New style for London

Jonathan Welch visited Abellio London to try out a new Wrightbus Electroliner with upgraded interior specification

Over the last two issues, we looked at the Wrightbus factory in Ballymena and the revitalised firm’s plans for further expansion. The company recently took on its 1,000th employee, and has plans to significantly increase the proportion of zero-emission vehicles it produces over the next 12 months. Numerous orders have already been received from operators across the UK and Ireland, and despite Wrightbus’ commitment to hydrogen fuel cells in the medium to long term, most initial zero-emission adopters have chosen the battery-electric pathway.

One operator which has recently taken delivery of its first batch of Wrightbus Electroliner double-deckers is Abellio in London. We paid a visit to find out more about the company’s plans for electrification, and to get behind the wheel of the Electroliner for the first time; we tested its hydrogen-fuelled cousin back in early 2021 in Aberdeen. So in early November, I found myself heading across London aboard an indifferently-driven red double-decker to meet Operations Director Lorna Murphy, Head of Commercial Alastair Willis and Engineering Director Chris Remnant at Abellio’s Battersea depot.

[wlm_nonmember][…][/wlm_nonmember][wlm_ismember]

Abellio is no stranger to electric buses, and like other London operators is finding itself with a growing – if somewhat mixed – fleet of them. Earlier this year, Abellio introduced what were widely lauded as some of the best buses ever to have seen service on London routes, with features such as high-backed seats, wood-effect flooring and USB phone charging points marking a realisation in London that its iconic but utilitarian red buses need to catch up with their provincial brethren. Along with the bright red Abellio moquette and the replacement of stanchions upstairs with seat-back grab handles, the buses set out Abellio’s intention to make bus travel in the capital a more pleasant experience.

Those 29 Alexander Dennis Enviro400EVs were put to work on route 63 between King’s Cross and Honour Oak, and join Switch MetroCity EV and Caetano e.City Gold electric single deckers in the Abellio London fleet. The latest tender win for the operator saw its new fleet of electric double-deckers delivered to Battersea depot, where they awaited entry into service at the time of CBW’s visit.

Innovating

“At Abellio, we’ve been constantly innovating,” explained Lorna, “and these buses are the next evolution of that. They also represent a key improvement from the driver’s perspective, with a heated and cooled Be-Ge driver’s seat – we think that’s a first in the UK – as well as an enhanced customer offer. Wrightbus was keen to work with us and help develop the modifications and improvements. The new buses look a bit more special, with details like the roundels in the headrests and skylights which add to the open feel upstairs.

“The lack of handrails adds to the feeling of space, and I like the combination of colours. The yellow and red work well together, and the stitching on the seats makes them appear even more comfortable. It’s a constant evolution.”

“There’s also a large wheelchair area,” Alastair added, “to offer an improved customer experience. Based on feedback, we’ve added an extra screen above the wheelchair area so that wheelchair users can see the information easily. It’s not hidden behind their head.”

Supplied by Navaho, the large TV-style screen is mounted in the lower deck ceiling, and is capable of showing video and network information as well as other useful information such as connections or weather reports, and works alongside the shallower LED displays towards the front of each deck which provide route information.

The extra screen for wheelchair users is not the only one fitted. There’s an extra Hanover destination screen on the rear of the bus, a full-width one showing both route number and destination. Also new at the rear is a larger rear window on the upper deck. Whilst it’s not quite the dramatic curve of the Enviro400, the taller pane now extends above the side window line and allows much more light in around the back seats.

Sitting comfortably

Speaking of rear seats, passengers will notice the lack of a centre seat both upstairs and down. The remaining four are still in the usual place – no additional arm-room is provided – but the centre one is replaced by a curved moulding and handrail. This is part of TfL’s latest safety standard, explained Lorna, studies having shown that passengers sitting in the centre seat were more likely to be injured in an accident by being thrown forwards into the aisle.

It was interesting to note too that whereas in the not too distant past, low-backed seats were preferred in London to offer a more open feel and prevent ‘hiding places’ which might encourage vandalism, and were deemed to offer a more safe travelling environment in that respect. Now, the pendulum has swung the other way, and TfL believes that in the event of an accident, high-backed seats such as those fitted here are safer. “We liked the downstairs layout compared to other models,” added Chris.

The buses made their public debut at the Haynes depot open day in July, alongside other members of its electric fleet, but will be based at the firm’s Twickenham depot once they enter service, and serve passengers on its route 111 between Heathrow and the major South London town of Kingston 24 hours a day.

The fleet of 30 buses will need to cover a peak vehicle requirement of 27. “We worked with our charging partner Enel X to install 16 150kW chargers,” explained Chris. “We have installed an upgraded grid connection, so we can charge up to 32 buses. We’d like to help the fire and ambulance services near us to electrify their fleets in the future, so for example we could make our infrastructure available during the daytime whilst our buses are out on the road.”

Delays in installing the infrastructure had held up the buses’ introduction, but Chris was confident that the infrastructure would be sorted and the buses will be in service very soon. Twickenham depot itself is a historic building, he explained, having previously been a tram depot, which always brings a number of challenges and unexpected problems when installing new equipment. With a lot of history behind it, it is now home to around 400 drivers, 25 engineers and a fleet of 130 buses. “We took a lot of care when we installed the chargers,” Chris added. “We installed them with respect for the depot’s history.”

Twickenham is one of six depots which Abellio operates in London, of which five already have electric vehicles. “We think we’ll be the first London operator to have electric vehicles at all our depots,” Chris said. “We have 25 more electric buses due next year, and by this time next year around 20% of our fleet will be electric.” Southall will be the final depot to welcome electric buses, which is expected to happen next summer.

Christmas present

“The new buses will be an early Christmas present for our customers and staff,” said Alastair. “They are the next step in our plans to bring state-of-the-art, customer-focused buses to London. We’re working with TfL to deliver our goal and a step change in customer focus. TfL will closely monitor the impact on growth on the routes our new buses operate. We’re really trying to improve the experience on board, and always looking for new innovations such as wireless charging.”

The Electroliners though are fitted with standard seat-back USB sockets, along with mobile phone holders, rather than wireless charging. Interestingly, Alastair noted that USB sockets stand out more, helping to push the message, whereas wireless charging is much less visible.

In addition to the Electroliners, Abellio has a further 9 Caetano single-deckers in build for route 433 which are expected in January, and has placed an order for electric single-deckers in the form of the Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner. “We like the flat floor on the single- and double-decker,” said Chris, “and there will be a lot of component commonality across the fleet.”

Training has been an important part of the move to e-buses. “We’ve had a comprehensive approach to training,” Lorna explained. “It’s been much more than just simple vehicle familiarisation. We need to have a different approach for safety, improved customer experience and to maximise battery lifespan.”

For engineers, a thorough programme of product familiarisation has been carried out by Wrightbus. “It’s not a traditional customer-supplier relationship,” Lorna added. “We want to work closely with our partners.

“Our drivers are excited about them,” she continued. “They are looking forward to the enhanced cab environment. We’ve had a programme of ‘train the trainers’ as we find peer-to-peer training with drivers works well.”

Addressing the wider picture, Lorna added that with the whole industry struggling for drivers, it is important to make them feel valued and offer a good working environment. “The cab is very important. That’s one of the many things we are working on,” she said.

On board

Sometimes it’s easy to be drawn into the marketing hype with new buses, but before Lorna, Chris or Alastair had even mentioned it, the first thing that struck me was the seats. They looked inviting. Although the inverted red-on-grey moquette of the priority seats looks a little dull compared to the bright red seats elsewhere, the cushions are detailed with stitching which gives them a padded, comfortable look, and the bases appear thick. A far cry from some of the thin clip-on pads over plastic bases which became popular in the 1990s and 2000s, later in some cases. Practical they might have been, acceptable even for short trips, but inviting they weren’t, and first impressions count for a lot. It’s maybe a small detail in the grand scheme of things, and one that many people might not actively notice, but the impression the seats create is a good one. Alastair pointed out that the rear seats will also have headrests fitted above the rather basic backrests to finish off the look.

One thing I spotted as I boarded was the raised area over the nearside front wheel arch. No rails are provided to allow luggage to be placed here, though arguably it’s a bit high for anything but small bags, and on a centre-exit bus in a busy city, I wonder how many people actually use that space for bags. It was, however, neatly finished with a wood effect.

Moving through the bus, the large and clearly marked wheelchair space was evident, and I liked the provision of a screen above the wheelchair user as well as those facing into the saloons. The lower deck handrails were abundant but not intrusive, and bell-pushes – mounted on poles and on seat backs – were within easy reach. Some might be disappointed that there are only eight seats accessible without a step, but realistically, given the demands on space, it’s hard to see how this could be improved within the same footprint and on a two-door bus.

Moving to the top deck, the stairs feature a glazed internal partition and solid external wall, and are illuminated by tread-level lighting on each step; a nice touch. The upper saloon does indeed have the promised bright and airy atmosphere, thanks to a combination of the glazed roof sections and front quarter panels, and larger rear window. The lack of handrails and bright colour palette also adds to the appeal; bold red and yellow could easily look garish or cheap, but the interior didn’t strike me as such. The red both draws on the London bus identity, and reinforces it.

 

In the cab

Moving back down to the cab, anyone familiar with Wrightbus products will feel at home here. Whilst there have been some updates since I drove the Hydroliner in Aberdeen, such as the move to a digital dashboard, much is familiar. Drivers require a magnetic ‘key’ to start the vehicle; once ‘signed in’ the starting process is simple, and the dashboard quickly shows ‘ready’ in green in the centre of the digital display.

A number of London-specific features include a system to prevent pedal confusion, and although it sounds complicated, I didn’t find the need to press the brake pedal before the accelerator much of a nuisance; in reality, I only found that I needed to remember to release and re-press if I’d been stationary with my foot on the footbrake for a long time, so it took little getting used to despite initial thoughts.

One thing I did pick up on as soon as I started the bus was the alarm which sounded; a constant, high-pitch tone. Having driven other Wrightbus products in service, I took it to be the usual warning that I’d switched on the bus with the entrance doors open – a message I’ve never understood since it solves no problem that isn’t already dealt with by other warnings or interlocks. However, Abellio pointed out that on these buses, an alarm is fitted to warn that the cab door is not closed. Either way, though, my thought was the same: having gone to the trouble of providing a better environment for drivers and passengers alike, a shrill alarm such as this jarrs.

With apologies for labouring a point, but I think it’s one worth making, such alarms really should and could be reserved for the most urgent of messages such as a fire. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to use a more friendly, more refined tick, ding, beep or plop whist still getting the message across. Please, Wrightbus, for the sake of drivers, you can do better, I’m sure…

A further potential annoyance to the driver, though not to the same extent as on a diesel bus, is that Wrightbus has adopted as standard a feature initially specified by First, which is the need to switch off the bus, then switch back on the ignition to be able to unlock and move the steering wheel position.

That aside, I found the cab environment to be good, with easy visibility in all directions and controls within easy reach. With no need to set up my mirrors thanks to the Journeo external camera system, I could focus my attention on adjusting the comfortable Be-Ge seat, which had ample movement for my needs, as well as heating and in a possible bus first, cooling. The latter will no doubt be welcomed in summer, and I found out quickly that the former was rather efficient; not having realised that it had been left switched on, I soon found myself getting quite toasty.

Access to the cab is via an intermediate step, which positions the driver at a good level when facing boarding passengers. In the footwell there was space for a driver’s bag and belongings, whilst foot switches for radio communications and a large left foot rest were well-located. The pedals, too, were in a good position, and I found it easy to sit comfortably.

On the road

It’s always with a little trepidation that we get behind the wheel of someone’s brand new bus, and the unfamiliar camera mirror systems with their different perspective can make it even more worrisome, but I quickly felt at home in the Electroliner. As we left Battersea and headed towards Clapham, on unfamiliar streets I was able to concentrate on the drive and not the bus. Controls responded well; the bus did as I asked, and how I expected it to. Levels of acceleration and retardation were adequate for the job at hand, and the large digital speedometer made keeping to the 20mph speed limit easy. The steering was light without being woolly, and precise, with manoeuvrability around the congested streets good.

It goes without saying that in an electric bus, any bodywork noise will be more noticeable, but I didn’t find anything intrusive. One thing that did occur to me is that although electric vehicles are quieter, the number of other noises in the cab seems to have increased, such as the AVAS acoustic alerting system which warns pedestrians of an approaching vehicle. The suspension did a good job of soaking up some of the rougher sections of road, helped no doubt by the comfortable though unsprung driver’s seat.

On our short drive around Clapham, where Google Maps tells me I could have stopped off at Honest Tom’s snack bar or the Windmill pub, we paused for some pictures, as well as capturing video footage for our YouTube channel before heading back to Battersea. Putting aside the alarm niggles, overall impressions of the bus were very good, which appears to be backed up by the large volume of orders going through the Wrighbus factory. It’s not until you step back aboard a diesel-engined bus that you realise just how much of a difference the lack of engine makes to the driving experience. The new digital dash is well thought out, informative without being cluttered, and the bus drove well.

All that remains is to hope that the people of London appreciate the new, improved interior ambience and respect features such as the more plush Lazzerini seats and their in-built phone holders. Well done to Abellio and TfL for pushing for something better for London, it’s passengers and drivers.

[/wlm_ismember]