Alexander Dennis has completed a two-week demonstration of its Enviro100EV ‘big small bus’ with operator Go-Coach.
The vehicle was used in trials that Alexander Dennis have stated saw the vehicles used ‘like any other bus in the fleet’.
Engineering Director, Austin Blackburn,Go-Coach, said:We took drivers out of Enviro200 diesels and put them straight on the Enviro100EV because you can seamlessly jump across without necessarily having to retrain people. It works like any normal bus; you just drive it. Even though the bus is narrower, the cab feels bigger!
The Enviro100EV is powered by a Voith Electrical Drive System and is capable of providing energy from a series of 354kWh batteries.
Passengers commented on the test drives, stating that the vehicle was ‘comfortable with easily accessible seats’.
Shaun Millar, National Account Manager, Alexander Dennis, said:The feedback from Austin and his team on their experience with our demonstrator has been hugely appreciated, helping us to understand the real-world performance of our ‘big small bus’ and how to further refine it.
We were able to follow the trial with our live AD Connect telematics, noting an excellent 0.64kWh/km energy consumption over Go-Coach’s routes that is testament to the efficiency of the Voith driveline and our entire energy storage and management system.
The trial at Go-Coach confirms the Enviro100EV as a highly capable performer for town services as well as more rural routes, where it easily covers a full day’s work with energy to spare.
