Alexander Dennis has delivered three Enviro100EV small buses to Go South Coast for its Salisbury Reds fleet as part of a wider investment by the operator in electric buses.
Painted in the fleet’s attractive red and black livery, each electric bus has 26 seats including tip-ups in the wheelchair bay, with a total capacity of 45 passengers.
There are USB charging points at all seats, and the buses are fully PSVAIR-compliant, with next-stop audio/visual announcements, audio loops, and a dementia-friendly internal colour scheme.
The Enviro100EV is Alexander Dennis’s ‘big small bus’: at a compact 8.5m long and 2.35m wide, it’s ideal for narrow town streets and country lanes without losing the ‘big bus feel’ that passengers like.
This manoeuvrability will be of full advantage on the buses’ allocated routes Red4, Red6 and Red8, which provide access to housing estates and neighbouring villages. The Enviro100EV performed well on earlier route trials around congested and narrow Salisbury roads, coping particularly well with challenging road junctions.
With 354kWh batteries coupled to the Driventic Vehicle Electrical Drive System (VEDS), the buses can travel up to 285 miles on a single charge, offering an efficient zero-emission solution for the historic city of Salisbury.
Ed Wills, Go South Coast Managing Director, said: “These smaller buses are the first of our 30 brand new electric vehicles, following our successful bid, in partnership with Wiltshire Council, for funding from the Department for Transport’s ZEBRA 2 (Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas) scheme.
“The new vehicles will enable us to serve more challenging routes – giving even more of our customers the opportunity to opt for sustainable transport. They have a distinct appearance, and those living in or visiting Salisbury and the surrounding area will be sure to notice them.”
Mark Ballam, National Account Manager at Alexander Dennis, added: “It’s a joy to see our ‘big small bus’ hit the streets of Wiltshire in the fantastic Salisbury Reds livery. They look wonderful and they’re perfect for the kind of services they’ll be used on, cutting out tailpipe emissions while enhancing accessibility for all with their spacious and welcoming interior.
“We’re delighted that our Enviro100EV is the right fit for Go South Coast in Salisbury, with these three buses playing a vital role in the electrification of the local bus network.”
Salisbury Reds is an operating brand of Go South Coast, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. Go South Coast runs over 850 buses in a fleet that is predominantly Alexander Dennis.
The three Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV are part of a larger drive to electrify the Salisbury Reds fleet, with a total of 30 electric buses entering service this year.
The electrification is partly funded by the government’s Zero-Emission Regional Bus Areas (ZEBRA) scheme. A total investment of £15 million is being made in new vehicles and modernising the Salisbury depot.
