Hybrid v conventional diesel - interesting reading

[BK63 YWP]

Are NX going to purchase more euro 6 vehicles in 2018/19 on top of the green funded buses due to the emissions targets to hit Wolverhampton and Solihull within the next year?

I have a feeling that the hydrogen buses will be ADL

[Stevo]

A lot of what constitutes a good bus vs a bad bus is down to opinion, but on the subject of hybrids you can't really argue with the facts in that presentation. Battery degradation and worsening fuel economy are not good on a bus which cost a huge premium in the first place. And whilst the reliability graph is up and down, overall the trend is poor - from what I've gathered on here 5402, 5403 and 5409 have or are all spending lengthy spells off the road.

If you read up you can find stories of Stagecoach Sheffield and Manchester E400Hs which don't paint them in a very good light. Apparently Lothian's haven't been great either - the first and last ADL buses they've bought in a long while.

All in all, an expensive mistake, although fortunately subsidised. Hopefully the new MMCs, which don't have a battery, will be more reliable.

(I would love to see some Platinum Wright Volvo B5TLs though).

Though Optare hybrids have super capacitors like the new smart hybrids and they've been even less reliable.

[Eric Shaw]

A very interesting article, I hope the new vehicles have the six cylinder engines, the super capacitors will only add power while starting off and won't help on long hills. The Diamond Optare Versa hybrids were very slow up Meriden Hill when used on the 82 and if they had super capacitors that was probably the reason. The best new vehicles I have travelled on recently were the Alexander bodied Volvo hybrids of Stagecoach in Dundee, the seating layout on the lower deck was far better than that on the NXWM Gemini hybrids.