electrical Drive System.
Says Alexander Dennis Retail Sales Director Charlie Miller: “We are delighted to have won this order for our Enviro100EV ‘big small bus’.
“We started talking to Dumfries and Galloway Council last autumn about its requirements. It loved the product and concept and we worked together to come up with a fantastic specification that ticks all our customer’s boxes.
“Our demonstrator has already been tested in the council’s operation and the feedback from drivers, engineering and office staff was excellent – and so was its performance, giving Dumfries and Galloway Council peace of mind that its new electric buses will deliver perfectly.”
