Trials underway for Arrival electric bus
Arrival has started trials of its new electric bus at a testing facility in the UK ahead of road trials due to commence with First Bus in the first quarter of this year. Arrival says its new vehicle will offer an improved experience for drivers and passengers as well as the engineers, cleaners, and fleet owners, with reduced costs for operators, making the transition to electric vehicles more economically viable.
The bus deploys what Arrival terms its software ecosystem, providing full connectivity, digital customisation, and deep access to vehicle behaviour and data. It has a modular design with various configurations of length, range, battery, and passenger capacity available.
“This is a key milestone for Arrival and we’re thrilled to have started proving ground trials, where the bus is currently going through testing, ahead of EU certification and public road trials,” says Franck Dessenis, vice president of bus platform, Arrival.
“We’ve seen a strong interest in the bus, specifically from governments who are looking to upgrade their public transportation networks, in order to achieve their zero- emission pledges.”
Avinash Rugoobur, Arrival president adds: “We now look forward to bringing our vehicles, led by the Bus, to the market beginning in 2022, built by our microfactories and helping to make the air cleaner around the world.”
The first Arrival bus features up to three doors, with flexible passenger seating capacity across a fully flat floor. The vehicle also has wraparound exterior and interior screens, adaptable lighting, a transparent roof, and a number of digital features.
The vehicle uses in-house components that are also found on the Arrival van and car, and Arrival’s lightweight recyclable composite materials. The company claims that the bus will be lighter than other battery-electric buses in the market today.
Arrival is aiming to start production of the bus in Q2 2022.