The small bus was put through its paces in normal service with impressive results, says the operator
An Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV recently completed a two-week demonstration with Kent operator Go-Coach, which used the opportunity to put the small electric bus through its paces on normal routes under normal conditions. Engineering Director Austin Blackburn said he was impressed with how easily the Enviro100EV fitted into Go-Coach’s operations: “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’s works like any normal bus; you just drive it.” There’s an added benefit for drivers, as Austin discovered: “Even though the bus is narrower, the cab feels bigger.”
He said he was pleased with the performance of the bus’ Voith Electrical Drive System and 354kWh of battery capacity. “Range is amazing,” added Austin. “If you’re on rural services like we are, you know you can do anything any day. It really gave us the confidence it can do anything we do with a diesel bus, even in winter.”
The Enviro100EV was said to have been well received by Go-Coach’s passengers, but it was in the workshop where the bus came into its own said Austin: “Under the surface, it looks like any other Alexander Dennis product – you look under the back, and you could be under a classic Enviro200. For engineers, that means it’s a familiar product which is Alexander Dennis through and through. Altogether, whether it was our engineers, drivers or our passengers, everyone came away really impressed with the Enviro100EV. It feels like a game changer in that it looks like a normal bus, but it’s electric.”
National Account Manager for Alexander Dennis Shaun Millar thanked Go-Coach for taking the time to test the Enviro100EV and to share operational insights: “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.”
