Plaxton’s flagship coach, the Elite i, has been a familiar sight on the roads and motorway network of the UK and beyond for the last 10 years. Richard Sharman takes a look back at the model
In February 2012 Plaxton announced that it would be introducing a brand new flagship model to its coach range. It was to be a vehicle that would turn heads and revolutionise express coach travel, as well as provide Plaxton with a base vehicle that could easily be customised as a team coach. It’s introduction came at a time when the other coaches in the range were the well established Profile, Panther and Elite, which at the time was the flagship model, so the Elite i was a natural progression for Plaxton.
Entirely new design
At the time of launch, Plaxton Sales and Marketing Director Kevin Wood said: “We initially launched the Elite as a high specification tri-axle 14m coach in 2008, but always intended it would develop into a range of top-quality models. First was the 12.6m two-axle model followed by the maximum-length 15m model in 2009, and now comes the interdeck Elite, which will be available both as an express coach and as a touring model.
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“Two features stand out. First, there is no need to fit a wheelchair lift, which benefits users with much better access and benefits operators by reducing maintenance and training requirements. The second feature is the ability to offer up to 72 seats, but with the flexibility to offer a wide range of seating layouts, as we do on all our models.”
Investment in the new model by Plaxton’s parent company, Alexander Dennis, was in the region of £1m. The new coach would be based on the proven stainless steel construction of the Panther and Elite, but also ushered in an entirely new structure to accommodate the 3.9m high vehicle, and which offered the potential for additional models in the future. Despite the restyled profile necessary to accommodate the through-floor interdeck design, a key aim for Plaxton was to retain a high degree of parts commonality.
Stagecoach first
The relationship between Stagecoach and Alexander Dennis (ADL) had already been a long one when a consortium of Scottish entrepreneurs led by Sir Brian Souter and including Dame Ann Gloag (both founders of Stagecoach Group), Sir Angus Grossart and Sir David Murray acquired the business from TransBus International’s administrators in 2004. Only a few years later in May 2007 ADL acquired Plaxton, reuniting the two former Transbus International businesses.
The initial order for the Elite i came from Stagecoach in the form of a £3.2 investment in a fleet of 11 coaches for its growing megabus network, announced on 2 November 2012. At the time Stagecoach called them ‘Britain’s biggest coaches.’ Megabus had worked with Plaxton over a 10-month period developing the new model, having operated 15m Plaxton Panthers in the years prior to the arrival of the new model.
The 15m coaches were intended to operate on two routes: Glasgow-Edinburgh-Newcastle-Sheffield-London and Preston-Manchester-London. They were also to be used on some London-Leeds and London-Exeter-Plymouth services.
The original press release did say that one of the Elite i’s would wear a special metallic version of the megabus livery to mark the 10th anniversary of the budget coach service in 2013. However, that vehicle was 54201, SF62 CLV, and was ultimately delivered in standard livery but with special vinyls showing a 10-year timeline of megabus operations.
Powered by a 10.8-litre Euro V engine, the new model was based on a tri-axle Volvo B11RT underframe. The original deliveries prior to the Euro VI engines coming in during 2014 received exhaust conversions at a later date to make them Euro VI compliant and enable them to operate on the whole of the megabus network.
Tony Simmons, Operations Director for megabus, told CBW: “megabus finds the Elite i a great vehicle for operating our intercity coach services. It has a great luggage capacity which is easy to use for our drivers, and we often receive feedback from customers about how they enjoy travelling so high up so they can enjoy the views. Another key benefit of the Elite i is the wheelchair accessibility. With no lifts required, the process of onboarding wheelchair-using customers is much easier for the driver, and less intrusive for the customer.
Independent orders
The first independent order came from New Adventure Travel, which initially took two in 2013 and then went on to order a further two that were delivered in 2014. The coaches are still owned and operated, but the company is now in the ownership of ComfortDelGro and the coaches are gaining the new Adventure Travel purple livery.
The first two examples for Ireland were for Matthews Coaches of Callenberg, Inniskeen and delivered in 2014. Two further examples were delivered to Bayliss Executive Travel in Dover in 2015.
An i on Europe
Brian Souter’s involvement in ADL and Plaxton, and his ultimate experience of operating the Elite i on megabus services since 2012 led to his involvement through Souter Investments in PolskiBus, an internet-based intercity express coach operator headquartered in Warsaw and offering express coach travel throughout Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. PolskiBus placed an initial order for 20 Elite i coaches, which were delivered in August 2014.
Colin Robertson, at the time Chief Executive of ADL, said the orders were a massive vote of confidence in ADL’s ability to provide ‘the right products, at the right price, at the right time.’ He said: “This marks a pivotal moment for the ADL group; the PolskiBus order represents an important break-through, taking us into mainland Europe in a significant way – and with a company that is one of the fastest-growing inter-city coach operators on the continent. Having been won in the face of fierce competition, it is a strong endorsement from a major player in the European marketplace.”
Barry Pybis, Chief Executive PolskiBus, said at the time of the announcement: “The reputation of ADL’s Elite i inter-deck coach has spread quickly and we are delighted to be launching these vehicles. We are a fast-moving company and these 20 new coaches will add significantly to our existing fleet of 73 vehicles.”
The introduction of the Elite i was so successful that a further order was made for 19 further examples which were delivered just over a year later, some of which were in a revised livery with PolskiBus Gold branding.
These were not the only left hand drive Elitei’s to be built though. In 2015, Stagecoach ordered eight examples for its megabus services that were operating into Europe at the time.
Go-Ahead opportunity
Oxford Bus Company was another key customer of the Elite i, taking five in 2013 for its Airline service to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, eight in 2015 for its X90 London service, and an additional four in 2016 for the same route. Following the withdrawal of the X90 on 4 January 2020 the remaining members of the fleet gained Airline livery, with one of the 2015 batch and the rest of the 2016 examples still in service at Oxford.
The early 2013 examples were returned off lease and moved to other operators; of the 2015 batch, seven moved to Go North East after use on a short-lived service to Heathrow Airport by Carousel Buses, which was withdrawn due to the impact of the pandemic. Prior to moving north they were repainted into Go North East’s X-lines livery at Hants & Dorset Trim in Eastleigh before being collected from Oxford for the trip to the North-East.
The coaches entered service on the X-lines-branded X10 from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Middlesbrough, but were replaced just over 12 months later by 70-plate ADL Enviro400MMCs following passenger number growth. Those vehicles have gone on to find new owners, with most still running in de-vinyled X-lines livery given that they had not long been repainted. New owners include Mighty Travels, Angies Tours and Mil-Ken Travel.
VIP specification
In December 2018 Swans Travel introduced two state-of-the-art Elite i coaches with a difference. Managing Director Kieran Swindells commented at the time in an ADL press release: “As a family-run business we have come a long way in 40 years and continue to have one of the most modern fleets in the UK. These latest vehicles are 13.8m B11R Euro VI models, converted to VIP team specification by AD Coach Systems. They have a superb, ergonomically designed interior with 42 passenger seats, 24 of which are positioned around a total of six tables, encouraging interaction between players and coaches on route to and from events. Both vehicles also have an eight-seat lounge and galley kitchen located centrally.”
The new coaches were aimed at high profile team transfers and VIP events, notably those associated with sporting occasions. Kieran added: “These are truly top-of-the-range coaches and are targeted at very specific, niche sectors, particularly in the world of sport, where we already have an enviable reputation and aim to reinforce our credentials. The Elite i is the perfect vehicle with which to make a statement of intent.”
Another operator that owns a VIP specification Elite i is Acklams Coaches, whose 67-plate example has 42 seats and features mood lighting, a large kitchen, a bay of four seats which can be made into a bed, and a rear lounge with an Xbox and twinkling ‘starlight’ effect ceiling, as well as wireless charging points on tables, WiFi and Sky TV, whilst all aisle seats can move sideways to give extra space when seated.
Social distanced i’s
Megabus, the largest operator of the Elite i, implemented measures as the coronavirus pandemic started to ease in late March 2021. Tony Simmons, Operations Director at megabus told CBW that: “During Covid, we went down to only having 34 seats in the coach. However, once the restrictions were lifted, we returned some seats and moved from pre-pandemic 74 seats to an existing 68 seats. The reduction of the 6 seats meant that we were able to increase the spacing on a good number of seats to offer a 36inch-plus seat pitch, making it very popular with our customers for seat reservations and having the ‘extra legroom’ seats.”
Meanwhile, alongside this, ADL developed a range of semi-permanent and permanent solutions for the protection of drivers and passengers on board its vehicles that could be fitted to both new and existing vehicles to reduce the risk of virus transmission, including driver contact shields for the Elite i.
Good all round
Having travelled on an Elite i as a passenger on many occasions, I have always found it a comfortable, well built coach that makes a long coach journey seem effortless. Volvo’s I-shift gearbox provides a smooth ride whilst being so high up allows for a great view of your surroundings, and particularly of the road ahead from the raised front seats and the single ones opposite the staircase.
Having had the opportunity to test drive one of the ex-Oxford/Go North East examples at the Bus & Coach Centre in Oxford I was surprised to find the Elite i one of the easiest coaches I have ever driven. Whilst they may look huge parked up, once you are on the road and you are aware of the 13.80m length, the well placed mirrors are a great help, whilst the rear steering axle means that it is possible to still fit in to, or get out of, tight spaces.
Despite its size, it is not a slow coach to drive either; Volvo’s D11K 6-cylinder 10.8-litre engine develops 460bhp. The example tested had done plenty of miles but had not lost many of its horses over the years. It was equally as happy on the country roads as it was being a long-distance motorway cruiser, and from a drivers point of view you are able to concentrate on the road ahead without having to listen to passengers, whilst still having a clear view of what the passengers are doing via the well placed CCTV screen.
In addition, the fact that there is no wheelchair lift to worry about means that it is quick and easy to make space for a wheelchair user to board by simply removing the crew seat.
Overall the Elite i is a coach that can do everything, from rail replacement, long-distance express services, and corporate private hire to football team coaches.
New generation Volvo chassis
Reflecting on the coach model and looking to the future, Mark Ballam, Commercial Manager for coaches at Alexander Dennis, told CBW: “The Plaxton Elite i interdeck coach continues to fill a niche in the coach market for vehicles with a high passenger capacity as well as significant room for luggage as well as for more bespoke, high specification applications.
“When we developed the model a decade ago, we very much had intercity coach services in mind, and indeed our launch customer Stagecoach has used the Elite i very successfully on its megabus network where it makes luggage handling easy by offering enough locker space to not just fit all passengers’ luggage without problems but to allow for it to be sorted easily. At the same time, PSVAR compliance has never been an issue with the Elite i, which accommodates wheelchair users on the lower deck next to the driver, where they can board and alight via a rugged manual ramp that is easy to deploy. This winning combination of attributes has led to repeat orders from Stagecoach for its megabus operations as well as longer-distance regional expresses in Scotland, and the Elite i also found favour with a number of other operators on similar work.
“Its high floor above a capacious luggage hold also makes the Elite i a great base for team coaches and in recent years we have delivered a number of them to such specifications to act as the vehicle of choice for sports teams. These have been fitted with everything from conference tables to full kitchens, and there are no limits to what can be accommodated in these customised interiors.
“The Elite i continues to be available for build to order – as specifications vary with intended use, we don’t hold stock of this type. Whether built for express work, touring or as a bespoke team coach, it is underpinned by reliable Volvo chassis and we’re about to update the Elite i with Volvo’s next generation coach chassis so that operators will continue to have a product that gives them lots of seats as well as lots of room for luggage.”
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