131-passenger mega buses for Scottish capital

A fleet of 42 new buses with room for up to 131 passengers will enter service in Scotland’s capital city in January 2019. The double-deckers have room for 100 seated passengers and a further 31 standing, making them the the biggest buses in the UK or Ireland in terms of passenger capacity.

The new buses are the first of Alexander Dennis Limited’s (ADL) new three-axle Enviro400XLB double-deckers, which have been developed in close collaboration with operator Lothian Buses and chassis manufacturer Volvo. They are manufactured in Falkirk.

The 13.4-metre long Enviro400XLB has both front and middle seats of doors to speed-up dwell times at bus stops, and features high-backed seating, Wi-Fi, USB charging, mood lighting and audiovisual stop announcements.

It is the first bus for the UK or Ireland to be mounted on Volvo’s recently launched three-axle B8L chassis, powered a 350bhp Euro 6 D8K engine.

Colin Robertson, ADL Chief Executive, said: “Customer collaboration is at the heart of what we do at Alexander Dennis and we are proud to work with Lothian to meet their exacting requirements as they are renowned as a leader in delivering an outstanding customer experience. As a company headquartered in Scotland, building buses for Edinburgh is a great source of pride for the employees at our Falkirk factory and we look forward to further developing our relationship with Lothian.”