Electric, Hydrogen & Hybrid Electric Buses in Ireland

They got an extra schools route (the 185T or something, From Enniskerry to the southern end of Bray) recently, so I doubt that those ones will be going anywhere any time soon. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I'm noticing a lot more private operators on school runs lately (actual school runs, as opposed to GAI's ones) than before.

Dublin Bus still has AX buses in service in Summerhill.

The GAI buses (they aren’t on loan from DB, the NTA transferred them) will continue to operate on the various school routes that GAI have.

Bus Éireann operate buses on school services until they are 20 years old.

I don’t see any pressing need for GAI to withdraw these buses anytime soon, provided they are in good mechanical shape.

As I said they’re used on a number of school routes across the outer parts of the city.

The N6 is just shortened version of the 17a so will probably need less PVR or similar if there is a frequency increase compared to the 17a. I doubt the NTA would want 16 year old buses operating on the new bus connects routes.

I'd say the NTA might just transfer more GT/SGs for the W4/6 as the PAs are more suited to cross city operation I believe and GAI have a fairly young fleet. So giving the PAs to DB would balance the average age of the fleet between the operators. Also in London most of the older stock is used on suburban routes whilst routes going into central London get the newest hybrid and electric buses.

There are only 10-15 PAs yet to enter service though, unless if the NTA ordered more than the initial order of 280 PAs

To clarify these are the schools routes that the GAI AXs operate:

33T (Donabate-Portrane & Skerries-Rush)

102A, 102C, 102P & 102T (Swords & Balgriffin-Portmarnock & Sutton)

185T (Enniskerry-Bray)

220T (Finglas-Collins Avenue)

236T (Tyrrelstown-Coolmine)

270T (Littlepace-Carpenterstown)

What variants are the ADL single deckers for Athlone; are they coming with middle doors or without them? Also which factory is building the ADL single deckers is it Falkirk or Scarborough?

If they are getting 11 buses it sounds like an additional route or uplift in frequency is planned.

The Sunday Business Post was reporting on Easter Tuesday via a paywall that the NTA have agreed to purchase an initial order of 120 Wrightbus Electroliners. The purchase will be announced to the media within the next few weeks.

I am not subscribed to the Business Post so I am asking people here as to what other new details are contained in there regarding these buses.

I believe this is the bus that Dublin Bus has orders for:

Since Clontarf didn’t recieve any of the PAs, they might be the first to get the Wrights and the charging stations installed

I thought some of the garages already had chargers for the PAs

Correct. Yes it's only for DB depots the information that came my way.

I am at a loss as in why is the NTA/TFI overseeing the purchase of busses and possibly dictating to DB &BE routes etc.

I've heard a few stories from lads I know in DB about NTA staff being clueless? One example was why is the double decker parked outside Dublin Castle rather than inside.

I have always wondered does the NTA have any actual people with real hands on experience,In running transport operations.

That's obsolete madness but then again nothing new for this country, I've often receive e mails regarding jobs within the authority.

And the salaries are mad 100k plus jobs yet they have no one with actual experience. My background is in road transport and Aviation and we have a saying that the best people to run operations from the top down are the ones who have done it.

Having two different tenders - never mind two different buyers! - for the charging infrastructure and the buses themselves is a recipe for disaster. Warsaw's semi-state purchased a total of 160 electric buses so far (if I'm remembering my numbers right; 130 artics in one tender and 30 standard-lengths in three batches of 10), but they ran a separate tender to build and connect the terminus pantograph chargers. The result? Total miscoordination of bus deliveries and charger installations, meaning that buses delivered for months already were confined to peak-time workings under 80-90 km that could be done on a single charge from the depot... Not to mention that one of those batches of 10 has pantographs completely incompatible with the rest of the fleet. On the other hand, my homecity of Radom now operates 19 electric standards and just chose the manufacturer for a further 6 artics, and all three tenders involved in here were not only for the delivery of buses, but also of plug-in garage and overhead terminus chargers. Literally the only problems so far were with energy distribution and that's not fully within the Operator's purview at that point.

The problem is of course that the garage infra belongs to DB, yet the NTA are in charge of purchasing buses since 2012 now. Short of relegating the task one way or the other I don't see any way in which this isn't going to flop teets up.

I'd imagine with the PA/PADs there'd be some for BE aswell probably for Cork to replace the 08 VWDs and maybe some single deckers aswell

I'd say Cork will get some as they haven't got any PADs yet I don't think they're even due any but I could be wrong.

I wonder will the NTA go for the new Wrights front like the VWDs or the old front like the SGs if that's even still possible. I read aswell that Wrightbus won't be bodying anymore Volvo products and instead will focus on their own integral products.

Hopefully the new electrics won't have the awful cab layout and steering arrangements like the Streetlites and Streetdecks.

Do you have a pic?

I'm almost positive that the 2020-21 deliveries of SGs and the last few 11500s were meant to be the very last of that front - Wrights have been extending their production specifically for that order, otherwise it's gone. (Shame, tbh, I personally prefer it to the "stealth" front seen in the newest VWDs.)

Wonder will they go for the cctv mirrors on those. Surprised they didn't for the PA/PADs removes the cost of constantly having to replace mirrors which is probably the most common bus accident.

I believe they've recently been put back into service after a while off the road