Electric Buses

[Stu]

AG rarely gets NEW vehicles, and quite often if they do, they whisked away to BC, PB or YW in exchange for rubbish, these days tho i rather see new vehicles move to WB as most services i use are WB

If it is some small crumb of comfort, there are 300 brand new buses due to be delivered within the next two years, and all West Midlands garages will be getting their fair share.

The irony will be that BC will be the only garage not to get any!

[Sh4318]

Does the 50 really need to be upgraded again?

It's one of Europe's busiest routes and NXWM's most frequent service, so I'd say so

[Celestial Toymaker]

In Summary in the last 27 years Acocks Green has had:-

B10Bs new in 1996
Solos in 1999
Presidents in 2000
Geminis in 2003 (45xx)
Geminis in 2004 (46xx)
B7RLEs in 2007
Scanias in 2010
B7RLEs in 2012
E200MMCs in 2015

Not bad for a garage that very rarely gets new buses.

Solo's & Presidents were the worst of the worst,
i did also state that when they get new vehicles, they quickly disappear to YW /PB / BC

just saying thats all

[mesub]

The irony will be that BC will be the only garage not to get any!

I mean BC have had new buses nearly every year for a few years now (obviously not with the electrics or hydrogens for previously stated reasons), so I guess it balances it out.

[John Stait]

P

Solo's & Presidents were the worst of the worst,
i did also state that when they get new vehicles, they quickly disappear to YW /PB / BC

just saying thats all

Payback for nicking YWs Lynxes and some Metros in 1994 in exchange for Fleetlines. Never forget 😂😂

[BK63 YWP]

With the deliveries of electric buses starting soon (Tony mentioned it in the Perry Barr thread) will any other garages barring BC and WB (if it is to close?) Getting charging facilities?

[Mike K]

It's one of Europe's busiest routes and NXWM's most frequent service, so I'd say so

The 50 does seem one of the obvious candidates for new electric buses in the not too distant future.

If they were of the E400 City BYD variant that YW already has however, would capacity (at current frequency) be an issue? They only seat 65, three seats less than the Wright B5LH hybrids which were moved off the 61/63 due to overcrowding, and 8 less than a diesel Platinum. That's a loss of 96 seats per hour on the 50, which has a similar frequency to the combined 61/63, and handles significant passenger numbers. 

I believe the Wright Electroliners have a greater capacity. Perhaps these would be more suitable candidates. 

[Jack6101]

The 50 does seem one of the obvious candidates for new electric buses in the not too distant future.

If they were of the E400 City BYD variant that YW already has however, would capacity (at current frequency) be an issue? They only seat 65, three seats less than the Wright B5LH hybrids which were moved off the 61/63 due to overcrowding, and 8 less than a diesel Platinum. That's a loss of 96 seats per hour on the 50, which has a similar frequency to the combined 61/63, and handles significant passenger numbers.

I believe the Wright Electroliners have a greater capacity. Perhaps these would be more suitable candidates.

There is also the new E400 Ev (new look/model )that's was revealed today 

[Stu]

The 50 does seem one of the obvious candidates for new electric buses in the not too distant future.

If they were of the E400 City BYD variant that YW already has however, would capacity (at current frequency) be an issue? They only seat 65, three seats less than the Wright B5LH hybrids which were moved off the 61/63 due to overcrowding, and 8 less than a diesel Platinum. That's a loss of 96 seats per hour on the 50, which has a similar frequency to the combined 61/63, and handles significant passenger numbers.

I believe the Wright Electroliners have a greater capacity. Perhaps these would be more suitable candidates.

Don't forget that Diamond have recently boosted capacity on the 50 by using double-decks.

[Gareth]

There is also the new E400 Ev (new look/model )that's was revealed today

I'm hoping NX give this one a go! It looks good, higher capacity. Two wheelchair spaces as standard. And it hasn't got that awful headroom at the rear.

[EK40]

The 50 does seem one of the obvious candidates for new electric buses in the not too distant future.

If they were of the E400 City BYD variant that YW already has however, would capacity (at current frequency) be an issue? They only seat 65, three seats less than the Wright B5LH hybrids which were moved off the 61/63 due to overcrowding, and 8 less than a diesel Platinum. That's a loss of 96 seats per hour on the 50, which has a similar frequency to the combined 61/63, and handles significant passenger numbers.

I believe the Wright Electroliners have a greater capacity. Perhaps these would be more suitable candidates.

electroliners have the exact same layout and capacity as the streetdecks iirc so a total capacity of 100 to 96 (75-83 seated)

[Steve3229vp]

The 50 does seem one of the obvious candidates for new electric buses in the not too distant future.

If they were of the E400 City BYD variant that YW already has however, would capacity (at current frequency) be an issue? They only seat 65, three seats less than the Wright B5LH hybrids which were moved off the 61/63 due to overcrowding, and 8 less than a diesel Platinum. That's a loss of 96 seats per hour on the 50, which has a similar frequency to the combined 61/63, and handles significant passenger numbers.

I believe the Wright Electroliners have a greater capacity. Perhaps these would be more suitable candidates.

My guess is that Electrics going to YW will go on to the 2, 3 and 18

[Mike K]

I'm hoping NX give this one a go! It looks good, higher capacity. Two wheelchair spaces as standard. And it hasn't got that awful headroom at the rear.

It does look decent on paper, a lot smarter looking than the fugly E400 City body too. I do think greater capacity will be needed on many of the 5 min frequency main corridors into Birmingham as and when they eventually are upgraded to electric buses, and that the BYD vehicles would struggle. 

[BK63 YWP]

My guess is that Electrics going to YW will go on to the 2, 3 and 18

Would the first 170 electrics to enter service be enough to cover all Birmingham main corridor services ran by PB and YW? If YW and PB will be the only garages getting the electric buses first (not confirmed) 

[Stu]

Would the first 170 electrics to enter service be enough to cover all Birmingham main corridor services ran by PB and YW? If YW and PB will be the only garages getting the electric buses first (not confirmed)

Probably not, but that's not the main intention.

As previously stated, the first aim will be to withdraw any remaining non-Euro6 vehicles, so I'd expect to see some E400s and E400MMCs heading off elsewhere first.

The second aim will be to start reducing the number of single decks by withdrawing Scania OmniLinks, which both YW and PB have far too many of!

I would expect incoming EVs to go onto the Sutton Lines at PB and the 6 and 50 at YW. At YW this would allow E400MMCs to replace OmniLinks currently being used on the 2, 3, and 76. Likewise at PB, where the excess number of OmniLinks can start to be dwindled down.

Don't forget the E400MMC Platinums still have a fair few years of life left in them. And equally until a buying decision is made on zero-emission single decks, I could see some of the E200s and Eclipse 2s being moved around to replace other OmniLinks elsewhere.