Stagecoach orders 402 electric buses from Alexander Dennis and Yutong

[DaveHarries]

Midlands' Yutongs (ZEBRA 2 batch of 27) are the other way round - 25 E12s and 2 E10s.

Regarding the Midlands ones I don't know if Nuneaton and Leamington have all of their electrics as yet but I took a walk past Rugby depot on Wednesday and was able to see a Yutong in there. I didn't go in (I am not an employee) but someone who is an employee went and got the registration for me: I was told that the first 4 Yutongs had very recently arrived and that the one I could see was YK74 PKY which BLOTW has as being 73041.

Dave

 

[Energy]

Regarding the Midlands ones I don't know if Nuneaton and Leamington have all of their electrics as yet but I took a walk past Rugby depot on Wednesday and was able to see a Yutong in there. I didn't go in (I am not an employee) but someone who is an employee went and got the registration for me: I was told that the first 4 Yutongs had very recently arrived and that the one I could see was YK74 PKY which BLOTW has as being 73041.

Dave

Correct, some Yutongs* and E400EVs are at Leamington. A few E400EVs have entered service.

*I mean E12s, they’ve had a London spec National Grid branded E10 for a while.

 

[voidwxrranty]

Regarding the Midlands ones I don't know if Nuneaton and Leamington have all of their electrics as yet but I took a walk past Rugby depot on Wednesday and was able to see a Yutong in there. I didn't go in (I am not an employee) but someone who is an employee went and got the registration for me: I was told that the first 4 Yutongs had very recently arrived and that the one I could see was YK74 PKY which BLOTW has as being 73041.

Dave

4 are at Western’s Kilmarnock depot.

 

[Sheldonian]

As of the weekent, about 15 or 16 of the 31 E400EVs are in service at Leamington now.
The Yutongs have yet to arrive at either Nuneaton or Leamington, bar the odd one or two on training duties. There are a lot of these stored at Corby.

 

[Edvid]

Stagecoach South West ZEBRA 2 specific depot allocations (90 buses overall) are confirmed as follows:

Exeter - 20 Volvo BZLs
Barnstaple - 14 ADL E400EVs, 7 ADL E100EVs
Torbay - 34 ADL E400EVs, 12 Yutong E10s, 3 ADL E100EVs

Note the E10 order replaces the previous order for an identical number of E200EVs. Remains to be seen if this change is specific to the OpCo or - more worryingly for ADL - the group, for which 54 E200EVs were originally announced.

Stagecoach South West electrification starts as orders confirmed - routeone

Stagecoach South West will receive battery-electric buses from Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Yutong as part of electrification work.

www.route-one.net

 

[Energy]

Note the E10 order replaces the previous order for an identical number of E200EVs. Remains to be seen if this change is specific to the OpCo or - more worryingly for ADL - the group, for which 54 E200EVs were originally announced.

Stagecoach South West electrification starts as orders confirmed - routeone

Stagecoach South West will receive battery-electric buses from Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Yutong as part of electrification work.

www.route-one.net

I'd imagine delivery times. ADL is yet to deliver any E200EVs so I wouldn't be suprised if Stagecoach has had to swap around orders between depots to match the timescales required for ZEBRA2 funding.

Stagecoach has had to order single-decker Yutongs elsewhere (e.g. Warwickshire) since ADL doesn't have an electric single-decker product available in time.

 

[Bornin1980s]

Stagecoach South West ZEBRA 2 specific depot allocations (90 buses overall) are confirmed as follows:

Exeter - 20 Volvo BZLs
Barnstaple - 14 ADL E400EVs, 7 ADL E100EVs
Torbay - 34 ADL E400EVs, 12 Yutong E10s, 3 ADL E100EVs

Note the E10 order replaces the previous order for an identical number of E200EVs. Remains to be seen if this change is specific to the OpCo or - more worryingly for ADL - the group, for which 54 E200EVs were originally announced.

Stagecoach South West electrification starts as orders confirmed - routeone

Stagecoach South West will receive battery-electric buses from Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Yutong as part of electrification work.

www.route-one.net

I'd imagine delivery times. ADL is yet to deliver any E200EVs so I wouldn't be suprised if Stagecoach has had to swap around orders between depots to match the timescales required for ZEBRA2 funding.

Stagecoach has had to order single-decker Yutongs elsewhere (e.g. Warwickshire) since ADL doesn't have an electric single-decker product available in time.

Definitely a disappointment for ADL, time was when Stagecoach was the unflinchingly loyal Alexander customer. Indeed, it seems they brought ADL close to national champion status, perhaps leading to some of the same temptations which ultimately helped bring down Leyland bus. I noticed Stagecoach have still largely stuck to ADL for double-decker orders, but it looks to me like ADL produced a kind of one size fits all single decker too late. A sad thing, as up until now entire local Stagecoach fleets have been British at least from the chassis up.

As for the Exeter Volvos, it looks like the low bridge at Tan Lane, which the slightly lower Volvos were specifically ordered for, has been lowered again to 3.1 m, too low even for the Volvos. I guess the Volvos will be reallocated to other routes now, unless with clearance at Tan Lane can be improved again.

 

[padbus]

As for the Exeter Volvos, it looks like the low bridge at Tan Lane, which the slightly lower Volvos were specifically ordered for, has been lowered again to 3.1 m, too low even for the Volvos. I guess the Volvos will be reallocated to other routes now, unless with clearance at Tan Lane can be improved again.

Perhaps the road can be lowered a bit. Has there been any work done on installing the electric infrastructure at Matford depot?

 

[Bornin1980s]

Perhaps the road can be lowered a bit. Has there been any work done on installing the electric infrastructure at Matford depot?

There was some digging at the depot when I was last there, about a month ago.

 

[henryb]

There was some digging at the depot when I was last there, about a month ago.

Full works have begun

 

[JasonL]

How many has been ordered for Gillmoss in Liverpool?

 

[citybus2500]

I'd imagine delivery times. ADL is yet to deliver any E200EVs so I wouldn't be suprised if Stagecoach has had to swap around orders between depots to match the timescales required for ZEBRA2 funding.

Stagecoach has had to order single-decker Yutongs elsewhere (e.g. Warwickshire) since ADL doesn't have an electric single-decker product available in time.

It is indeed delivery times. ADL won't meet the agreed dates so the orders for all 4 batches of E200EV have gone to Yutong.

That leaves the only order for E200EV for Falcon Buses.

 

[gka472l]

How many has been ordered for Gillmoss in Liverpool?

58 E400EV's on order, but will be owned by Liverpool City Region, several complete at ADL Falkirk a few weeks back....

 

[Snex]

Definitely a disappointment for ADL, time was when Stagecoach was the unflinchingly loyal Alexander customer. Indeed, it seems they brought ADL close to national champion status, perhaps leading to some of the same temptations which ultimately helped bring down Leyland bus. I noticed Stagecoach have still largely stuck to ADL for double-decker orders, but it looks to me like ADL produced a kind of one size fits all single decker too late. A sad thing, as up until now entire local Stagecoach fleets have been British at least from the chassis up.

To be fair that was more likely because Brian Souter had ownership in both ADL and Stagecoach more than anything else.

 

[Energy]

I noticed Stagecoach have still largely stuck to ADL for double-decker orders, but it looks to me like ADL produced a kind of one size fits all single decker too late.

They went for some Volvo BZLs when the E400EV integral wasn’t available.

ADL severed the BYD partnership before it had replacements ready. While the E400EV came soon enough it’s really cost them with the E200EV delay.

It is indeed delivery times. ADL won't meet the agreed dates so the orders for all 4 batches of E200EV have gone to Yutong.

That leaves the only order for E200EV for Falcon Buses.

Quite a blow to ADL. It’ll be interesting how Falcon get on with spare parts

 

[Bornin1980s]

Couldn't ADL have, you know offered bodies on other chassis, like the BZL? Also, why do Stagecoach so actively avoid Wright products (except in franchised operations)?

 

[Busoccultation]

Couldn't ADL have, you know offered bodies on other chassis, like the BZL? Also, why do Stagecoach so actively avoid Wright products (except in franchised operations)?

I wouldn't say Stagecoach avoided Wright products, yes London is regulated but they have over 100 Streetdeck Electoliners either in service or on order and London orders are all chosen by Stagecoach themselves so there is no TfL involvement in any London orders unlike in Manchester where TfGM are involved with a lot of new buses for the Bee Network hence the 8 diesel Streedecks at Stockport that was given by TfGM.

 

[Steve440]

Couldn't ADL have, you know offered bodies on other chassis, like the BZL? Also, why do Stagecoach so actively avoid Wright products (except in franchised operations)?

Historically because Souter had a major shareholding in Alexander Dennis I think Stagecoach have largely stuck with what they know.

 

[JasonL]

I wouldn't say Stagecoach avoided Wright products, yes London is regulated but they have over 100 Streetdeck Electoliners either in service or on order and London orders are all chosen by Stagecoach themselves so there is no TfL involvement in any London orders unlike in Manchester where TfGM are involved with a lot of new buses for the Bee Network hence the 8 diesel Streedecks at Stockport that was given by TfGM.

Wasn't those 8 StreetDecks rejected by Metroline or something?

 

[PG]

Couldn't ADL have, you know offered bodies on other chassis, like the BZL?

I'm sure that they could have but, at the moment, have made a commercial decision not to. Maybe they will review this or maybe suffer the same fate as Leyland, who knows...

 

[citybus2500]

Wasn't those 8 StreetDecks rejected by Metroline or something?

Nonsense

I'm sure that they could have but, at the moment, have made a commercial decision not to. Maybe they will review this or maybe suffer the same fate as Leyland, who knows...

What makes you think Volvo would want to supply the chassis to ADL?

 

[PG]

What makes you think Volvo would want to supply the chassis to ADL?

I have no idea if Volvo, or any other chassis manufacturer, would or wouldn't want to supply chassis to ADL.

 

[317 forever]

Wasn't those 8 StreetDecks rejected by Metroline or something?

I think they were earmarked for route 330 but the route transferred to Stagecoach at Stockport rather than operating with Metroline at Ashton.

I hope that there are Yutongs on Leamington/Nuneaton routes in time to ride one on such a route during the summer.

 

[JD2168]

Chesterfield’s new E400 EV’s have started in service this week, currently mixed in with the diesel’s on the usual decker routes. Here is a couple of pictures I managed to get on Thursday

 

[WarrenT]

i notice theyre in the local livery as opposed to the new one, is there any news on the new livery ie. are they actually going to continue applying it?

 

[SnapperHappy24]

i notice theyre in the local livery as opposed to the new one, is there any news on the new livery ie. are they actually going to continue applying it?

The new Steel Blue livery is the new corporate livery. These buses would have been ordered before the livery was officially changed hence their delivery in Local.