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Two London routes to get electric double deckers

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Mikey C

Mikey C

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https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/london-to-have-europes-largest-electric-bus-fleet
The brand new buses are being manufactured by both a Chinese/British partnership between BYD/Alexander Dennis Limited and British company Optare.

*Route 43 runs from Friern Barnet to London Bridge Station

*Route 134 runs North Finchley bus station to Tottenham Court Road
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68 buses will be acquired for routes 43 and 134, so a significant step up in distance from the red arrow routes. Interesting that the order has been split between 2 manufacturers too, a good boost for Optare.
 
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Teflon Lettuce

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Mikey C said:
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/london-to-have-europes-largest-electric-bus-fleet
The brand new buses are being manufactured by both a Chinese/British partnership between BYD/Alexander Dennis Limited and British company Optare.

*Route 43 runs from Friern Barnet to London Bridge Station

*Route 134 runs North Finchley bus station to Tottenham Court Road​

68 buses will be acquired for routes 43 and 134, so a significant step up in distance from the red arrow routes. Interesting that the order has been split between 2 manufacturers too, a good boost for Optare.
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not that it's not without precedent... when London Buses first ordered low floor buses the order was split between 2 manufacturers... truth is, even all these years on, the memory of the nightmare that was the MB/SM and DMS classes is still fresh in the minds of those who make these decisions.
 
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Robertj21a

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Good to see electric double deckers ordered in significant numbers. A turning point ?
 
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radamfi

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Does anyone know anything about the technology/practicalities involved here? Is there going to be end of route charging? Will buses need to go back to the depot after a few trips for a quick top up charge? 2 or 3 axles?
 
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Volvodart

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radamfi said:
Does anyone know anything about the technology/practicalities involved here? Is there going to be end of route charging? Will buses need to go back to the depot after a few trips for a quick top up charge? 2 or 3 axles?
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https://www.alexander-dennis.com/ne...first-order-for-pure-electric-double-deckers/

They will use BYD’s Iron-Phosphate battery technology which enables the buses to run all day on a single charge using cost effective off-peak electricity.
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Mikey C

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Teflon Lettuce said:
not that it's not without precedent... when London Buses first ordered low floor buses the order was split between 2 manufacturers... truth is, even all these years on, the memory of the nightmare that was the MB/SM and DMS classes is still fresh in the minds of those who make these decisions.
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37 will be supplied by ADL/BYD, so that leaves Optare with 31 Electric Metrodekkers. Interesting that the electric Metrodekker has outsold the diesel version!

https://www.alexander-dennis.com/ne...first-order-for-pure-electric-double-deckers/

enviro400ev.jpg
 
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radamfi

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How can they go a whole day on a single chargewhen fully electric artics running in other countries need to be recharged during the day? Surely it is even harder for a double decker to run all day compared to an artic because weight is so much more restricted for a double decker, meaning less weight available for batteries? Unless they are going to be tri-axle?
 
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spuddie

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May be improvements in battery technology, but I am wondering how the London stop start traffic will effect them too. As surely the constant pulling off will cause the battery to drain quicker and they may not build up enough speed for the braking to recharge the batteries.
 
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Hophead

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Given the heavy peak requirement in London, I doubt that many buses would actually need to be on the road all day.
 
Busaholic

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Hophead said:
Given the heavy peak requirement in London, I doubt that many buses would actually need to be on the road all day.
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That's probably less true now than has ever been the case! The Red Arrow routes 507 and 521 which were the recipients of the BYD electric single deckers a couple of years ago are the main exceptions to the trend of peak and interpeak headways being virtually identical on most routes nowadays.
 
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Antman

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Apparently these buses will be able to run all day without recharging.
 
Wirewiper

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The new contracts for both routes commence on 2nd February 2019, existing fleet vehicles (although not necessarily the ones currently in use) will be used until the electric buses are available for service.

Route 134 will transfer from Potters Bar (PB) to Holloway (HT) at, or possibly before, the start date of the new contract.

The 37 BYD / ADL Enviro400 EV City are nominally for route 43 which will have a PVR of 32, same as present. The 31 Optare Metrodecker EV are nominally for route 134 which will have a PVR of 27, one less than present.

(Source: 180623 Bus News on London's Transport Yahoo Group).

It has been suggested elsewhere that route 168 will move from HT to W (Cricklewood) to make room at HT for the 134 to return, and there will undoubtedly be other associated route reshuffles.
 
Mojo

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radamfi said:
How can they go a whole day on a single chargewhen fully electric artics running in other countries need to be recharged during the day? Surely it is even harder for a double decker to run all day compared to an artic because weight is so much more restricted for a double decker, meaning less weight available for batteries? Unless they are going to be tri-axle?
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This doesn’t appear to be a problem for the BYD double deckers on the 98 (which run as part of a shared fleet with normal buses) nor on the BYD&ADL single deck buses that run on the 153, 360 and the Red Arrows. These are all two axle and stay in service all day long.
 
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radamfi

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Mojo said:
This doesn’t appear to be a problem for the BYD double deckers on the 98 (which run as part of a shared fleet with normal buses) nor on the BYD&ADL single deck buses that run on the 153, 360 and the Red Arrows. These are all two axle and stay in service all day long.
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Don't the single decks have lower capacity than regular single decks? Also, they use a separate diesel heater.
 
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