Volvo Presents Hybrid Double Deck Buses in London
07 July 2009
Volvo formally handed over its first six Hybrid Double Deck buses to Arriva London. A total of six Volvo B5L Hybrid Double Deck buses recently entered service on Route 141 in the city.
| The Double Deck Hybrid. Click to enlarge. |
The buses features the parallel hybrid I-SAM technology, developed across the entire Volvo Group. (Earlier post.)
Data from test track development and in service field trials with Arriva London show significant savings in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (C02) emissions as well as reduction in NOx and particulates.
The introduction of the new Volvo B5L Hybrid Double Deck bus follows on the heels of the introduction of the Volvo 7700 Hybrid Single Deck in May in Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg in Sweden. (Earlier post.) It is also part of an on-going program across the entire Volvo Group, which includes Trucks, Construction Equipment as well as Buses.
With longer intervals between bus stops in Gothenburg, the expected fuel savings there was 20-25%. The first months of service shows better then expected fuel savings, about 30%.
I once toured Europe in a Volvo bus and they make great buses.
Posted by: kelly | 07 July 2009 at 11:05 AM
Will these double-dek hybrid buses perform as well as they look? Almost a piece of art with their large curved front windows.
No doubt those hybrid buses will maintain Volvo's historical high quality and standards.
They may get better than the 30% gain obtained with the single deck units on longer routes.
Final operational results may not be in for another 6+ months.
Posted by: HarveyD | 07 July 2009 at 05:23 PM