International Bus Review 2018

INTER NATIONAL BUS REVIEW 2018 brought to you by

in association with

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 CO N T E N TS

WELCOME Welcome to the International Bus Review 2018. Returning for a second year, this publication from Passenger Transport has been produced to coincide with the Euro Bus Expo 2018 show at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, between October 30 and November 1.

From Bucharest to Belfast, it features contributions from a variety of organisations involved in planning, supply and operation of bus services around the world, highlighting some of the latest innovations and achievements in the sector.

18 OTOKAR

Breakthrough order sees Turkish company supply 400 new buses to the Romanian capital, Bucharest

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21 VAN HOOL

LAURA SHOAF

We meet the American who leads Transport for the West Midlands to learn about her vision for buses

Van Hool’s Exqui.City is offering the people of Belfast an exquisite way of travelling

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THE BUS BUILDERS

EURO BUS EXPO

Panel discussion offers insights into the challenges facing main suppliers of buses to UK market

More than 9,000 people are expected to visit three-day event at the NEC in Birmingham, UK

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ELECTRIC EUROPE

CUMMINS

Mark Lane reports on the issues involved in the transition towards electric buses in Europe

brought to you by:

Electrification programme sits alongside initiatives to make diesel engines even cleaner

Editor: Robert Jack / Deputy Editor: Andrew Garnett / Designer: Keith Simpson Passenger Transport Publishing Limited, PO Box 75210, London SE1P 6FB, UNITED KINGDOM T: +44 (0)20 3950 8000 / E: editorial@passengertransport.co.uk / W: www.passengertransport.co.uk / Twitter: @passtrans

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 INT E RV I EW : L AU RA S HOA F

Left to right: Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, Councillor Roger Lawrence, WMCA portfolio holder for transport, and Laura Shoaf, Managing Director of TfWM

A MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR BUSES Laura Shoaf, MD of Transport for the West Midlands, says buses have a huge to play in an integrated future n one of its final actions before being dissolved, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority appointed Laura Shoaf to head up Transport for West Midlands – the body that replaced it.

Shoaf has been Managing Director of TfWM, the transport

I

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, the former Managing Director of John Lewis who began his three-year term in May 2017.

Together they are working to ensure that the West Midlands has a transport system that works today, shines during the 2022 Commonwealth Games – which will be hosted in the region – and is capable of coping with the 440,000 additional people who are expected to inhabit the region by 2035.

Buses are a key component of TfWM’s strategy. Around 256 million journeys are made by bus across the region each year, compared to 70 million by rail and right million on the Metro light rail system.

“Bus is by far and away the way that the majority of people travel around the West Midlands,” says Shoaf, who is a regular bus user herself. “So it is hugely, hugely important to us.”

arm of the new West Midlands Combined Authority, since it came into being in June 2016.

The American, who has a background in urban planning, was previously WMITA’s strategic director of transport. She is now responsible for guiding and delivering the combined authority’s transport strategy to develop a network that fully integrates the region’s road, rail, bus and tram systems.

This requires her to work closely with the first directly-elected

“It is our most dominant market, and it’s flexible. It acts as the veins … to get out to the markets and to serve the people in their communities. It is a much more localised form of transport than any other that we have.”

However, Shoaf says that the deregulated market for buses that exists in Great Britain (outside of London) presents TfWM with challenges.

TfWM’s vision of the bus as the “veins” of the system, connecting people with rail and metro service and allowing for fast, seamless, multi-modal journeys is harder to achieve within the deregulated system. Shoaf and her colleagues are unable to specify bus routes and frequencies and must instead collaborate with private bus companies, who sometimes prefer to compete with rail and metro on key transport corridors rather than play a supporting role. TfWM tries

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to persuade them to look at the bigger picture.

“I think the key is recognising we all want the same thing,” she says. “In an ideal world we want their buses full, and that is exactly what they want.”

The dominance of National Express West Midlands, which operates around three-quarters of the region’s buses, can be an advantage from TfWM’s perspective because it limits the number of conversations that need to be had.

The authority’s Bus Alliance with National Express was the first of its kind in the UK, when it was launched in 2015. The landmark agreement was renewed in October 2017, with members gathering for a signing ceremony at the Coach & Bus UK show at the NEC near Birmingham.

The Bus Alliance now consists of West Midlands mayor Andy

Street, TfWM, the Safer Travel Partnership, the Department for Transport, Transport Focus, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, local highways authorities and local bus operators, including National Express, Stagecoach Midlands and Central Buses.

National Express has recently made two significant changes that other private bus operators in the UK have so far shied away from – the first is the introduction of contactless payment with fare capping and the second is the adoption of TfWM’s ‘West Midlands Transport’ branding on its vehicles.

After decades of only accepting exact change, every one of the company’s 1,600 buses will now take contactless payment, with daily fare capping. Users just tap their bank card and sit down.

The first tap pays for one trip, but, regardless of how many taps are subsequently made, users will never be charged more than the price of an adult day ticket.

Shoaf welcomes this development, but she would like to see this extended to all bus companies and all modes of public transport, as currently happens in London.

“The fare capping on National Express is fantastic if the only operator you want to use in the day is National Express,” she says.

“Without trying to sound cynical that was a very smart commercial decision that they made.” “[I’m] very happy that they have done that because a huge part of the market does just travel on their buses, and that will make for a better passenger experience.

“But actually we would like to see multi-modal contactless capping and that is somewhere we have got to go. We are trying to find a way that we can have that kind of capping between rail and metro and bus and cycle hire.”

The West Midlands Transport initiative meanwhile brings a single identity to the region’s bus, rail and tram services, plus work on cycling – the first time this has been done in Great Britain, outside of London.

Each mode has its own livery orange for trains, blue for trams, red for buses, green for bikes - centred on the WMT diamond logo.

“I think everybody recognises that one of the great things about Transport for London is that single transport brand,” says Shoaf.

“It gives people trust and it gives people confidence in the network, and it demonstrates that it’s coordinated.”

Shoaf thinks that National Express and other participants saw being part of that brand as something that was in their interests. But operators are perhaps also mindful of the Bus Services Act 2017, which gives combined authorities with directly-elected Mayors new powers to introduce bus franchising. Shoaf believes

“It’s an exciting time for transport in the West Midlands. For a very long time, the region has not seen the kind of investment in urban transport that the UK’s second city deserves”

Andy Street (left) marks the launch of contactless payment by National Express

that this has “incentivised the right kind of behaviour in terms of partnership working”.

TfWM is currently exploring what franchising would entail in terms of the process, the benefits and the risks. She points out that it doesn’t have to be made on a network-wide basis. It could be done on certain key corridors instead, for example. And she says that TfWM is also interested in what new ‘enhanced partnerships’ might offer.

It’s an exciting time for transport in the West Midlands. For a very long time, the region has not seen the kind of investment in urban transport that the UK’s second city deserves. This is now changing.

There’s a “rail renaissance” underway and Shoaf is pleased that the combined authority has had real influence over the specification of the region’s new rail franchise.

The Metro light rail system is branching out to new destinations.

The HS2 high speed rail link will arrive at the city’s new Curzon Street station in 2026.

And seven new ‘Sprint’ Bus Rapid Transit routes are planned (see panel).

The aim is to provide travellers with a high quality public transport alternative to the private car. And with a population the size of Liverpool expected to be added to the West Midlands over the next decade and a half, modal shift is essential if gridlock is to be avoided.

Shoaf, who describes herself as an “eternal optimist”, is upbeat.

“We have a massive, massive opportunity,” she says. “We are a growing region.

“Birmingham is the youngest, most diverse city in Europe. And actually there is so much that we should be doing to get young people - who if we believe what we read are minded to never want a car - to be on public transport.

“There is a fantastic opportunity to drive genuine behaviour change.

We have the dynamic of a growing young population that other areas would kill for. The key now is converting them young so that they become passionate users of public transport.”

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 INT E RV I EW : L AU RA S HOA F

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Efforts to tackle the region’s air quality challenges will also drive this change, but Shoaf is conscious WALSALL WOLVERHAMPTON TAMWORTH Sprint Network Plan of the need to give people a viable TAMWORTH WALSALL Sprint Network Plan WOLVERHAMPTON public transport alternative, rather WEDNESBURY SUTTON Sprint Network Plan COLDF ELD than “stand up on my high horse and University of WEDNESBURY Wolverhampton SUTTON University of tell people to get out of their car”.

COLDF ELD Wolverhampton University of Alexander All of thisWALSALL costs money, of Wolverhampton WOLVERHAMPTON Stadium WEST BROMW CH course.

Th e devolution settlement WALSALL WOLVERHAMPTON Alexander ERD NGTON PERRY Stadium WEST WALSALL WEDNESBURY Games that brought a combined authority WOLVERHAMPTON BARR BROMW CH SUTTON Village ERD NGTON DUDLEY WEDNESBURY PERRY COLDF ELD and directly-elected Mayor to SUTTON Games BARR WEDNESBURY ELD Village SUTTON the COLDF West Midlands will deliver DUDLEY Aston COLDF ELD University Alexander £4bn of funding over 10 years, Stadium WEST B RM NGHAM Aston Alexander and a signifi cant portion of this C TY CENTRE CH BROMW University WEST Stadium ERD NGTON PERRY But Alexander B RM NGHAMBROMW CH will be invested in transport.

BEARWOOD Games Stadium WEST C TY CENTRE BARR ERD NGTON PERRY Village BROMW CH Games DUDLEY Shoaf says that more is needed, Birmingham BARR ERD NGTON BEARWOOD City University PERRY Village Birmingham DUDLEY Games and she would like new fund BARR Interchange Birmingham Village HALESOWEN City University DUDLEY Aston raising powers devolved from Birmingham University Interchange Aston HALESOWEN B RM NGHAM STOURBR DGE Westminster to her region.

University The University C TY CENTRE Birmingham Aston B RMInNGHAM of Birmingham International the short term, however, University HALL GREEN STOURBR DGE C TY CENTRE BEARWOOD B RM NGHAM The University Birmingham Newman Shoaf and her bus company of Birmingham International C TY CENTRE BEARWOOD University HALL GREEN KEY SOL HULL Solihull A34 Birmingham through Sandwell to Walsall partners must find a wayBirmingham ofUniversity City NORTHF ELD Newman BEARWOOD Birmingham University Birmingham to Sutton Coalfield via Langley City University SOL HULL LONGBR DGE reversing a steady and sustained Solihull Birmingham NORTHF ELD Birmingham HALESOWEN A45 Birmingham to Birmingham Airport serving NEC Interchange City University decline in bus use, a trend which Birmingham HALESOWEN LONGBR DGE Interchange STOURBR DGE mirrors what is happening across HALESOWEN The University STOURBR DGE Birmingham Great Britain as a whole.ofShe HALL GREEN KEY The University Birmingham STOURBR DGE ofWalsall Birmingham A34 Birmingham through Sandwell to HALLesNewman GREEN KEY identifi two key factors for theInternational The University Birmingham University of Birmingham A34 Birmingham through Sandwell to Walsall Birmingham to Sutton Coalfield via Langley International HALL GREEN KEY Newman decline.

NORTHF ELD University Birmingham to Sutton Coalfield via Langley A34 Birmingham through Sandwell to Walsall A45 Birmingham to Birmingham Airport serving NEC SOL HULL Newman Solihull Firstly, NORTHF ELD University to Birmingham Airport serving NEC LONGBRolder DGE people are now A45 Birmingham Birmingham to Sutton Coalfield via Langley SOL HULL Solihull NORTHF Three of the seven proposed Sprint routes are being accelerated so they are inELD place for the 2022 LONGBR Commonwealth Games more likely than before to drive DGE A45 Birmingham to Birmingham Airport serving NEC LONGBR DGE cars, despite the incentive of a free says that the new Glider rapid of high congestion. This will require SPRINT FINISH FOR concessionary bus pass in their some challenging conversations transit system in Belfast is probably COMMONWEALTH wallet. about the allocation of roadspace in the closest example of what Sprint GAMES And secondly, traffic congestion the months and years ahead. is intended to be. Launched in is slowing down bus journeys, Shoaf says that TfWM is also September 2018, Glider uses a new mode of transport is making the bus a less attractive considering how it will procure an fleet of 30 Exqui.City “trambuses”, proposed for the West operator for the system. supplied by Van Hool (see page 21). option. Shoaf believes that this is Midlands. ‘Sprint’ will be a The hope is that by offering Like Glider, Sprint will offer a Bus Rapid Transit system, blending partly behind the huge growth in a halfway house between bus the flexibility of the bus with the fast, level of service and comfort similar rail use within the region, where and Metro, Sprint may overcome to a tram, with off-board ticketing, guaranteed journeys of light rail. journey times are more reliable. the stigma that is attached to multiple-door boarding, free Wi-Fi, Sprint will have seven routes But she remains optimistic. conventional buses. air conditioning and on-board by 2026 but in August it was “Like I said, there is probably “Somebody said to me the other audio-visual announcements and announced that three of those are no better opportunity in the day that people say ‘I missed my travel information. being accelerated so they are in country than a super young, train’, ‘I missed my plane’ but they It will provide fast and dependable place for the 2022 Commonwealth growing population to change the always say that ‘the bus left without journey times using limited stops – Games in Birmingham (see map). me’. It is a different relationship that around 500 metres apart – using its patronage figures for bus,” she says.

The ambition is for Sprint to people have with it.” own dedicated lane through areas work in tandem with the region’s So can the decline be reserved suburban rail lines and Metro light within the next five years? rail routes.

“I would certainly hope so.

Sprint is being developed by I think it is something that we Transport for West Midlands in should be aspiring to change as partnership with local councils. soon as possible really.

The three initial routes are: “We are putting in measures ■ Birmingham City Centre to around bus priority, using pinch Birmingham Airport and Solihull (A45 serving NEC); point money, and working with ■ Birmingham City Centre through highway authority partners to Sandwell to Walsall (A34 serving make those little changes. I think Games Village and Alexander we are being pretty pro-active.

Stadium); “I would hope that in five years ■ Birmingham City Centre to we could see that change. Some Sutton Coldfield via Langley. of that will be on the bus industry The vehicles that will be used itself. We can only do it working have not yet been specified. Laura in partnership with them.” ■ A visualisation of a Birmingham-bound vehicle on one of the proposed Sprint routes Shoaf, managing director of TfWM,

Sprint Network Plan

22/10/2018 15:32

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 FO CUS : BUS M A N U FACTU RIN G

CHALLENGING TIMES FOR BUS BUILDERS Panel discussion offers insights into challenges facing main suppliers of buses to UK market he UK’s three largest suppliers of buses Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Wrightbus - were joined on stage by Stagecoach, the country’s largest purchaser of buses, in October.

Their dialogue, which took place at the CPT Conference in Ayrshire, offered insights into the challenges that bus manufacturers face, both now and in the future, and what this means for their customers.

Delegates heard the views of Colin Robertson, Chief Executive of Alexander Dennis, Phil Owen, Commercial Sales Director at Volvo Bus UK, Mark Nodder, Chairman and CEO of Wright Group and Sam Greer, Engineering Director at Stagecoach UK Bus. The discussion was guided by Richard Hall, Managing Director of Lothian, the dominant bus operator in Edinburgh.

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‘The game just keeps going faster’ The session kicked off with a discussion about the challenge of developing the new products that bus operators demand while at

the same time ensuring that what rolls off the production line is both durable and affordable.

All three of those representing manufacturers spoke about the challenge of achieving this against a backdrop of rapidly evolving technology.

Robertson pointed out that Euro 3 diesel engines were being offered just 13 years ago. Since then the industry has progressed through Euro 4 and Euro 5 to Euro 6. And during this period, manufacturers have also had to get to grips with other forms of propulsion - parallel and series diesel-electric hybrids, super-capacitors, ultra-capacitors, CNG and full electric.

Customers continue to expect a thoroughly developed and reliable product, he said, but “the game just keeps going faster and faster”.

“The scariest thing of all is that we are probably going slower than we will in the future, because the pace of change just continues to increase,” he said.

Robertson believes that bus manufacturers can learn lessons from the automotive sector.

“30 years ago cars broke down.

30 years ago cars overheated.

30 years ago cars rusted,” he said.

“The automotive guys spend a fortune on R&D, on testing and development, and today they give out the most reliable vehicle ever you’ll have, a three, five, seven-year warranty, excellent cost of ownership.”

He conceded that car manufacturers produce vehicles in much greater volumes, and they have much deeper pockets than bus manufacturers, but he believes that the same core principles can be applied to building buses.

Representing bus operators, Greer and Hall each articulated the need for robust and reliable products.

“There is still too much R&D that’s done in the field, and we need to do much more R&D at the beginning,” lamented Greer.

“It’s a good point,” Hall concurred. “We don’t buy a car and find engineering problems and solutions we need to overcome. That piece of upfront R&D is absolutely critical to get a product that goes out on day one and performs.”

Owen said that Volvo tries to develop and test its vehicles to account for every type of operation, but he said that there would always be things that are uncovered in service because it’s not possible to re-enact them in test criteria.

“It is not an exact science and the goal posts keep changing,” he said. “Technology, as Colin said, has come a long way [since 2003].

“Euro 6 came in in 2014 and next year we will see the third generation of engine and technology to cope

“We don’t buy a car and find engineering problems and solutions we need to overcome.

That piece of upfront R&D is absolutely critical to get a product goes out on day one and performs” RICH ARD H ALL, LOTHIAN

ABOVE: Phil Owen of Volvo Bus UK (left) and Colin Robertson of Alexander Dennis RIGHT: Sam Greer of Stagecoach UK Bus (left) and Mark Nodder of Wright Group

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with Euro 6 alone.

“So manufacturers are not getting the life cycle timeline out of the specific product, from introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

“It is happening much, much quicker than what manufacturers really can cope with.

“And we’re evolving in an unnatural state towards electrification rather than it evolving naturally, going through the processes of each product.”

This view was echoed by Nodder. He listed the many different types of product, from battery bus to fuel cell, which Ballymena-based Wrightbus has developed. He then recalled a review of the company’s product development process which was undertaken by a prominent engineering consultancy company a few years ago.

“It was a very interesting exercise and there were huge lessons from it,” he said.

“Their executive summary was something like, ‘you’re nuts’. You guys are crackers, you are doing all this for this return and this [relatively small] volume. Have you any idea what they are doing in Toyota and Nissan and BMW? They would spend five years on something that you are spending 18 months on.

“But what they did note was that there is just this rapid, incessant pace of technological change in our industry, and it’s driven politically and it is also driven by our customers who are looking to reduce total cost of ownership.”

In Nodder’s eyes, however, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

“I don’t complain because this is what we are good at,” he said.

“We are a custom build industry.

We are an agile industry. We in particular in Wrights see ourselves as a very agile niche player. So I don’t want a kind of slow, ‘me too’, glacial evolution of the market.

I actually quite like these spiky challenges from time to time. I’ve got a very innovative team, [who are] very good at coming up with creative solutions.”

He continued: “Each year the low carbon threshold raises.

Each year you’ve got to do better in terms of your emissions, and

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frankly each year that means another round of developing …

If I don’t do it Colin is going to do it, and if Colin doesn’t do it Phil is going to do it, and we lose market share.

“So we are all in this virtuous race I guess to succeed. But there are times when you kind of draw breath and you think ‘my goodness, we’ve only built 200 of these and now we are being asked to step up to another driveline technology’.

“I think what is really needed here is a collaborative sense of where the industry wants to go.

Because at the moment everybody has a different view as to whether they want a hybrid bus or electric bus or CNG bus and so forth.”

Electric vehicles versus Euro 6 The discussion then turned to electric vehicles.

“You don’t need me to tell you that EVs are going to be at the forefront of everybody’s minds for the next three or four years,” said Greer.

“It is going to take someone to commit to taking in big numbers.

Technology is going to continue to advance at a great pace. Battery technology is going to move significantly over the next four or five years.

He continued: “You are sitting as an operator kind of playing chess at the moment. Are you absolutely going to commit yourself be first to market with some of this stuff?

Or are you going to sit back and let some form of product maturity get into the marketplace before you commit to taking big numbers of these products?”

Nodder believes that the right building blocks are now in place for EVs, enabling bus manufacturers to deliver products that are reliable and affordable.

“The natural evolution of, in particular EVs and hybrids, has got to the point now where they are becoming generally taken up in an automotive industry, so suddenly you’ve got scale,” he said.

“For instance, our principal battery supplier is a Chinese/ American company who supply many of the major automotive companies. So the batteries that

He conceded that Volvo, a global automotive giant and diesel engine manufacturer, has not been as quick to market with EVs as some of its competitors, but he said it was a difficult transition for both manufacturers and operators.

“During the journey we have learnt that it is very difficult to take one diesel bus off the road and replace it with an electric bus, because there are so many other things you need to take into account,” he said.

“As an operator that is purchasing vehicles, if you just look at analysing the route … to change from diesel to electric you have to look where your bus stops are located, do you have the energy to pull off at a bus stop at a 10% gradient? What happens when you have congestion on a hill with a full bus? There are lots more issues that you have to be aware of.”

He said that the energy consumption of EVs versus diesel buses was also a key consideration because “that is what really will go towards your costs and your business case going forward”.

“You don’t need me to tell you that EVs are going to be at the forefront of everybody’s minds for the next three or four years...

Technology is going to continue to advance at a great pace” SA M G RE E R, STAGECOACH UK BUS

we will be fitting to EVs from early next year have the benefit of that technological development, that proving in the field and the scale that frankly gives us a better price point.”

Nodder pointed out that his kind of supplier did not exist before.

“When I think back, we built our first battery bus in 1998 and since then I think we’re on our sixth or seventh battery manufacturer, five of whom don’t exist anymore,” he said.

“That’s what it’s like unfortunately being at the socalled bleeding edge of technology.

You go with who you think is the best player around that you realise that, like a lot of these dot-com companies, they have got a really short life, and you are left carrying the can when they disappear.

“I sense we are through a lot of that stuff.”

Lothian is among the growing band of UK bus companies that have introduced EVs. The company invested £2.7m in a fleet of six new Wrightbus StreetAir single deck buses, which entered service in September 2017, and more full electric vehicles have subsequently joined the fleet.

However, Hall believes that the industry needs to think about how it communicates the message about how clean the latest generation of diesel buses are.

“Euro 6 is a great product but there is still a huge misunderstanding around Euro 6 and what it delivers,” he said.

Owen also believes that the industry is on the verge of being able to offer reliable and affordable EV platforms, but he also concurred that Euro 6 is “exceptionally clean and delivers the majority of what most cities are looking for”.

Owen continued: “Electrification is being driven more by a political agenda rather than, I think, an industry agenda.

“It is good that we move forward and introduce new products, and benefit from what they actually deliver, which is improved air quality. But don’t lose sight that Euro 6 is still new, it has not gone through its maturity stage, it is probably still in its growth stage because Step D engines next year will deliver something different again in terms of information.

“So the focus needs to be that Euro 6 is clean, cities can benefit now that move towards Euro 6 in volume and try out EV and let it mature at this stage as technology advances. We are in, I think, our third generation of battery and we’re only really delivering our first generation vehicles Electric supply networks Martin Dean, Managing Director – Bus Development at the Go-Ahead Group and President of CPT, asked whether the roll out of electric vehicles could be stymied by the

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lack of electric supply networks for those vehicles.

“We have now sold a number electric buses into a number of different operators and without exception they have all pulled their hair out with the infrastructure challenge,” Robertson responded.

“Whether it’s power networks, some of the power providers, frankly some of their turnaround times, the costs, they just make up numbers with six and seven figures and throw them out there.

“It is real challenge because there’s not really a competitive landscape out there to make sure that the opcos are getting value for money.”

He said that bus operators were typically investing around £1m in the charging infrastructure for new electric bus fleets.

“It’s not an investment for the faint hearted,” he said. “I would love if we could get a little bit more competition in that space.”

Nodder questioned whether energy suppliers would able to cope if bus fleets went electric within a short period of time.

ABOVE: Richard Hall of Lothian chaired the session. BELOW: The four panelists

A while ago he and a colleague came up with their own bag-of-afag-packet calculation that if 4,000 electric buses in London (roughly half of the fleet) were charged at the same time, it would require all of the power generated by one of the city’s five power stations.

He pointed out that the industry is looking at different methods of charge, such as overnight charging and short charges during the day, and London is looking at where shared power supplies that can potentially be tapped into, like the one for Underground rail network.

Meanwhile, Nodder said that in recent years there has been greater emphasis on where electric power is coming from.

Is it an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel or not? Or is the burning of fossil fuels simply being transferred to a power station?

“That’s going to be an increasing political focus, quite rightly, otherwise we are fooling ourselves,” he said. “I think when you roll it out it begs huge questions.

“And therefore I don’t think the national solution is that everybody is going to be on plug-in EVs, I think we are going to end up with a mix.

“I think we are going to end up with plug-ins, we are going to be on opportunity charge. I absolutely see a niche role for hydrogen electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, because they obviously have a different modus operandi.

“Rightly or wrongly as a manufacturer I don’t see a one-size -fits-all solution to this problem.”

“We have now sold a number electric buses into a number of different operators and without exception they have all pulled their hair out with the infrastructure challenge” CO LIN RO BE RTSON, A DL

Automated vehicles – an even bigger challenge?

First UK Bus is investing £14m in a fleet of 75 new Euro 6 Alexander Dennis double deck buses for Glasgow. This move will enable the company to comply with the first phase of the city’s new Low Emissions Zone, laid out to bus operators by Glasgow City Council, which comes into effect from December.

Andrew Jarvis, Managing Director of First Scotland, asked the panel whether they thought autonomous technology would be fitted to these vehicles during their 16-year life.

“That is the million dollar question,” Robertson responded.

“We are spending a fortune on… autonomous enablement. We have got a couple of studies underway.

“Ideally we are going to really prove the technology in a very, very controlled physical space, like a bus garage, before we ever dream of retrofitting autonomous controls and steering systems and whatever on the main highways.

Because I think there is a psychological battle that will actually be way more challenging than the technological battle.”

Robertson pointed out that many elements are already offered in cars, and not just the expensive high end products.

And, in buses, he has witnessed trials of an Alexander Dennis bus equipped with automated vehicle technology at the Millbrook test centre, where the vehicle has successfully avoided an inflatable car. “Absolutely incredible stuff,” he remarked.

Robertson said that operators had to weigh up whether they wanted to be the first to use these technologies, with all of the risks involved, or a close second.

“Do you want some other mobs to try and work with stuff to three decimal places before you go, and then hoover up thoroughly developed technologies?” he asked.

Nodder spoke about the hurdles that must be overcome.

“I think it’s a bigger technical challenge than EV or zero emission, when I look at the scale of what’s required,” he said.

He admitted that he has

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sometimes been guilty of assuming that if a technology an automated technology is available on a car it can be easily slotted into a bus.

‘How hard can it be?’ he asks his engineers. ‘Very’, they respond.

“The world of the bus is very different,” Nodder explained.

“It’s a big beast. It’s often full of passengers and it’s got 18-20 tonnes of momentum behind it.

“It tends to mix it in slightly different and more congested traffic conditions. It’s in the middle of big cities. One slip and we are all in trouble.”

He added: “I think it is at the moment baby steps. I don’t think there is going to be a fully autonomous bus out of our company in the next two or three years, but what you will see all those safety features gradually being added for the benefit of the driver and the passenger.”

Design – no more ‘boxes on four wheels’ Hall steered the conversation towards bus design, which he said had evolved massively.

“Buses were boxes on four wheels for many, many years,” he said. “I don’t think we employed designers. We employed people who could get as many buses out of a sheet of square aluminium as we could.

“But we are in a different place now. The uniqueness of the design from each of these three guys as here is very clear to see.”

Nodder said that Wrightbus has a passionate team of automotive stylists and designers. “[They are] constantly striving to create something that exceeds and delights customer expectations but also is something, irrespective of whether it has the Wrights badge on it, that is memorable …

We go out of our way I guess not to build the box on four wheels, not to build the ‘me too’ product.”

He said that he and his colleagues had been really impressed by Alexander Dennis’s MMC overhaul of its double deck products, but Wrightbus decided to take its design in a different direction.

“We deliberately went from very curvy, very sweepy to this

But certainly there’s lots of good stuff that comes out from all the manufacturers.”

Hall asked the manufacturers about the pressure to tweak products to reflect their aspirations of their customers.

“Soft trim, hard trim, Formica, mood lighting - you can pretty much have whatever you like but the trick is to do it in a productive way,” said Robertson.

“We have really cracking CAD systems … so that you can actually physically see what it is that you have specced before you get the fright of your life when you come to sign it off.”

He said that Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis had worked hard to design an attractive, sweeping entrance so that customers weren’t tempted to “get their hacksaw out” and start changing it.

“You try and design out some of the really hard stuff by giving them a good thorough well-designed thought through solution, and then you create engineering headroom to have whatever you want.” he explained.

However, he added: “We still have lots of people who just want to go daft. And God bless them, if they turn up with their cheque books they can go as daft as they like.”

very angular kind of design that we have adopted in recent years,” he said. “And it’s all about differentiation … I want our product to stand out and be recognised wherever it goes.”

However, he said that Wrightbus was also mindful that bus operators also want their vehicles to convey their brand and their marketing messages.

Greer praised the efforts made by his fellow panelists.

“I think the manufacturers have done a really good job about styling,” he said.

“I think the products are modern.

We keep them cutting-edge and that’s a bit of collaboration work as well. We like to think we’ve got an input into that as operators, as other operators have done as well.

“We deliberately went from very curvy, very sweepy to this very angular kind of design that we have adopted in recent years. And it’s all about differentiation … I want our product to stand out and be recognised wherever it goes” MAR K NODDE R, WRIGHT GROUP

Brexit – ‘a dust storm’ The trio of manufacturers were then asked about the potential impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union in March next year.

Owen revealed that Volvo Bus UK has a dedicated project team working at its head office in Warwick, with meetings twice a week, trying to understand every potential scenario as the departure date approaches.

“It’s very complex for us because it won’t just affect the bus business, it will affect the 6,000 trucks we sell each year,” he said.

“It will affect every part of our UK business, and I don’t have the answers today and I’m sure nobody else has the answers today. But we are trying to look at every scenario, [and] what we need to do.

He continued: “It’s not about new products as yet, it’s about making sure we have the parts available to keep vehicles that are already in the market on the road where they need to be.”

Nodder spoke about the impact on prices that followed the referendum in June 2016. As the date of the vote loomed, Wrightbus bought Euros and hedged its position out as far as it could. This insulated the company against the subsequent drop in Sterling, but

Phil Owen (centre) revealed that Volvo Bus UK has a dedicated Brexit project team, working on every potential scenario

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only for a limited period. For the past nine months, the company has had to absorb price increases of around 12-16% for materials sourced from within the Eurozone.

“There’s a real pressure in terms of input prices and no-one in the customer community would thank us or encourage us to pass on a 15-16% price increase - would you Sam?” said Nodder, turning to Greer in the adjacent seat.

“No,” Greer replied, swifty.

“Short conversations on that subject,” Nodder continued, so we have to be innovative in the way that we absorb that and deal with that.”

Wrightbus reduces its supply chain costs by doing a lot of its own composites and metal fabrications, but there are some costs over which the company has very little influence.

“Our engines, our transmissions, our axles, our braking systems, our steering systems, our everything systems tend to come from Germany,” he said. “These are the well established, high quality products, household names that this industry has come to rely on and consistently chooses.

“And they are, like it or not, coming from an EU country. So we are not going to get away from the price pressure.”

But Nodder said that the implications of Brexit could potentially go much further than a readjustment in the value of Sterling.

“We talk about ‘when the dust settles on Brexit’, it’s a dust storm,” he said. “You can’t see through it at the moment.

“We don’t know what trading conditions we’re going to have with Germany in another six or eight months time. We don’t know whether it’s going to be a whole lot of paperwork and bureaucracy that’s going to build an extra two weeks into the supply chain.”

He continued: “Stock holdings of big items like engines and axles and transmissions are hugely expensive to maintain. But it could be worse than that, we could be in a tariff situation for goodness sake.”

Nodder then addressed the potential post-Brexit impact on the regulatory environment.

“For the last 15-17 years or

variations in the standards, but it’s been a fairly well managed and transparent process.

“So what will happen?” he asked. “For the time being we know we’re going to roll over all the EU legislation into our rule book, and then what we are going to gradually do is pick the bits that be like and dispose of the bits we don’t like.

“I don’t know what bits of bus construction and use regulations we are likely to poke into, and I dare say there is somebody hiding under his desk at the moment in the Department for Transport who can’t wait to get back into looking at the regulations all over again, and to get his slide rule and start changing the aisle widths and all this nonsense that we used to have to deal with in the past.”

TOP: Wrightbus StreetAir buses at Lothian. MIDDLE: One of new Alexander Dennis double deckers for First Glasgow. BOTTOM: Volvo is developing an autonomous bus

so we have been effectively building a bus to the regulations of the EU. We used to build to Department for Transport regulations - my goodness, constant reinterpretations of the regulations, what fun that was!

“And then we settled on standards for Construction and Use and homologation and certification set by the EU. So at least we’re all playing on the same level playing field and there’s been

“Brexit will affect every part of our UK business, and I don’t have the answers today and I’m sure nobody else has the answers today. But we are trying to look at every scenario, and what we need to do” P HIL OWE N, VO LVO BUS UK

Ending on a positive note The UK market for buses is down 30% on what it was in 2015 and London, which has for so long been a dependable source of new vehicles orders, is now suffering decline. But Robertson remains optimistic about the future.

“We do find ourselves in adversity right now but I believe that the steady diet of misery will come to an end at some point soon,” he said.

“The combination of Olympics, strong London, DDA compliance for single and double deck, lots of investment - we didn’t realise they were good times at the time because they still felt miserable, but nothing like as miserable as today feels!

“If you look at this year’s market it is down 20%, London is in the doldrums, reduced mileage, TfL’s deficit is through the roof, the big PLCs [have suppressed share prices]. But for me, urbanisation, air quality, passenger experience, focus on quality - the pendulum will swing.”

Hall wrapped things up by praising the resilience and endeavour of the UK bus manufacturing industry.

“We have got a group of manufacturers who are absolutely innovating and they continue to do that even in these tough and perhaps uncertain times.” n

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 VIEW P O I NT : M A RK LA N E

CHARGING A CHANGING WORLD Mark Lane reports on the issues involved in the transition towards electric buses in Europe here is little doubt by now that electric buses are here to stay. Even bus manufacturers with a vested interest in diesel technology now predict that up to 70% of urban buses in Europe will be electric by 2030. This sea change has the potential to deliver the biggest upheaval to the bus manufacturing and operating industry in decades, and that’s before the additional impact of autonomous vehicle technologies or ride-sharing providers.

Most notably, the switch to electric has changed the balance of power between bus manufacturers.

The continental European city bus market has traditionally been dominated by five OEMs with wider automotive interests – Daimler, MAN, Iveco, Volvo and Scania – who all appear to have been caught out to varying degrees by the speed of the transition away from their bread and butter technology, the diesel engine.

Independent statistics are hard to come by, but China-based BYD reports market leadership with over 600 battery-electric buses sold in Europe. Not bad for a company that made its first appearance in Europe as little as seven years ago.

It is a success that has been enabled

by BYD’s ability to adapt rapidly to European markets. It works with ADL in the UK and this partnership has contributed over a third of its total sales. On the continent, it has redesigned its own product to better suit established tastes and is now building buses in both Hungary and France.

Dutch manufacturer VDL recently claimed 500 electric buses sold, while Solaris of Poland

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appears to be in third place with 330 battery buses. Both are without conventional engine production or wider automotive interests; their established role as system integrators has allowed them to quickly implement advances in technology. Both have just announced a new generation of batteries that will store more energy.

These companies expand into a vacuum left by the hesitance of larger players. Even though all major builders have at least now unveiled prototypes, Daimler and MAN are still two years away from volume production.

This glacial pace has angered German operators who are keen to improve their environmental credentials, but reluctant to switch suppliers. The board of Berlin’s BVG was not the only one to undertake a well-publicised study tour to China.

And when the IAA exhibition opening tour for Germany’s federal and state policy-makers pointedly includes a visit to BYD’s stand as it did this autumn, change is in the air in the country that regards itself as the heart of the European bus manufacturing industry.

Of course, the established players may well catch up and reclaim their dominance. For now, they hardly fret about the state of their order books overall, as the majority of new buses continue to be powered by internal combustion engines. But they are missing out on one thing that is crucial to make electric buses work well: experience.

With energy and therefore range a precious commodity due to the limitations placed on the size of batteries, the key expertise is in energy and battery management.

These related disciplines can only be at their best when enhanced by input of real-world experience which takes into account the variables and vagaries of bus

German policy-makers took time to visit BYD at this year’s IAA exhibition

“Even bus manufacturers with a vested interest in diesel technology now predict that up to 70% of urban buses in Europe will be electric by 2030” operation.

The laws of physics are not generally known for miracles and they apply to all battery bus builders. The real differentiation is in how closely they can reliably be maxed out.

Reliability itself is another factor not to be underestimated, as operators move from trials to fleet conversions. BYD was the first to report technical availability on par with diesel buses, achieved by the London fleet built in partnership with ADL. This means

no costly vehicles need to be kept in reserve beyond a possible increase in vehicle requirement to accommodate charging.

Charging is where the world changes for the bus operator. Unlike conventional buses that fuel up and go far enough to cover a day’s work and more, electric buses require a system approach to find the best compromise between operations, vehicles and infrastructure.

The best results - meaning the smallest impact on any of these factors - are achieved when all parties collaborate early on to plan the deployment of electric buses together with their specification and that of the infrastructure to support it. The exact results will vary on local factors specific to an operator or city as much as they often depend on national planning frameworks that determine the ease with which depots can be connected to medium or high voltage grids or planning permission can be obtained for decentralised charging infrastructure.

Nevertheless, trends are emerging across Europe. Experience has shown that some charging technologies work more reliably than others, and that an operational

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LEFT: Hamburg will charge its Solaris electrics in the depot

compromise - such as returning some vehicles to the depot for a top-up charge during the day - may be cheaper than a more extensive infrastructure required otherwise.

For rigid single-deckers applicable presumably also to UK double-deckers whose unladen and gross weights are similar to those of a continental ‘standard’ bus - operators increasingly seek to charge only in the depot. Plug chargers refill batteries overnight with only moderate power, keeping infrastructure simple and inexpensive. Where necessary, operational planning brings buses back to the garage to take turns in receiving a top-up charge to see them through the rest of their day’s work.

This may increase the vehicle requirement on the occasion where there isn’t enough of a mid-day lull to free up buses.

But cities and operators that have studied the alternatives on a fleet-wide scale have found that even a 15% increase in fleet strength and a corresponding but smaller increase in staffing levels will be cheaper than the outlay for decentralised ‘opportunity’ charging infrastructure. Hamburg is taking this as the blueprint

for full conversion to electric, anticipating that improvements to battery technology will deliver increased range. The avoidance of opportunity charging also avoids white elephant installations.

The German city is of course by no means the first to realise this.

Europe’s first implementation of depot-only charging on a larger scale has been at Go-Ahead’s Waterloo garage in London, where BYD in turn drew on its vast and constantly growing experience with this approach in China.

Opportunity charging, however, may have its place where high amounts of energy are not only required now but are expected

to remain necessary. This applies most often to high intensity, high mileage operations using energyhungry articulated buses. Inductive power transfer has proven both costly and unreliable and for all intents and purposes is no longer considered to bring energy into the vehicle. Pantographs, whether mounted on the roof of a bus or inverted from the charging station, enable far higher power transfers anyway. 450kW is now the norm and even higher speed charging is under preparation.

Yet even in opportunity charging, operators increasingly aim to keep the number of locations at which infrastructure is to be installed to a

VDL electric artics fill up at a charging hub near Amsterdam airport

minimum by opting for ‘charging hubs’ at bus stations or depots instead of equipping individual termini. Rather than charge after every run, buses complete several trips before their batteries are brought back to full during an extended layover. If there is no suitable gap in the timetable, another bus covers. Clever planning staggers the charging breaks and minimises the number required.

This mode of operation has been pioneered by Transdev in the Netherlands and is most impressively demonstrated around Amsterdam airport; enabled by a transport authority willing to pay substantially higher contract prices to fund the expensive batteries and charging infrastructure required to cope with the high charge rates.

This kind of policy support is essential to the successful transition to cleaner electric buses.

For now, electric buses in most cases remain more expensive than their conventional brethren. The benefits they deliver through lower emissions and reduced noise do not accrue to operators but to society at large. It is only right that they are funded through wider mechanisms.

The cost can be settled through contract prices, which is the Dutch model and is also prevalent in Nordic countries or indeed in London. Alternatively, capital funding may support operators in the acquisition of cleaner buses, bringing in assets that have a productive working life well beyond the length of most operating contracts. Germany is choosing this path, as is the UK’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles when it supports operators in the deregulated market outside of London.

Electric bus technology itself is indifferent to how it is funded or how its batteries are charged.

Passengers and residents also do not care too much if they get what matters: a smooth ride and cleaner air. And the planet benefits too: in all but the most extremely coal-burning cases, batteryelectric buses bring down carbon emissions even when charged with gas-dominated grid electricity. n

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 P RO F I L E : EU RO BUS EX PO

EURO BUS EXPO 2018 IS ALMOST HERE! More than 9,000 people are expected to visit three-day event at NEC Birmingham Euro Bus Expo – Europe’s biggest bus, coach and minibus trade event taking place this year – returns to the NEC in Birmingham (UK) from October 30 to November 1.

Established as the leading international trade fair for the bus and coach industry in 2018, over

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a full spectrum of cutting-edge innovations. Many are planning to use the show to publicly launch their new products.

A record-breaking 130 vehicles will be on display. Major vehicle manufacturers and dealers include: Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), BASE, Connaught, EVM, Isuzu, Irizar, MAN, Minis to Midis, Moseley, Optare, Scania, Temsa, Unvi, Van Hool, VDL, Volvo, Wrights Group and Yutong.

Exhibitors in the Technology

9,000 attendees will pack the aisles over three action-packed days to discover the next wave of vehicles, technology, equipment, accessories and business services launching into the European market. n Visitor registration for the free-toattend, three day biennial event is open at www.eurobusxpo.com

Around 300 exhibitors will be found within the 25,000 square metre exhibition space, showcasing

Zone will showcase the latest software solutions, the latest IT equipment, mobile technology, onboard Wi-Fi, ticketing systems, and revenue collection services.

The miniplus Area, hosted by leading trade title miniplus, is dedicated solely to operators of small- and medium-sized passenger carrying vehicles. It will bring together exhibitors in the small vehicle sector to demonstrate the latest equipment and supplies available in this growing sector of the market.

Suppliers will display purposebuilt vehicles fitted with modern accessibility aids including stepfree design, wheelchair lifts, seats and other safety items, along with showcasing conversion services for those buyers with bespoke

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requirements.

Alongside the exhibition, a full seminar programme in the Master Class Theatre will be a major draw, with top industry speakers. As in previous years, there will be a focus on game-changing technologies and industry developments, backed by real-world commercial applications and case studies – all tailored specifically for operators to help them prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Confirmed speakers include Martin Dean, President of the CPT and Managing Director – Bus Development at The Go-Ahead Group; Claire Mann, Director of Bus Operations at Transport for London; Meera Nayyar, Passenger Experience

committed to delivering a quality show over three days, which our audience can be proud of.

Whether you’re looking to purchase new vehicles, upgrade your technology, improve your passengers’ experience or your business efficiency, you’ll find the best of what’s on offer at Euro Bus Expo 2018.

“That’s what makes the show such an exciting and invaluable experience to the thousands of visitors who regularly attend.”

Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of First UK Bus, commented: “It’s a tremendous showcase for the advancements being developed by so many of the industry’s suppliers and partners.

“Not only do these offer support and solutions to operators in these

Team Leader – Buses and Taxis at Department for Transport; Alex Hornby, CEO of Transdev Blazefield; Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of Transport Focus; and Steven Salmon, Director of Policy Development at the CPT. n The full line-up is available to view at www.eurobusxpo.com/ masterclass

Britain’s coach and bus trade body, the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) is once again the show partner.

“We’ve received tremendous support from across the industry and it’s clear that Euro Bus Expo is seen as a key event for 2018,” says, Event Director Helen Conway.

“Along with the CPT we remain

ever challenging times, but most importantly will enable us to meet, and indeed perhaps beat, the expectations of our customers.” n n Euro Bus Expo returns to the NEC in Birmingham on October 30-November 1, 2018. For further information and to register to attend, visit www.eurobusxpo.com

STRONGER, SMARTER, FASTER illions of people across Europe rely on buses and coaches every day. In the UK, for example, no other public transport comes close to matching the number of passenger journeys taken by bus or coach each year.

But getting passengers where they want to go is just part of the journey. Operators that can be quick to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of their customers and staff – particularly when it comes to smart tech – have much to gain.

“There is no stopping the evolution of technology, it’s only going to get stronger and smarter – it’s time to utilise it, because ultimately, it will only make operations stronger and smarter,” says Michaela Peacock, Innovations editor at Diversified UK, organiser of Euro Bus Expo.

Innovative sourcing and keeping up-to-date with the latest developments is key, and the Technology Zone at Euro Bus Expo is the perfect place to do just that.

“Every new innovation that operators need to know about and utilise for their business will be on show – from the latest software solutions to IT equipment and mobile technology, from on-board Wi-Fi and ticketing systems to seamless payments, tracking and navigation,” said Event Director Helen Conway.

“For operators looking for the next big thing in bus and coach tech, it’s the unmissable event in Europe this year,” she says.

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INT E R NAT I O N A L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 P RO F I L E : O KOTA R

Otokar will supply 400 vehicles to Bucharest, based around its increasingly popular Kent C citybus model (pictured)

BREAKTHROUGH ORDER FOR OTOKAR Bus manufacturer Otokar has commenced deliveries of 400 new buses that will play a significant role in improving public transport in the Romanian capital of Bucharest t is a milestone for Otokar, not only in terms of the size of the order, but also as it represents the largest ever export order by a Turkish bus manufacturer made in one single deal. With this deal Otokar cements its already strong presence in the European

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bus market.

Otokar products are becoming an increasingly familiar sight in a number of European markets, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Meanwhile, there have been other breakthrough orders for significant numbers of vehicles from operators in Malta and Poland, but more of that later.

The Turkish company fought off significant international competition in order to capture the high-profile order for new buses from the Bucharest Municipality, with other leading manufacturers

all bidding for the highly soughtafter contract. In total the deal is worth €98m (£87m) and it comprises a mix of vehicles that have been tailored to suit the demanding needs of the intensive urban bus network of Bucharest.

That network is also undergoing some major changes as part of a plan by the Municipality to significantly improve public transport provision throughout the Romanian capital. This has seen the creation of STB, a new public transport operator that will take delivery of the new fleet

of buses from Otokar. Once in passenger service they will assist in a significant expansion of the local public transport network throughout the city.

A tailored solution The vehicles themselves are based around Otokar’s increasingly popular Kent C citybus model with the order comprising a mix of vehicles. It includes 10 and 12-metre versions of the Kent C that feature the reliable six-cylinder Cummins ISB engine coupled to Voith automatic transmissions. For the larger 18-metre articulated Kent Cs, Bucharest has opted for ZF transmissions and Paccar/DAF MX11 engines. All of the vehicles meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards.

Of the 400 vehicles ordered

by Bucharest following a signing

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PRO FI LE

Otokar was founded in 1963 and is part of the Koç Group. The company aims to offer specialist solutions that meet the needs of its customers in the commercial vehicle and defence industry markets.

Since its foundation the company has constantly expanded its technological know-how, production capacity, research and design competence and product range.

Today it builds vehicles spanning 7.7-metre midibuses to 18.75-metre articulated citybuses. The company believes in continual improvement of its products and has an in-house development team.

The company has over 2,000 employees at its 552,000sq-metre

plant in Sakarya, Turkey. From there the company exports to customers not only in Turkey, bus to 60 countries across five continents.

The company has developed a range of low carbon buses in recent years, including hybrid, CNG and electric buses.

Otokar’s major plant in Sakarya, Turkey

Bucharest operator STB will also take delivery of 18-metre articulated Kent C citybuses

ceremony in Bucharest in June attended by city Mayor Gabriela Firea alongside Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç, the first 100 vehicles are beginning to enter service with deliveries continuing until the end of the year. The remaining 300 buses entering service during 2019.

Otokar is offering STB full support for the new fleet with a high quality aftersales service for an eight-year period following delivery.

Growing expertise The deal with Bucharest is not only the largest ever export order for a Turkish bus manufacturer, but it also cements Otokar as a leading bus manufacturer in both the European market and further afield. In 2017 the company supplied 2,780 vehicles to a number of key export markets in

Europe, namely France, Italy and Spain with the articulated Kent C gaining ground in Italy, Serbia and Spain. Much of the growth in Europe has been achieved following the establishment of Otokar Europe in 2011, a move that aimed to better meet the needs of key bus customers in the European market.

The company has also won a number of significant bus tenders both at home and abroad, alongside the Bucharest contract with both Amman in Jordan and Warsaw in Poland selecting Otokar to supply new buses.

The Greater Amman Municipality has ordered 135 buses, comprising 52 Kent C and 83 Vectio C vehicles in a move that aims to improve the quality of the local bus network in a bid to tackle increasing traffic congestion.

Meanwhile, in Warsaw, Otokar is to supply 34 9.2-metre Vectio C buses to Arriva, who will operate the vehicles on behalf of ZTM, the city’s public transport authority.

The order forms part of a new contract between the transport group and ZTM, which will see the new buses enter service from December and operate until at least the end of 2026.

The vehicles have been tailored to the specific needs of the Warsaw contract and will be fully equipped with air conditioning, announcement systems, LCD

“Otokar products are becoming an increasingly familiar sight in a number of European markets, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany”

screens with passenger information, emergency communication and state-of-the-art GPS systems. The vehicles will also feature distinctive external branding based on Warsaw’s architecture.

Meanwhile, at Otokar’s production facilities in Turkey, intensive research and development activities continue to be undertaken.

This is part of a process to continually update the company’s product line-up with 4% of revenues alone allocated to further investment in this important area.

Much of this investment is being devoted to continuing research into new and alternative methods of propulsion, work that has already seen Otokar become the first Turkish bus manufacturer to create hybrid and full electric bus products and offer them as part of its range of products. n

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1806003

Van Hool. On the road for 70 years.

main production plant in Koningshooikt (Belgium)

welcome to the world of Van Hool. elegance and efficiency in transport.

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INT E R N AT I O NA L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 P RO FI L E : VA N H O OL

Belfast's two Glider routes are operated by a fleet of 30 Exqui.City trambuses, supplied by Van Hool

GLIDER GETS GROWTH Van Hool’s Exqui.City is offering the people of Belfast an exquisite way of travelling he futuristic new Glider service has made a real impact on the people of Belfast since its launch in September 2018. This £90m flagship project has created a buzz in the city and is encouraging sustainable travel choices.

Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport provider, has released early passenger figures showing around 30,000 more passengers every week are now making Glider their first choice for travel - an increase of over 17%.

Glider is operated by a fleet of 30 Exqui.City “trambuses”, supplied

by Van Hool. These 18-metre articulated diesel-electric hybrid vehicles combine the flexibility of the bus with the efficiency and passenger appeal of light rail.

Exqui.City is also available in a 24-metre bi-articulated format, and multiple environmentallyfriendly powertrain options are offered, including hybrid systems, trolleybuses, batteries and fuel cells.

Belfast is now one of a growing number of locations across Europe

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to have embraced this state-of-theart vehicle.

Since the Exqui.City was launched in 2011, more than 250 vehicles have been ordered in 11 different countries (see map).

Building on this success, Van Hool announced its largest order yet for Exqui.City earlier this year.

A total of 58 trambuses will be delivered to the Norwegian city of Trondheim, which has specified the 24-metre bi-articulated format, with diesel-electric hybrid propulsion.

Exqui.City’s timeless, aerodynamic appearance is designed to integrate seamlessly

into the modern urban environment. The vehicle’s interiors are meanwhile constructed using high quality materials and the engines utilise the latest hybrid diesel-electric technologies, emitting low noise, low vibration and low levels of pollutants.

In Belfast, the Glider vehicles are fitted with three double electronic doors for quick and safe boarding and alighting. They have a capacity of 106 passengers (44 seated, 61 standing and one place for wheelchair users).

The Glider vehicles also feature on-board information screens providing real time

Exqui.City across Europe: 250 vehicles ordered in 11 different countries

journey information and audio visual next stop and destination announcements. Free on-board Wi-Fi and USB charging facilities are also provided.

There are two Glider services; a cross-city route (G1) linking the east and west of the city, and a second route (G2) linking the city centre with the Titanic Quarter waterfront regeneration area.

The Glider vehicles have a high quality appearance and an eye-catching violet livery which easily distinguishes them from other public transport vehicles on the streets of Belfast. Off-vehicle ticketing and validation also differentiates the service from conventional buses, speeding up boarding times and delivering faster journeys for users.

Chris Conway, Group Chief Executive of Translink, said there had been much positive feedback in Belfast about the look and feel of the Glider vehicles, but also in terms of the opportunity for people to connect across the city.

The popularity of the new Glider services has led Translink to order two additional Exqui.City vehicles for delivery in Spring 2019.

“The growth brings good news for the city of Belfast as more people using the hybrid Glider vehicles means less congestion on our roads,” said Conway.

“These increased numbers equate to removing over 4,000 car journeys every day and 300 full Gliders of extra passengers each week - this helps protect the environment, improves local air quality and brings considerable health benefits for everyone.” n

PROFILE

7 8

1 Pau (France) 12 2 Nîmes (France) 3 Barcelona (Spain) 4 Parma (Italy) 5 Geneva (Switzerland) 6 Luxembourg (Luxembourg) 7 Malmö (Sweden) 8 Bergen (Norway) 9 Hamburg (Germany) 10 Linz (Austria) 11 Brussels (Belgium) 12 Belfast (UK)

6 11 9 5 2

1

10

4 3

Van Hool is a Belgian manufacturer of buses, coaches and industrial vehicles. The company, founded in 1947, is based in Koningshooikt, near Antwerp. The vast majority of its production is destined for Europe and the United States. Van Hool has more than 4,750 employees worldwide, the majority of whom work at the production sites in Koningshooikt and Bree (Belgium) and in Skopje (Macedonia).

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POWERING WHAT’S NEXT.

The need to Power What’s Next is the driving force behind a rapidly evolving Cummins product portfolio as it moves forward from clean diesel and natural gas to hybrid power systems, zeroemissions electric and very low NOx technology – anticipating a future Euro VII. Come and see our energy diversity on show at Euro Bus Expo, as we get ready to take the passenger transport industry to a new era of advanced power solutions. For more information visit cumminsengines.com, or follow us @cumminseurope.

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For more details check out our Brand Guidelines.

©2018 Cummins Ltd., Yarm Road, Darlington, DL1 4PW, UK

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IN T E R N AT I O NA L BUS REV IEW 20 1 8 P RO FI L E : CU M M I N S

CUMMINS READY TO POWER WHAT’S NEXT Electrification programme sits alongside initiatives to make diesel engines even cleaner o address the need for improved air quality in city centres and congested urban routes, Cummins is undertaking a vigorous electrification programme focused on delivering complete plug-in hybrid electric and full battery electric powertrains to bus manufacturers in 2019. The company is committed to investing $500m in electrification over three years, including the design and manufacture of a new 74 kWh lithium ion battery with the energy density, compact envelope and durability ideally suited to bus installations.

Alongside the introduction of zero emissions electric systems, innovative technologies under development by Cummins will drive the continued evolution of the diesel engine. Research is underway looking to reduce friction and parasitic losses to make the diesel engine more energy efficient.

The use of enhanced design tools, and advanced materials such as composites, will bring opportunities to reduce component weight while retaining strength, further enhancing vehicle productivity.

With a commitment to provide a broad portfolio of clean diesels, natural gas engines and electrified systems, Cummins will ensure the power of choice is available to meet the needs of differing vehicle types, duty cycles, operating ranges and environmental considerations.

Application engineering capability is one of the reasons why Cummins powers over 60,000 new bus and coach vehicles entering service worldwide every year.

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Euro 7 on the horizon Cummins recently revealed a concept emissions control system to achieve lower nitrogen

ABOVE: Concept emissions control system

Cummins’s new 74 kWh lithium ion battery has an energy density, compact envelope and durability ideally suited to bus installations

oxides (NOx) emissions while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint, to a level previously thought unfeasible.

This capability looks forward to a possible next level of Euro 7 regulations anticipated during the coming decade, representing the next leap forward in diesel engine evolution.

The concept system under development combines the turbocharged air management system with the exhaust aftertreatment as a single closecoupled system, together with a new rotary turbine control (RTC).

This new design fully utilises

Cummins’s latest advances in air and thermal management to immediately convert almost all NOx emissions to clean gas as it interacts with the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit.

Stop/Start technology today Cummins’s automatic Stop/ Start technology is specified with the B4.5 four-cylinder and B6.7 six-cylinder Euro 6 diesels, by far the most widely used bus engines worldwide. Over 1,500 buses with this system are in operation today, with a near perfect record of in-service reliability.

The engine is specified with the

Stop/Start enhancements and upgraded starter motor. The OEM then adapts their battery charge and air system controls to align with the Stop/Start cycle.

The Cummins system is designed for a maximum of 30 stops per hour, but typically this will not exceed 16 stops during normal operation. The OEM can trim the system to operate in all circumstances, such as all stops in traffic, or just at bus stops only aligned to the door opening.

This flexibility allows the system to be configured to specific operational scenarios. Sociability is considerably improved for passengers and driver, with noise and vibration eliminated during the ‘Stop’ phase.

The more intense the bus operation, the greater the savings.

For example, an 8% reduction in fuel consumption has been achieved with central London double-deck buses running at low average speed (7-8 mph) for around 16 hours a day, with multiple bus stops, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings per hour. This translates into a CO2 greenhouse gas reduction of between four to six metric tons per year and saves between £2,500 to £3,000 in fuel costs for each bus.

Stop/Start smart logic, combined with comparatively less engine-on running time, results in lower emissions over the bus duty cycle compared to a bus without Stop/Start capability.

Over-the-air capability Advancements in hardware are not the only areas of progress, Cummins continues to innovate with a smart connected suite of wireless monitoring, reporting, calibrating and servicing applications to help boost vehicle uptime and reduce the total cost of ownership. Cummins is looking ahead to accelerate digital technology with over-the-air trim and parameter calibration, empowering fleet managers with the ability to customise power and speed settings to match the bus route, road conditions and geographic coordinates with emissions zone geofencing. ■

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Est. 1978

Truck & Bus Builder Celebrating 40 years of publication

A comprehensive review of the global bus and coach building industry – markets, forecasts, CEO interviews, who-owns-who.

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