Whippet is to take delivery of nine Mellor Sigma 12 battery-electric single-deckers for the high-profile Universal service in Cambridge. The buses will enter service in July 2023 with the commencement of a new contract for the route by the Ascendal Group subsidiary.
The buses will be fitted with axle-mounted guidewheels to enable their use on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway following work between Mellor and ZF to enable that addition.
Universal is already operated under contract to the University of Cambridge by Whippet and it has seen growth in patronage to 18,000 users per week.
Zero-emission was not a condition of the latest tender issued by the University, “but it was encouraged,” says Ascendal Group Business Development Director Jonathan Ziebart (pictured, left). Whippet made dual submissions based on both diesel and battery-electric.
“This conversion will bring the latest technology into an environment that values it,” adds Mr Ziebart. The Sigma 12 fleet will have safety fittings including rear-view cameras and cyclist and pedestrian detection. Those will take account of Cambridge’s congested urban centre and the high number of cyclists within it.
Mr Ziebart explains that electrification by Whippet of the Universal service “will be a flagship” for Ascendal, adding that much work has been carried out with Mellor to ensure that the specification of the buses meets the requirements of the route.
Notably, Mellor had to satisfy electromagnetic interference limits with the Sigma 12. That is because the Universal service passes buildings in Cambridge that contain equipment that is highly sensitive to such interference.
Ascendal says that it is keen to invest further in the Whippet business. Electrification work at its depot will include capacity for more battery-electric buses than the nine Sigma 12s and Mr Ziebart explains that potential may exist for smaller members of the Sigma range on other Whippet duties later.
At the same time as revealing the order from Whippet, Mellor also shared technical details of the Sigma 12 and the slightly shorter 11m Sigma 11. Each model has 420kW/h of battery storage, which Mellor says in the Sigma 12 will deliver a range of 300 miles. Air-conditioning is fitted, while the Sigma 12 will deliver 44 seats with room for 26 standees.
Further variants have recently been added to the Sigma range, including a high-floor variant of the smallest Sigma 7 model that Mellor expects will appeal to local authorities. Some are already sold to those customers.
