Go-Ahead London’s electrifying ADL BYDs

A year since Go-Ahead London’s Waterloo Garage was electrified, Gareth Evans test drives a BYD ADL Enviro200EV along a section of the 521 route

Introducing any new technology almost inevitably brings with it an element of risk – particularly so when that includes the implementation of a new bus type, changing the method of propulsion, new infrastructure and communicating all that with stakeholders, including staff, neighbours and customers. That in a nutshell, is what Go-Ahead London did when it converted Waterloo Garage’s allocation of diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses to electric BYD ADL Enviro200EVs.

The project is one that CBW has followed and featured with interest over the last couple of years – and now it was time to expereince the buses behind the wheel, as well as gain insight for other industry professionals considering following in Go-Ahead London’s footsteps in introducing electric traction.[wlm_nonmember][…]

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With my clean (touch wood) driving licence, I was given an induction to the garage and received type training as a new driver would.

I must confess that when I saw them in build at ADL’s Falkirk plant in mid 2016, I was not so taken with their appearance – I felt they looked like an E200MMC (a bodystyling I like) on steroids. However, when I later saw them on the streets, their look grew on me – and my positive view gained further momentum when I got ‘up close and personal’ with them at Waterloo Garage.

Briefly, the vehicles, which are classified ‘SEe’ in London bus parlance, have roof and rear mounted re-chargeable batteries which provide the power to run the bus in an emission-free environment.

The vehicles are used on two high-profile, busy routes: the 521 (Waterloo – Holborn – St Paul’s – Cannon Street – London Bridge), which runs on a two to five-minute peak time frequency; and the 507 (Victoria – Horseferry Road – Lambeth Bridge – St Thomas’ Hospital – Waterloo), which operates every four to five minutes during the peaks.

Infrastructure

For anyone considering following in GAL’s footsteps in operating an electric bus fleet, infrastructure is of course, an essential consideration. The capacity of the local power network can be something of a hit-and-miss – as Go-Ahead London Engineering Director Richard Harrington outlined.

“The power comes in from UK Power Networks (UKPN), the power provider for this area,” he said. “After we did our homework, we calculated how much power we needed – we requested 2.2 megawatts.”

Richard continued: “The power comes from the road outside the front of the garage. That involved permits to close the road for a time – and a trench had to be dug down the back of the garage.

“There are two substations within our site – 1.1 megawatts in each, with the power coming in at 11,000 volts. The cabins actually belong to UKPN. If anything goes wrong, they need access 24/7, so we provided a gate down the side.

“When you install something like this, you need to understand that you will be required to lease a piece of land to the power infrastructure provider as part of the deal. It’s a not an uncommon sight on housing estates – you may have noticed a gate with a substation behind it in its own piece of ground.

“SSE, who were our infrastructure contractors prepared all the groundwork for UKPN to install their substations. The reason they’re inside GRP (Glass-Reinforced Plastic) structures is because planning permission is not required for what is classed as a temporary structure.

“The hole was 1.8m deep – it was like a swimming pool. One of things you have to do is consistently review risk assessments. It’s about communication – not just with drivers, but it’s about our neighbours too. The garage is surrounded by flats – we wrote to the residents, informing them of what we would be doing. We had just one complaint during all the civil works. That was justified as when we wrote to them, we told them about the long-term gains – not just about the air quality, but about the reduced noise. We had questions but not complaints.

“We promised not to start anything noisy until 0830hrs during the week and 0900hrs at weekends. On the first morning, one of the men started up a pneumatic drill at 0730hrs. A resident called me and the work was immediately stopped.

“While all the civil works were underway, we still operated 99.8% of mileage – it was very much a working garage. That’s a remarkable feat considering how much work we had to do on what is just an acre of land. We had to give up three bays for the constructors to put their equipment and to remove their spoil. In turn, all that, including site movements, had to be carefully managed. Safety is key.”

Richard continued: “11,000 volts – with two big red cables – feed into two transformers, where the power is converted into 410 volts, the British standard. They in turn, feed into their respective Distribution Boards (DB), which in turn feed into half the chargers. One DB does the back wall and inside the workshop, while the other serves the central reservation. The advantage of splitting it in two is that if something goes wrong, you lose half the power and not all of it.

“In an emergency, the supervisors on site need to understand what to do. They’ve had specific training if the power goes down and if there was a fire or any sort of emergency – they know what they should be doing. what to shut off, who to call, what fuse to push back in for the power to return, so there is a reset button.”

Power challenges

The availability of capacity on the local power network is a criticial factor – one that is easily overlooked.

Go-Ahead London MD John Trayner took up the story: “Among the challenges are how do you justify a project like this – bearing in mind the infrastructure costs. It depends on how far you have to run the cable from the main to get the power in here. If you’re running 100 yards compared to half-a-mile, the difference can be a staggering three zeros.”

Richard agreed, adding: “It also depends on what’s available on the network in the local area and whether our requirements can be met.

“We thought we needed 2.5 megawatts but 2.2 is what we ended up with. The process is that you submit your bid and UKPN will respond within 90 days or three months, stating how much it will cost. You then have three months to confirm whether you want it or not. If your bid doesn’t come up within those three months, they may well have given your bid to another bidder. Then, as a bus operator, you may win a tender, having cost it on the basis of £250,000 to get the power into your garage, but then be told it’s actually going to £1.5m as your nearest power source is now a mile down the road, so your bid is no good. It’s an aspect that the power industry needs to change – more joined up thinking is required.”

Systematic operation

Explaining some of the operational changes which have been made as part of Waterloo Garage’s electrification, Richard said: “We used to run 50 diesel Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses from here. With the electric BYD ADLs, we’ve got the same length buses, slightly increased PVR (Peak Vehicle Requirement) of 51 vehicles and we’ve got these charging points in – which takes up space. Our footprint hasn’t changed but we need more equipment onsite. We now only run 46 from this garage. To achieve that, we had to make all sorts of changes, including moving the bus wash.

“The parking plan was crucial – it makes everything work. Vehicles have to park in specific places. You don’t fill them up with diesel and park them up. They have to be washed and plugged in. Drivers park them up in a specific bay. A shunter is not required here.

“The run in and run out schedule is key – it’s about everyone understanding what’s they need to do. Without our diagramatical parking plan, this garage wouldn’t have been successful. We have two run out plans. When we designed this, we thought of various options, including putting goalposts up with chargers hanging off them – but if we ever introduce double-deckers here, that will not work.

“Then I had this idea of a central reservation. The first time we tried it, we parked the buses in straight but it wouldn’t quite work as the swing wasn’t there. We started looking at a herringbone arrangement, we changed the angle two or three times.

“Because this is a highly peaked service, you get 27 vehicles back at midday. I was able to play around with the parking plan. With the co-operation of the drivers and mentors, we parked them differently. After four attempts, we got it spot on, so we marked the floor and installed the marked bays.

“It’s essential for the vehicles to park in in a specific order because if they don’t, it doesn’t work. The first two vehicles go into the engineering bay – these are the only ones which are flexible. If one of the later buses has a defect to rectify, it can be moved round. If the first few buses don’t park at the correct angle, the rest are all out. Therefore, as well as marking the bays, we’ve put a piece of upturned angle on the floor, so the tyre hits that before it hits the barrier.

“The drivers understand the plans – they’ve been doing it for well over a year now. We implemented the parking plan while we still had the diesel buses here – the thinking being that if drivers learn to do it correctly, when we get the electric buses, it will work. It was a culture change. It’s a small garage, so again it’s about communication.

“The runout was the same. The first bus out has to be a particular vehicle as if you take out anything else, there will be damage. The first bus out is always on the same duty. That has enabled us to tie that up with a charger – the first charger is always for that vehicle. We know that first duty does 130 miles per day. We also know that vehicle needs to be charged at 100% – they don’t all need to be.

“We do want to get them to 100% as it protects the battery life, but they don’t need to be. The way we can manage our electricity supply is through smart charging. In layman’s terms, the charger will meet the vehicle when you plug it in. It introduces itself and asks what vehicle are you – as it’s a different vehicle each day. So, I’m fleet number SEe9 for instance. It will say ok, you’re SEe9, let’s log the mileage you did yesterday and let’s see what your state of charging is now. You’re at 30% but we need you to be at 100%, so you need to have 70% given to you. The power doesn’t come on until 2300hrs as we want the cheaper electricity. The smartcharger will level out and distribute the energy – we don’t need the maximum power.

“That’s something we’ve learnt. We’ve put 2.2 megawatts in, but we don’t need that much. For this service we need about 1.5 to 1.6 megawatts – thanks to the smartcharging, which flattens out demand.

“Let’s say things are running slightly late and not everything’s going to be up to 100%, so one bus will need it as it’ll be doing 130 miles tomorrow. Another bus won’t require that as it’ll only be doing 30 miles, so because that vehicle is at 50%, it will get nothing. In essence, the power will be distributed as required.

“We were fortunate that the company that built it had the software and the capability to do it. Forget about building a bus with an ADL body and BYD chassis – if it wasn’t for this and communicating with the drivers, the project simply wouldn’t have worked.”

John agreed: “We would be running out of charge all over the place – it would be random. Using this system, we are almost 100% guaranteed to make service. The right duty is connected to the correct charger, charging a vehicle to the correct amount and when we haven’t got enough flexibility, we’ll be able to calculate what one needs it most. After lots of refining, we now believe we’ve got it right.”

Richard continued: “As I said earlier, we can’t operate the required 51 PVR from here – it’s that packed at night. Therefore, we ran five buses from Mandela Way, a garage down the road, which have since moved to Camberwell.

“Out of 46 buses, we can only charge 43 at once – not because of power restrictions, but due to safety as it would mean stretching the cables. Because we know the state of charge when each bus comes in, during the runout the following day, we put those buses on ‘fast charging.’ Nothing comes in with zero charge. If we’re tight for service, we can put a quick boost in and ensure it comes back at lunchtime if required.”

BYD evolution

Reinforcing his message about the importance of communication with his staff, Richard spoke of how the design of the buses had evolved with their feedback: “When we put the two trial all-BYD vehicles in here, the drivers disliked the poor vision in places. There were other smaller things they complained about too.

“When we won the TfL tender, I told BYD they needed to partner with a European builder or we wouldn’t be buying their product. The technology was fantastic – and it worked. However, the body had turrets (battery boxes) over the wheelarches and it wasn’t particularly good. As a driver, if you looked over your left shoulder for example, you had poor visibility at a junction. The union rep wrote to me. I responded, asking to be trusted that all the issues would be addressed. BYD responded positively and teamed up with ADL.”

True to his word, as soon as the vehicles were built – the first of their kind, being an ADL-bodied BYD – Richard took the garage union rep and the driver mentor to ADL’s Falkirk plant to see them.

“I gave them a drive and showed them what had been changed. By then, the batteries were 30% more efficient, so with fewer batteries, they were no longer inside – they were on the roof,” added Richard.

“Their feedback was they should have trusted me and that the end result was much more as they wanted. Do remember of course, that the drivers at Waterloo were used to a premium diesel vehicle – a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, which the electrics replaced.”

Operational lessons

“We’re there now,” Richard enthused. “We’ve gained experience here at Waterloo and Camberwell went live at the end of July with five buses – and a further 14 will follow in October.

“Waterloo went pretty smooth and Camberwell went almost seamless as we all knew what we were doing. Northumberland Park will be the next garage to live in February 2018. We’ve had meetings, so everyone understands what they should be doing. SSE’s team has been particularly engaging.”

“What we’ve learned is that if you get your parking plan right with diesel, you can run electric. It’s not about sticking them all over the place. You cannot move these charging points.”

Perhaps contrary to expectations, according to John, converting an entire garage in one go is doable and has worked well: “Another challenge was that TfL was understandably nervous – they wondered whether electric should be introduced on a route by route basis. We said we would actually prefer to convert the whole garage in one go.

“The next challenge for us is running a diesel and electric garage – at Camberwell. A parking plan has had to be developed where only 19 out of 250 vehicles will be electric. The electrics can move amongst themselves, but they have to be in a particular area. Because we now know how to charge them and when to charge them, it’s made that problem easier to solve. In London, if there’s a problem on a particular route, which delays a bus by an hour running in, all the other vehicles coming in are going to be waiting to park up. That will be a challenge. As long as we can get them into a space where a little bit of access is available, we’ll be alright.”

Richard concluded: “It’s all about the planning stage – ensuring the drivers and neighbours understand what we’re doing and that everyone who works here is safe. The biggest success of this project has been the engagement with our colleagues as without that, it would never have happened. All the technology would not work without the planning.”

Spec

Assembled at its Scottish Falkirk plant, the ADL bodywork is mounted on a stainless steel framed chassis built by BYD in Shenzhen, China.

The zero-emission powertrain features two water-cooled wheel hub motors, each giving a maximum power output of 90kW and torque of 350Nm at 7,500rpm. They incorporate a regenerative braking capability which converts kinetic energy to electricity, which in turn is stored in the on board batteries until required. There are two battery packs weighing around three tonnes in total, half of which are mounted beneath a cover on the roof with the other half stacked vertically in the rear section of the bus. The lithium iron-phosphate batteries, which can be recycled, are said to retain 75% of their charge capacity after 10 years’ continuous operation.

The motors and batteries are controlled using an integrated on board charger. The battery management element of this has a signal collector and controller monitoring the status of each cell. There are also controllers for the high voltage distribution box, DC-DC converter, inverter and the BCM (Battery Control Module). Other mechanical aspects of the chassis include the BYD EQ13 rear axle, a ZF RL85A front drop beam axle, ZF 8098 power assisted steering, full air suspension with ECAS electronic control system, a rear offside side-by-side cooling system and 24 volt negative earth electrical systems with two maintenance free 70Ah 12 volt batteries mounted in a slide-out carrier.

The 22.5-inch wheels help give the vehicle a slightly more ‘chunky’ appearance.

Reflecting the ‘MMC’ bodywork, glazing is ADL’s now familiar aplty-named Quick Release Glazing system. Another helpful MMC design feature which helps to minimise downtime is the fact the body panels are broken down into maintenance-friendly component parts – including the vulnerable lower skirt and corner pillars.

Entry to the bus is clean, wide and welcoming via the front door. In part reflecting the ‘people-mover’ role of the vehicles on what are busy routes, there are just seats 21 onboard, with a capacity for 64 standees and one wheelchair.

The wheelchair bay is located on the offside opposite the middle doors, where the cassette-mounted Compak ramp is to be found. The iBus screen is attached to the ceiling above the aisle to the rear of the cab.

On top of the nearside wheelarch is a low-height grabrail, allowing shopping or baggage to be stowed. Also located here is the side destination blind – the powered type being supplied by Mobitec.

Behind the cab to the front of the offside wheelarch is a double seat row, which requires passengers to use a step to get into the bay. Behind it is a small shelf – enough to stow shopping bags. The surface is easy wipe clean – there’s no dirt trap there. To the rear of the wheelarch are two rear-facing seats, which are designated priority, signposted “for people who are disabled, pregnant or less able to stand.” There is an armrest that can lowered or lifted up on the aisle side. From that point, there are no seats until the steps up into the rear saloon, where there are 17 seats.

A glass decency screen, with an opaque finish protects the first row of seats on either side in the rear saloon – the seat bases being effectively mounted on top of the rear wheelboxes.

With sloping, sunken gangway, behind the rear wheelboxes, the level of the floor at the top is maintained. There is however, only minor intrusion from the curve of the wheelarch – another nice touch. There is no back window but the rear of bus is not unduly dark.

The comfortable Isri passenger seats incorporate USB chargers on the seatbacks, located on the edge away from the passenger next door, be it adjoining the window or the aisle. The handpoles are equipped with the familiar BMAC bus stop buttons. Hopper windows provide ventilation, augmented by a blown air saloon system.

With its wide doors, a broad gangway and a flat floor for much of the bus, the vehicle is inviting and accessible. Because the batteries are at the rear and on the roof, with the result that the interior is just as spacious and attractive as a diesel bus.

Behind the wheel

The cab door has a lock that is very hard, if not impossible to open by putting one’s hand through the hole in security shield, leading to increased security – the precise method is perhaps best not disclosed here. The cab layout is what one would expect from an ADL – space is not in short supply and it’s driver-friendly.

The comfortable Chapman driver seat is the model SideRiser 2 (SR2), with its easily adjustable controls. As a non-regular driver, I don’t know my own settings for the front and rear of the seat, so I used those of the trainer, which was just right for me.

Much to my delight, the front and rear halves of the cab window can be opened – and an air-conditioning system is provided for the driver only. Ventilation blowers can be found either side of the steering wheel. The single horizontal panel below the opening windows is glazed, allowing in welcome natural light.

The cab layout would not be unfamiliar to anyone with experience of a diesel bus – the start-up routine being the key difference of course, but even that is straightforward. The handbrake is located on a sloping shelf beneath the signalling window. The cab display is clear and concise – it’s not a wall of technical information which would not be of interest to most drivers. The clear to read speedometer has MPH on the outside ring and KPH on the inner ring. Displayed in percentage terms, the ‘State of Charge Indicator’ is self-explanatory for the power battery. Also on the cab display is a gear indicator. The transmission selector is the familiar D-N-R. Normally the buttons are akin to the size of the keys on a personal computer’s keyboard, but on this bus they’re like the size of those found on a telephone handset designed for the visually-impaired. There are separate opening and closing buttons for the front and centre doors alike – the switches being found to the right of the steering wheel on the binnacle.

The deep windscreen and narrow A-pillars help to maximise visibility. Mirrors don’t look much on the first glance from the roadside – they are not the ‘fancy’ gullwing sort and there are no extra mirrors on the offside. In reality, it’s pleasing to report that the mirrors on this bus provide excellent visibility down the sides and the area beneath them. There doesn’t appear to be an obvious risk of a blind spot.

Saloon lights can either be left off or on. Alternatively, using the ‘Auto’ setting they will illuminate if the bus enters darkness, a tunnel for example and will stay on until lighting condition return to normal.

While it wasn’t necessary to use it on the day of CBW’s drive, the demister temperature can be lowered or raised to a maximum of four increments.

The emergency stop button can be found inside the cab rather than outside, which hopefully leads to a reduced risk of anti-social behaviour through its malicious use.

During the type training, my instructor Barry Fitzgerald asked what I would do in the event of a runaway; I said I would select neutral and apply the parking brake. He said that in fact, the procedure is to select neutral and lift my foot from the pedals. “Let it come to a halt,” he added. Reinforcing its importance, I was tested on that at the end.

Before we hit the road, Barry cautioned: “Take your time until you get used to the pull of it. To prevent rollback, you have to predict that you’ll need to cover the footbrake to slow down and stop – and have your handbrake ready. As soon as you touch your accelerator, you have power, but you have no gears there holding like you would on a diesel bus.”

Leaving Waterloo Garage, we turned right onto Waterloo Road, passing in the shadow of the well-known railway terminus.

As we headed up towards Waterloo Bridge, Barry said: “It should be fairly clear, enabling you to gain a feel for the bus as well.” On the bridge, with a clear road ahead, I drove at the 30mph limit. While not sluggish, it would be wrong to say the bus was awash with power. I probably wouldn’t feel so happy if I had to pull out into a fast-moving dual-carriageway from a standing start. It’s fine around central London, however.

Having traversed the twisting, undulating underpass towards Holborn with ease, Barry asked how I was feeling. I replied: “I’m confident with it. Once you get a feel for the brakes and accelerator, a smooth drive is easy to achieve. Like driving a coach, forward planning is key.”

John enthused: “People normally struggle with the braking on these buses, but you’re doing alright – you’ve obviously done this before.”

Entering Kingsway after leaving the tunnel, we headed along Holborn. At High Holborn, Barry explained: “This would be where a 521 short working to Holborn would turn around. We’d set down at the stop by Holborn Station and run round the block.”

At times, the whir of the bus is reminiscent of a tube train. Onto the Aldwych, we entered Strand, where Barry asked me to pull up at a bus stop. “I’m going to get you to serve it like a bus stop,” he said. “After you’ve applied your handbrake, put your hazard lights on as we’re not in service. I don’t want other buses to feel they have to wait for us to pull away. Imagine people want to get on and off – so operate the doors.”

Following the London practice, I opened the front ones first and then the middle set.

“The procedure is to close the middle ones first,” Barry explained. “Imagine a wheelchair user has just appeared at the stop, so now you need to put the ramp out.”

An alarm sounded as the ramp was deployed – I needed to keep my finger on the button until it’s on the pavement. To retract the ramp, the doors must be closed – another, different-sounding alarm was activated.
Swinging round the corner onto Waterloo Bridge, with a clear road ahead, there was another brief opportunity to drive the bus at the speed limit of 30mph. Interspersed with the odd jolt from an uneven manhole; the noise is akin to an Electrostar train as we returned to Waterloo Garage. I vacated the driving seat happy.

Conclusion

This bus is highly manoeuvrable – once you understand and master the technique, it’s far from hard work. In fact, it’s a real pleasure to drive. I took to it like a duck to water. I felt immediately at home. Barry asked if I’d driven anything as large as this before, when of course I had, having cut my teeth on Volvo B10M, Bedford and Bova coaches.

The steering wheel is a nice size and the mechanism is responsive, being not too hard or loose. Noise is not an issue – and even the indicators make a pleasant peeping sound.

As is the case with an electric vehicle, no gear changes mean a gentle, smooth and quiet ride comes naturally – and acceleration is seamless. I found a smooth drive was not hard to achieve.

I must admit I didn’t really use the brake pedal as forward planning meant that I eased off the accelerator if I wanted to slow down – that’s my coach driver training kicking in I guess. That said, I found there was a need to keep my foot on the brake pedal before applying parking brake as if the bus was stopped on a slight incline, it would roll back.

Overall, perhaps testament to the involvement of both ADL and Go-Ahead London in the specification of the bus and BYD’s engineering, it handled more like a traditional, well-built British bus. Put another way, it feels like UK thoroughbred – and that’s a compliment.

On a final note, I am most grateful to Go-Ahead London for the opportunity to test drive one of its exciting new buses in its natural environment. It’s an experience I won’t forget in a hurry.[/wlm_ismember]

Watch Gareth’s Test Drive here: