Nottingham City Transport (NCT) will operate an entirely Euro VI-compliant fleet from January 2020 thanks to the completion of a £20m investment in new vehicles in 2019.
10 Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200s have most recently been delivered to the municipal operator. They follow a batch of 67 biogas-fuelled Scania N 280 UDs with ADL Enviro400CBG bodywork. The wholesale upgrade will allow NCT to meet Nottingham City Council’s Clear Air Plan.
Completion of a move to all-Euro VI is particularly significant for 310-bus NCT as it did not own any such vehicles until May 2017.
In total the operator has taken delivery of 120 Scania ADL Enviro400CBGs. 180 other buses – older Enviro200s, Optare Solos and diesel-powered Scania-based double-deckers – are being retrofitted to Euro VI standards by Baumot.
The new Enviro200s are being used on Bridgford Bus routes from West Bridgford to the city centre. They have amenities such as wi-fi, USB charging points and double passenger information screens as part of an NCT trial of the idea.
With the new buses NCT has also seen its average fleet age reduce to 4.5 years. Its oldest bus will be nine years of age.
Commercial and Operations Director David Astill says that offering a quality service with modern buses has contributed to NCT’s success. Customer research has demonstrated that almost 40% of Bridgford Bus users have a car that they could use. Instead, they choose the bus.
