Alexander Dennis has delivered the first example of its in-house battery-electric bus range to a UK customer with the arrival of an Enviro400EV with Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.
The bus is the first of 55 for the operator that are part-funded by a successful bid by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to the first round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. It carries a new green and blue-based livery with Electro branding.
All of the buses will be used on urban services in Oxford as part of work to fully electrify local bus routes operated in the city’s Smart Zone. That work is a partnership with OCC and Go-Ahead Group subsidiary Oxford Bus Company.
Service entry of the Enviro400EV fleet will come later in the spring when infrastructure installation is complete, although driver training on the type will begin shortly. Each bus will be 11.1m long and 4.2m high, and seat 69 passengers with an overall capacity of 83.
Two wheelchair user spaces will be provided along with high-backed seats including USB-A and USB-C charging points. With 472kWh of energy storage, the Enviro400EV was recently certified by Zemo Partnership as the most energy efficient battery-electric double-decker on the market.
Speaking about arrival of the first bus, Stagecoach Chief Operating Officer Sam Greer says: “With a network that spans the UK, the incorporation of the new Enviro400EVs into our fleet in Oxfordshire reaffirms our commitment to our customers’ experience.
“Being the first operator to receive these next-generation buses brings us a step closer to realising our goal of being fully net-zero and we will continue to build on our work to tackle climate change and become more energy efficient.”
Adds Alexander Dennis President and Managing Director Paul Davies: “The delivery of our first next-generation electric bus in the UK is a milestone in the rollout of our new product range, and we are delighted to be marking this moment with our launch customer Stagecoach.
“These buses will be driving value through efficiency with class-leading energy consumption as well as through their futureproof battery system, which is designed to last a 20-year life of a double-deck bus in provincial operation with just one change of batteries.
“We are grateful for Stagecoach’s trust in us and for its support as we continue to develop our range of next-generation zero-emission vehicles.”
Alexander Dennis has already supplied the next-generation Enviro500EV in Hong Kong, while UK orders are in hand for its small Enviro100EV single-decker. A larger Enviro200EV single-deck will follow later, the manufacturer previously confirmed.
