Do they return better fuel economy than straight diesel buses of that time period?
Would airport car park shuttle operators be interested in them? I've noticed at least one such operator at Edinburgh uses older vehicles though I'm not sure when they would typically replace them.
Car Park Shuttles are slowly going Electric as that’s by far the best option for them, often vehicles hired in can prove value for money. It could be an option for a smaller Airport, but again the Enviro200 appears to be be preferred option for many.
The problem is that the 7900 is designed really as a city bus, of which the market is probably not as high as it once was due to the rise of Electric buses. I believe less than 100 of the original design were built so I’d be very surprised if none got cannibalised when they’re withdrawn by Lothian. They’re not bad at rural work, but better second hand options are out there, such as Citaros and Eclipse2’s; the latter of which is a very versatile all round bus. The only thing that works in the 7900’s favour is that they’re Euro 6, but does that necessarily make them a more attractive option than say a Euro 5 Eclipse2? Probably not. You’re likely better buying the Eclipse2 and converting it to Euro 6.
When Lothian bought the 7900’s, they had access to Volvo’s parts/customer care included in the deal, as with pretty much any new bus order. Generally speaking when a bus is sold on that access is no longer there as it’s then second hand, as the new owner does not have a contract in place with the manufacturer, unless of course they already have a contract if say they already operated that vehicle type. This is less of an issue with buses that were built in mass numbers that are out of production as usually the manufacturer will keep making the parts for some years after, but it can be a big problem with buses that were not built in many numbers that are now out of production. The 7900 was a big hit in the continent though so I don’t think that will be an issue just yet, albeit any UK only parts will start to dry up eventually, and brexit would play a part in that too. Now it may be that there is a lifetime contract with the 7900’s that is included in any sale, but I’m not sure if that’s the case. I doubt it would be.
As for fuel economy I have no idea, you’d likely have to see if Volvo have anything listed on their website.
