Extracted from the Merseytravel committee agenda items of 01 October 2015.
Not sure if this has been reported elsewhere!
The opportunity to be part of the Liverpool City Region Low Emission Bus Scheme was offered to all operators. Initially Stagecoach and Arriva expressed an interest in the scheme however; unfortunately Stagecoach recently withdrew from the bid due to a Group decision to only to submit 3 bids nationally. Therefore the only operator now involved in the bid is Arriva, details of their proposed projects are included in the table below:
Route No. No. of buses Technology
26/27 12 100% electric single deck buses
82A 9 Gas Buses
14, 18, 79 51 Diesel hybrids
Infrastructure required
26/27 8 x Electric Vehicle charge points at Green Lane depot
82A No infrastructure required, already in place at Runcorn depot.
14, 18, 79 No infrastructure required
Although only a proposal anyone confirm if this is this likely to happen?
Sounds suspiciously similar to SMARTeco... And we all know how well that went!
Very interesting proposals. I certainly hope the 14/18/79 hybrid proposal goes ahead - about time some Liverpool routes received low-emissions buses, plus you'd kill two birds with one stone and give the 14 and 18 much needed double deckers.
The 82A, too, is in desperate need of something better than those cramped and unsuitable Cadets. EcoCitys would be a smart move here, too. Not so sure about electric single deckers on the 26/27, however.
Stagecoach pulled out. Surprise, surprise!
As the 14 and 18 are due to be converted to double deck operation in the near future it is certainly very possible that hybrid double deckers could be ordered for those routes. The 79 is a surprise however an order for that route could displace the Geminis onto other routes (particularly the 80) at Speke that would benefit from the extra capacity they would provide. If the bid is successful then I personally would like to see the Enviro400 Hybrid ordered. Really glad to see that more gas buses are being proposed for Runcorn as well
I'm pleasantly surprised by the proposal for fully electric single deckers on the 26/27 circulars too - it'll be interesting to see what they could be. Nevertheless I think it's great to see that Merseytravel and Arriva have taken an active interest in introducing more environmentally friendly buses in the North West
(12/10/2015 13:37)R879 HRF Wrote: [ -> ]Sounds suspiciously similar to SMARTeco... And we all know how well that went!
I've just returned from a short break in Spain and was surprised to see the very same SMARTeco vehicles still trundling through the narrow streets of Madrid - a city with a serious air-pollution problem - almost ten years after they were first introduced.
Also, I believe the proposal to use all-electric vehicles on 'the Belt' to be a sensible one as the routes, being circular, never operate more than five miles from the depot. In the event of breakdown/power failure it will be less of a problem getting them back to Green Lane.
I dont think Single Deckers are fully suited to the 26/27, its one of them routes that should have a mix of singles and doubles as some dutys and on Match Days do get really packed
(13/10/2015 18:57)T42 PVM Wrote: [ -> ]I dont think Single Deckers are fully suited to the 26/27, its one of them routes that should have a mix of singles and doubles as some dutys and on Match Days do get really packed
I agree that the 26/7 do get busy at certain times of the day and occasionally need double-deck buses during match days. Having said that, LFC play, at most, 30 home games a season (8% of the year) and I don't think that Arriva should decide its vehicle requirements on that basis. On match days the solution is simple: put extra football specials or Enviro400s on the routes for a few hours when the Norwegians are in town.
(13/10/2015 21:04)Dentonian Wrote: [ -> ]30! The "Normal One" will need to take LFC to abnormal number of semis/finals in a season to reach that (lol)
Sorry, I was including pre-season friendlies, testimonials and replays against lower league opposition in meaningless cup competitions. Aside from the sarcasm, my point that investment in new vehicles needs to be fully costed and justified.
(13/10/2015 21:18)Barney Wrote: [ -> ]Sorry, I was including pre-season friendlies, testimonials and replaymo s against lower league opposition in meaningless cup competitions. Aside from the sarcasm, my point that investment in new vehicles needs to be fully costed and justified.
The only replays would in FA cups as the league cup doesn't have them. Anyway Everton Supporters would also use 26/27 as it also goes close enough to Goodison, whilst not outside but still well within walking distance.
Arriva London are currently operating the first 100% electric route in London. OK, it is early days, but seems to be pretty successful.