On 2 December 2018, National Express Xplore Dundee put 14 new hi-spec SmartHybrid Alexander Dennis Enviro400s into service in a revised two-tone green livery. Richard Walter attended the official launch of the vehicles and spoke to Managing Director Christine McGlasson to learn more about the new vehicles and imminent service changes
National Express-owned Xplore Dundee has taken delivery of its first new batch of buses since 2013. The SmartHybrid Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 double-deckers (dubbed Emerald) are to be primarily used on Service 22.
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Brighter image
Most noticeable about the vehicles is the introduction of a new revised two-tone green which will stand out dramatically on the streets of Dundee. The majority of the buses have additional yellow added, with route branding for Service 22, while the remaining buses are in generic colours with descriptions and graphics promoting the features passengers can experience on a journey.
In keeping with ADL’s ‘square-case’ design on the Enviro400 range, the interiors of the vehicles are light and airy and boast extra leg room – a point which is highlighted on the exterior of the generic liveried buses. The high back leather trimmed seats have green and grey dotted coverings with grey interior finish, including grab rails. Passengers can stay connected with both free WiFi and USB power points and keep up-to-date on their journeys via audio/visual next stop announcements.
There are no rear windows on either upper or lower decks, however the areas where they would normally have been are covered in panoramic photographic views of various parts of Dundee which gives the interior a brighter feel.
Christine McGlasson, Managing Director of Xplore Dundee, described the features of the new buses which are the equivalent of the Platinum spec used by National Express West Midlands, but with Emerald branding to match the city.
She said: “These Scottish-built vehicles are clean and green and will offer a really high-class travel experience. It’s a £4m investment in Dundee’s buses which is elevating the standard of our whole fleet.
“Mostly for environmental reasons, the vehicles are SmartHybrids and are therefore very positive for the city. They get us ready for Dundee’s Low Emission Zones and our commitment to reducing air pollution in our city. That takes us a good step forward to where we need to be. Around a third of our vehicles can be classed as low emission, with the Euro VI engines on the Emeralds reducing harmful gases by 95%.”
Service 22 and forthcoming service changes in Dundee
The new delivery of buses will mainly be used on the 22 route which serves Ninewells Hospital to Craigowl on an up to eight minute frequency from Monday to Friday, up to every 10 minutes on Saturday and up to every 20 minutes on Sunday. Christine explained: “As the new buses enter service, we will cascade the older buses out of the fleet and then redistribute them across the city, ensuring that everyone will benefit by getting a newer bus on their route.”
Alongside the launch of the new buses, a significant series of network changes will take effect from 13 January 2019. Around 95% of the local population lives within 400m (approximately a five minute walk) of a bus service, most of which are high-frequency corridors running every 10 minutes or better throughout the day.
As throughout the rest of the UK, changing travel patterns mean that services must adapt to meet evolving needs. Over the last eight years, traffic in Dundee has grown more than 8%, with average speeds falling every year too. With the length of time taken to travel along certain roads increasing, it can be difficult to deliver a reliable bus service. Congestion can seriously impact on the punctuality of a service despite the best efforts of drivers.
At 28 miles long, the Outer Circle is the longest urban bus route in Europe and keeping it to time presents a major challenge as it passes through so many congestion hot-spots along the way.
I asked Christine what impact the route changes would make, particularly to the 22. “Under the network changes the 22 doesn’t change at all,” she replied. “It is actually our busiest route.
“We looked at users’ needs and the main drive was making sure we were punctual. While it is amazing to have a nice looking bus to look at, what people really want is for the bus to arrive on time. We needed to do some work on some specific routes where we were struggling due to congestion pinch points. Three routes will be changing slightly as a result, which will hopefully benefit our passengers by moving out of some areas and into others.”
New ticketing equipment
The new buses will be testing state-of-the-art Ticketer equipment to make boarding easier, and tickets more secure. They are also paving the way for contactless payments which will be available on Xplore Dundee’s buses next year.
Christine explained: “This is another significant investment we have made into the fleet. The pilot will run for two weeks. If all goes well, by the middle of December the whole fleet will start to have the new Ticketer system fitted.
“We wanted to let the drivers and the public get used to the new machines first and then enable contactless payments, which will make things easier for passengers. These new machines mean boarding the bus will be quicker because smartcards will scan smoothly and tickets will print faster too. Security will be improved for paper tickets as they’ll come with a QR code, which you just need to scan under the reader when you hop on the bus.”
Future investment
I asked Christine if this delivery paved the way for further SmartHybrid vehicles. She confirmed that it was certainly her hope that there might be further hybrid buses purchased in the future.
“We have to keep trying to increase patronage more so that we can make that investment, and we are looking at what our fleet investment looks like over time,” she said. “We are currently upgrading existing vehicles to the latest emission levels and seven of them will be on the road by the end of this year.
“With everything we are doing, just over 30% of our fleet will be to the latest standards from an emissions perspective, and we are looking at what we can do with the rest of the fleet over time.”
I wondered if Xplore Dundee had seen an increase in bus usage. Christine explained: “Overall we have had a good year. It was really tough at the beginning of the year when we had some bad weather and figures were down on where we expected to be. Patronage has gone down by 30% in 10 years which is significant in terms of affordability because with less passengers, costs go up and congestion gets worse. It makes it much more difficult to run a business.
“But this year since April we have seen a pick up of patronage which is great and goes against the trend. I think part of it was due to the prolonged good weather and the fantastic summer we had, with lots more people using the buses. I would really hope that by introducing these new vehicles with new ticketing machines that make it easier to travel, along with the forthcoming route changes, that we do see the increase continue and that it doesn’t entirely rely on the good weather.
“What the city needs with so many cars on the road is for an increase in the use of buses, so that is what we are hoping for and what we will encourage. The introduction of the new buses is an early Christmas present for Dundee – but one which the city can enjoy well into the New Year and beyond.”
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