Stagecoach Group, a bus operator, will take delivery of the buses commencing with Oxford first, followed by Manchester, in the summer of 2010. They are the first of up to 300 hybrid electric buses that will be supplied to operators across the UK with support from the Department of Transport’s GBP30m Green Bus Fund, which provides financial incentives to adopt green technologies.
The diesel-electric BAE Systems HybriDrive system being installed in the new ADL Enviro 400h hybrid buses for Oxford and Manchester will deliver fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions that are up to 30% lower than conventional buses.
BAE Systems has partnered with ADL since 2007 to build hybrid electric buses for the UK, and these new orders follow transport for London’s evaluation of 17 BAE Systems-powered hybrid buses.
Adrian Havlin, technical engineer of Stagecoach Group, said: “We have been impressed with the performance, reliability, and product support in the UK provided by BAE Systems’ hybrid technology. These new hybrid vehicles are part of a package of measures to make our operations more sustainable and attract people to our greener, smarter public transport services. We are looking forward to being the first operator of these next-generation buses outside of London.”
The HybriDrive system consists of a generator, an electric motor and an energy storage system managed by computerized controls. A diesel engine that turns the generator operates independently of the electric drive motor, allowing it to run at nearly constant speed for optimum efficiency.
