ADL double-decks arrive in Berlin
The first two Enviro500 buses have been launched by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). The first two double-decks are part of a framework contract for up to 430 Enviro500, signed in October 2018. Berlin’s new generation of yellow double-deck buses is the first to have been designed in Britain by ADL.
ADL has adapted the Enviro500 to meet the requirements of bus services in the German capital, and in addition to the two buses delivered, an order will be placed for 198 units following the successful completion of a testing programme.
“Big yellow buses are as much a part of Berlin as the television tower and Brandenburg Gate,” says BVG chief executive officer Eva Kreienkamp. “I am delighted that we are now able to continue this tradition, while observing market developments for electric buses.”
Berlin’s Enviro500s are 13.8m long and 4.06m high and have three doors and two staircases.
Among the features included is the vehicle’s interior lighting which changes colour tone according to exterior air temperature, designed to assist passengers’ subjective thermal comfort in addition to full air-conditioning and auxiliary heating.
“We have drawn on our experience with over 18,000 double-deckers deployed around the world – in Canada, the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand – to jointly develop a bus that fully responds to BVG’s needs and delivers an outstanding travel experience for bus users in Berlin,” says Paul Davies, ADL president & managing director.
To support the testing programme and the future serial production vehicles, ADL has recruited local teams and invested in an office, service workshop and parts warehouse in Berlin, which will also function as a regional hub for further European expansion.
It is expected that the first two Enviro500s will enter service this month on Berlin’s flagship route 100, which this autumn celebrates its 30th anniversary of linking East and West following the fall of the Berlin Wall.