I hope to get into town soon to have a go on these smart new buses myself, but for now we have a few great shots from Mark Bailey taken over the first few days in service:
7008 Chaddlewood 11 July
7011 Barne Barton 9th July
7017 St Budeaux Square 9 July
All photos © Mark Bailey used with permission.
There only seems to be five out per day? Given about 13 have been out in total so far, why aren't more out? Slow roll-out?
ReplyDeleteNot all the charging ports are installed yet, there might have been 13 that have been used but only 5 a day due to charging
DeleteThere are still issues with the chargers, they can only guarantee 5 will be changed each day
DeleteProbably to do with Charging capacity at Depot seems to be 4 or 5 in Service and another 2 Training
DeleteSmashing photos, fantastic to see. Oh how it feels so long ago the Sparks and before that Red Flashes first days was! Worth noting though that these are only out on weekdays never been used weekends yet
ReplyDeleteAre they properly air conditioned or just air cooled or neither? Taunton have full air con on theirs.
ReplyDeleteIf they're like ones elsewhere they have air chill on the top deck, but nothing on the lower deck.
Delete7001s lost its Tramlines. Has the penny finally dropped how ridiculous it looks on the buses. Certainly look smarter without it.
Delete6 chargers now at Milehouse, so more EV buses will be out very soon .
ReplyDeleteOnly the driver has air conditioning
Problem is the range is still so bad compared to the old diesel buses
ReplyDeleteTaunton'shave full air con up and down stairs. Guess Yutong are so much better. They also dont have the ridiculously large monitor upstairs blocking vision. Not sure why operators continue to buy awful cheap Wright buses.
ReplyDeleteAnd will electric buses still be running when there sixteen seventeen years old like the diesel one are and electric buses are heavier more damage to our roads
ReplyDeleteVery true
DeleteElectric vehicles have the potential for longer lives as there is less mechanical wear and tear on the vehicles. The lack of an internal combustion engine eliminates a whole heap of mechanical components, and the simpler drivetrain reduces maintenance requirements. There is reduced vibration, and acceleration and braking are smoother. True, the batteries add weight to the vehicle which means some of the structural components need to be more robust.
DeleteAlexander Dennis are claiming that their new Enviro400 EV can achieve two full contract terms (14 years) on Transport for London service without a battery change, and up to twenty years on typical provincial use with one mid-life battery change.
There was recently a RouteONE article about this:
https://www.route-one.net/opinion/does-extended-electric-bus-life-call-for-more-durable-components/
I still think hydrogen is the way forward, not electric.
DeleteAnd battery advances are only going to improve things over time. As for Hydrogen, I think it has had its chance now and kind of lost the battle. If they can sort the supply chain out then maybe in some places there might be a future for it but I think its a way off that state at the moment. For the vast majority of operators electric is clearly the way forward.
DeleteFirst electric has caught fire on the ferry today.
ReplyDeletedo you have any evidence that any of the batch has gone on fire.. and if one did all the ones out today wouldn't even be used.. also pretty sure none of the 70s ones are in service yet aswell!
DeleteIt wass doing ferry trials
Deletestop spouting rubbish and back it up with some evidence - something like an electrical fire onboard a ferry would be highly publicised.
DeleteIt was on a training exercise with the torpoint ferry and fire service
DeleteI did hear there a problem with the ferry ramp and the electrics weight so if true needs to be resolved
ReplyDeleteNo issues, the buses have been out on a route assessment and will be in service shortly
DeleteThe next batch of electric buses for Plymouth are
ReplyDeleteBN25 DGY/Z
BN25 DHA/C/D/E/F/G/J/K/L/M/O/P/V/X
There is 16 listed there which I assume will be 7026-7041