Reading Buses began taking delivery of 17 Alexander Dennis Enviro400CBG City-bodied Scania N280UD biogas double-deckers in December. Among those in operation before the end of the year was 712 (YP67 XCG). PHIL HALEWOOD
Volvo was market leader for the first time since 2008, with doubledeck sales up by 40% despite the decline in the overall market. Its B5LH hybrid accounted for 84% of its deliveries and 59% of the total of 890 hybrids sold. Total hybrid sales, 85% of them destined for London, were up by more than a third.
Arriva was Volvo’s biggest customer, taking 225, mostly for TfL routes although it added 51 to its Merseyside fleet. Other London fleets receiving the B5LH were Metroline (119) Go- Ahead (57) Tower Transit (51) and Rotala (36). Outside London, it received repeat orders from Lothian (20) and First Manchester (5).
While most B5LH had Wright bodies, those for Tower Transit and 14 for Go-Ahead had MCV EvoSeti bodies built in Egypt. Seven for Stagecoach’s East Scotland fleet in Dundee were the only ones to have Alexander Dennis bodywork.
Sales of the straight diesel B5TL also rose by nearly 30% although they still accounted for fewer than 20% of all the diesels delivered. Lothian was the big…
