DANIEL STAZICKER describes the tri-axle Enviro500 doubledeckers that Alexander Dennis has designed and built in British factories for two quite different Swiss operators, and the routes on which they provide passengers with the comfort of a seat as well as a view of some spectacular scenery
Switzerland, the mountainous, landlocked country in central Europe known for fine chocolate, Swiss Army knives, luxury watches, performance engineering and the Alps has become an exciting new export market for Alexander Dennis over the past five years.
The UK’s largest bus manufacturer has developed bespoke versions of the tri-axle Enviro500 to meet niche requirements of two major operators, the national PostAuto company which runs bus services throughout the country and the TL fleet in the western city of Lausanne.
Their combined orders for 32 vehicles have given it a bridgehead into the European market where it has long had aspirations to be active and where it has hopes of converting other operators to the benefits of high-capacity double-deckers in which most passengers have the comfort of a seat on longer journeys.
PostAuto and its contractors run close to 2,500 yellow buses on over 900 routes which in normal p…
