Alexander Dennis Inc to Supply Electric Double Deck Buses in North America

Alexander Dennis will supply an electric version of its double deck bus. The first Enviro500EV electric double deck buses will be delivered to Foothill Transit, the American public transportation leader in electric bus deployment, in California in 2019.

Foothill Transit first demonstrated the ADI Enviro500 double deck bus on its downtown Los Angeles routes in October 2016. The customer response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic, proving that California was hungry for good design, smart public transit and vastly improved ride quality. 

Building on the 13-foot 6-inch model which Foothill Transit trialed, the brand new Enviro500EV double deck will carry more than twice the number of passengers which are currently transported in the existing single deck vehicles despite occupying the same road footprint. This doubles the trip capacity with half the number of vehicles, which is particularly advantageous where road space is at a premium.

“Deploying the Enviro500EV will be transformative for Los Angeles and for the United States,” said Doran Barnes, executive director of Foothill Transit. “No other transit agency in the country utilizes this technology on commuter express routes.  And adding seats without increasing traffic congestion or local greenhouse gas emissions is the ultimate benefit for one of the nation’s most heavily traveled corridors.”

The success of the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 three-axle double deck bus is founded on its flexible platform approach to meet market requirements and local specifications around the globe. In North America alone, 1,000 of these vehicles form the backbone of fleets in Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, Victoria and Toronto. Working in partnership with individual customers, these high capacity transit and commuter vehicles are designed with a range of options and specification customized to meet local requirements and the customers’ operational objectives. Two height variants are offered in North America at 13-foot 6-inches (4.1m) and 12-foot 10-inches (3.9m, Enviro500 SuperLo).

“Our double deck buses have helped revolutionize passenger transport in cities across North America and around the world by transporting the highest number of passengers, seated in comfort and safety, on the same road occupancy footprint as single deck vehicles. We’re now seeing increasing global demand for electric buses which combine the same high passenger capacity and outstanding comfort, with zero emission technology,” said Robert Davey, president of Alexander Dennis Inc. “As congestion and local air quality challenges remain top of every transit authorities’ agenda, we’re excited to raise the bar in Los Angeles County with transit pioneer, Foothill Transit, and heavy-duty electric vehicle technology innovator, Proterra.”