Alexander Dennis (NFI Group) announced that the UK operator Reading Buses has confirmed new orders for 24 zero-emission buses and 29 low-emission buses.

The 24 e-buses are the next-generation double-decker model Enviro400EV and will be the operator’s first batch of electric buses. Equipped with the heavy-duty variant of the Voith Electrical Drive System (VEDS) and using high-performance batteries that store up to 472kWh of energy, the Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV is currently the most energy-efficient double-decker electric bus tested to Zemo Partnership standards in the UK, and offers a market-leading guaranteed energy yield of 1.6 GWh over eight years.

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The new buses will remove local exhaust emissions from Reading Buses’ busy routes 17 and 21 when the zero-emission vehicles enter service in 2025. They will be easily able to run for a full day on these services, with charging taking place at the Reading Buses depot, which will be upgraded with 13 fast chargers that can each charge two vehicles at once.

Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, Robert Williams, said: «We have been undertaking extensive testing of demonstrators from a number of suppliers. The two things of paramount importance were the experience for the customers and experience for our drivers, before we considered the technical side of things. Of all the demonstrators, the new Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV has the best layout for customers on board, and the drivers who tested it were very impressed».

Reading Buses also invested in 29 new low-emission Alexander Dennis buses. These include 21 new double-decker Enviro400s for longer routes, which follow the 19 identical Alexander Dennis buses introduced by the company in the past 18 months. The other eight buses will be single-deck Enviro200s that will completely revamp Newbury & District’s local fleet. All will be delivered later this year and will use the manufacturer’s SmartPack efficiency technology to reduce exhaust and carbon emissions.

Mark Taylor, Regional Sales Manager for Alexander Dennis, said: “We are delighted to welcome Reading Buses as one of the first customers for our next-generation electric buses. Our next-generation Enviro400EV will give Reading Buses a great start into zero-emission technology, its class-leading energy efficiency and warrantable energy throughput ensuring that these clean buses will cost less to operate and keep going for longer. We’re also thrilled to continue our partnership with further low-emission buses, building on similar investment in recent years and demonstrating our unrivalled ability to offer complete solutions for all fleet requirements».

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