A single-deck demonstrator is embarking on a year’s tour of four English cities, offering the Swedish giant’s solution to their concerns about air quality. ALAN MILLAR explains why it believes it can convince
Volvo may not be first manufacturer to offer electric buses in the UK, and its means of charging them may not be what operators’ instinct suggests is the way they want to go, but it has already supplied or taken orders for over 160 of them across Europe and is convinced it will win out in the end.
Asked what they want of an electric bus, UK operators will most likely say it is one they can charge up in one go overnight and send out into service to work a full shift as if it was a diesel being filled with a tankful of fuel.
That is the principle behind the BYD/ Alexander Dennis joint venture, which has taken orders for over 170 vehicles — mainly in London — in addition to 20 complete Chinese-built BYDs ordered before the two manufacturers sealed their deal. It also is the aspiration of Optare, with electric drivelines installed in its lightweight integral structures.
This arrangement appeals to Transport for London, which prefers the charging infrastructure to be hidden out of public view and insta…
